Types of personality disorder
Background
Review the following scenario:
You are a licensed mental health practitioner who is also studying for your Ph.D. in psychology in Dubai. Following the economic downturn and the failure of several banks and financial institutions, you decide to complete your dissertation on the personality characteristics of CEOs in major financial institutions. Because you are in Dubai, an international financial center, you treat a diverse group of international executives and their families. Most of the treatment requests are initiated by spouses who complain that their partners are emotionally distant and unable to form close relationships. Your hunch is that these CEOs shared distinct personality characteristics which suited them well for high-risk business but make them ill-suited for family life.
What type of personality disorder do you hypothesize you would find in these CEOs? Prepare a paper in which you identify and analyze this disorder. Be sure to explain the theory and assess research that would support such a dissertation proposal. Also, add a critique of the system used to diagnose these types of mental disorders.
Sample Answer
The economic downturn of 2008 and the failure of several major financial institutions led to a great deal of scrutiny of the CEOs of these companies. Many people wondered how these CEOs could have made such risky decisions that ultimately led to the collapse of their companies. Some psychologists and psychiatrists began to speculate that the CEOs of these companies may have had personality disorders that made them more likely to take these risks.
One personality disorder that has been suggested as a possible explanation for the behavior of CEOs in major financial institutions is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). NPD is a personality disorder characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. People with NPD often believe that they are superior to others and that they deserve special treatment. They may also be very manipulative and exploitative in their relationships.