HPD HPD Psychological Theories 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In schema therapy, which early maladaptive schema is most central to HPD?
- Defectiveness/Shame schema
- Emotional deprivation schema
- Approval-seeking/Recognition-seeking schema (Correct answer)
- Abandonment/Instability schema
Correct answer: Approval-seeking/Recognition-seeking schema
Schema therapy identifies the Approval-Seeking/Recognition-Seeking schema as central to HPD, driving constant pursuit of others' approval and admiration.
Question 2: Heinz Kohut's self-psychology framework explains HPD in terms of:
- Deficient superego development
- Failure of mirroring selfobject experiences in early childhood (Correct answer)
- Oedipal competition with same-sex parent
- Operant conditioning of dramatic behavior
Correct answer: Failure of mirroring selfobject experiences in early childhood
Kohut's self-psychology links HPD to failures in early mirroring selfobject experiences, leaving a self that depends on constant external reflection to maintain cohesion.
Question 3: Behavioral theories of HPD emphasize that attention-seeking behaviors are maintained by:
- Punishment schedules applied by caregivers
- Intermittent reinforcement of dramatic behavior with attention from others (Correct answer)
- Cognitive reappraisal of emotional states
- Genetic programming of social signaling
Correct answer: Intermittent reinforcement of dramatic behavior with attention from others
Behavioral theory notes that dramatic behaviors in HPD are maintained by intermittent reinforcement — sometimes they yield attention, sometimes they don't, which strengthens the behavior.
Question 4: The five-factor model (Big Five) of personality positions HPD individuals as typically scoring high on which dimensions?
- Conscientiousness and Agreeableness
- Neuroticism and Extraversion (Correct answer)
- Openness and Conscientiousness
- Agreeableness and Openness
Correct answer: Neuroticism and Extraversion
HPD is associated with high Neuroticism (emotional lability, anxiety) and high Extraversion (sociability, excitement-seeking) in the five-factor model.
Question 5: Which theorist specifically wrote about the 'hysterical character' and its basis in repression of sexuality, directly influencing HPD theory?
- Karen Horney
- Donald Winnicott
- Wilhelm Reich (Correct answer)
- Harry Stack Sullivan
Correct answer: Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich wrote extensively about the 'hysterical character,' linking it to repressed sexuality and specific somatic and behavioral patterns.
Question 6: From a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) perspective, HPD features can be understood as reflecting dysregulation in which system?
- Cognitive reasoning system
- Emotion regulation system (Correct answer)
- Behavioral inhibition system
- Executive function system
Correct answer: Emotion regulation system
DBT's biosocial theory frames HPD-like features as stemming from biological emotional sensitivity combined with invalidating environments, producing emotion dysregulation.
HPD HPD Psychological Theories 2
In schema therapy, which early maladaptive schema is most central to HPD?