| histrionic personality | A personality in which a person, typically immature, dependent, self-centreed, and often vain, exhibits unstable, overreactive, and excitable behaviour intended to gain attention even though he or she may not be aware of this intent. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| shut-in personality | A person who responds inadequately to contacts with other people. (05 Mar 2000) |
| narcissistic personality | A psychoanalytic term meaning self-love. (12 Dec 1998) |
| neurasthenic personality | An obsolete term for a condition characterised by some of the following features: poor appetite or overeating, insomnia or hypersomnia, low energy or fatigue, low self esteem, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, and feelings of hopelessness. In its most severe form it may become a chronic disturbance of mood called dysthymia (depressive neurosis) in which a depressive mood accompanies the features listed above. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dependent personality | A personality in which a person passively allows others to assume responsibility for making decisions affecting him/her, characterised by a lack of self-confidence and an inability to function independently. (05 Mar 2000) |
| syntonic personality | A stable personality, one characterised by even temperament. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dual personality | A mental disturbance in which a person assumes alternately two different identities without either personality being consciously aware of the other. See: multiple personality. (05 Mar 2000) |
| inadequate personality | A personality disorder, characterised by personal and social ineptness plus emotional and physical instability, which renders the individual unable to cope with the normal vicissitudes of life. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obsessive-compulsive personality | The personality of an individual whose overriding personal needs are manifested by a rigid, pervasive pattern of perfectionism and inflexibility, as he or she continually strives for clearly unattainable goals, to the point that such behaviour frequently interferes with the actual completion of tasks and projects. Synonym: obsessive personality. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obsessive personality | The personality of an individual whose overriding personal needs are manifested by a rigid, pervasive pattern of perfectionism and inflexibility, as he or she continually strives for clearly unattainable goals, to the point that such behaviour frequently interferes with the actual completion of tasks and projects. Synonym: obsessive personality. (05 Mar 2000) |
| type a personality | Established behaviour pattern characterised by excessive drive and ambition, impatience, competitiveness, sense of time urgency, and poorly contained aggression. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alcohol amnestic disorder | <psychiatry> A mental disorder with brain damage characterised by amnesia, compensatory confabulation, disturbance of attention, and peripheral neuritis. It is usually associated with alcoholism and dietary deficiencies. (12 Dec 1998) |
| attention deficit disorder | An inability to control behaviour due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli. (12 Dec 1998) |
| attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity | A behaviour disorder originating in childhood in which the essential features are signs of developmentally inappropriate inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Although most individuals have symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, one or the other pattern may be predominant. The disorder is more frequent in males than females. Onset is in childhood. Symptoms often attenuate during late adolescence although a minority experience the full complement of symptoms into mid-adulthood. (12 Dec 1998) |
| attention deficit hyperactivity disorder | <psychiatry> A condition seen in children where there is increased motor activity in association with poor attention span. Often treated with amphetamine medications. (27 Sep 1997) |