8 Behaviours Linked to Personality Disorders

Every person has their own unique personality that sets them apart. It’s a blend of genetics and upbringing. While experts debate the details, most agree that by the age of 5–7, our personality is more or less fully formed.

Personality is essentially the way we act, think, and feel.

These traits are what make us human. Without them, we’d basically be robots moving through life without feelings or thoughts.

But sometimes, personality development goes “off track.” This can happen due to genetics, negative childhood experiences, or a combination of both. Personality disorders distort the way a person sees themselves and others, shaping how they respond to people and how they regulate their emotions. Depending on the severity, these disorders can make it very hard to lead a “normal” life — affecting everything from relationships and work to financial stability.

DSM-5 Clusters of Personality Disorders

The current DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) lists ten different personality disorders. They’re grouped into three clusters:

• Cluster A: odd, eccentric, bizarre
  • Paranoid Personality Disorder
  • Schizoid Personality Disorder
  • Schizotypal Personality Disorder
• Cluster B: dramatic, emotional, unpredictable
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder
  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Histrionic Personality Disorder
  • Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Cluster C: anxious, fearful, avoidant
  • Avoidant Personality Disorder
  • Dependent Personality Disorder
  • Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder

While psychology distinguishes these ten disorders, they often overlap — making diagnosis tricky. Because of that, there’s been a shift away from rigid categories and towards focusing on maladaptive behaviour patterns. Instead of asking “which box does this person fit into?”, many experts now look at personality traits and interpersonal styles along a spectrum.

Psychologist S. Wilson (University of Minnesota) and colleagues analysed the interpersonal styles linked to each disorder in depth. As they put it, an interpersonal style is defined by someone’s characteristic way of approaching social situations and relationships. This includes how they behave in relationships, how they interpret others, and how they understand what happens between them and other people. Unsurprisingly, people with personality disorders tend to have unstable, turbulent relationships because their perception of themselves and others is skewed.

Wilson’s team identified eight interpersonal traits that often drive problematic behaviour:
👉 dominant, vindictive, cold, socially avoidant, non-assertive, exploitative, over-nurturing, and intrusive.

Let’s break these down one by one — and look at which disorders they typically show up in.

8 Common Interpersonal Traits in Personality Disorders

1. Dominant

No surprise here: People with antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders scored high on dominance.

• Antisocial PD involves a pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others. People often ignore social norms and laws altogether.
• Narcissistic PD involves a lack of empathy and a constant need to be admired. They want to impress others with their real or imagined achievements and may exploit people for personal gain.
• People with histrionic PD, known for their theatrical emotions and attention-seeking behaviour, also tend to score high here.

2. Vindictive

High scores on vindictiveness were found in people with paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, dependent, narcissistic, and borderline PDs.

• Paranoid PD: suspicious, assumes malicious intent.
• Schizotypal PD: odd thinking patterns, often discomfort in close relationships.
• Dependent PD: marked by helplessness and fear of being alone; strong attachment to others.
• Borderline PD: unstable self-image, intense emotions, chaotic relationships.

3. Cold

This trait showed up strongly in paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, and avoidant PDs.

• Schizoid PD: little desire for relationships, emotionally flat, indifferent to praise or criticism.
• Avoidant PD: hypersensitive to criticism, socially withdrawn because they feel inadequate or inferior, preoccupied with how others perceive them.

4. Socially Avoidant

This one is especially high in avoidant and antisocial PDs, and also in schizoid PD — since people with schizoid traits tend to withdraw from relationships entirely.

5. Non-assertive

Most common in schizoid, schizotypal, and avoidant PDs.

On the flip side, people with narcissistic or antisocial PDs often display excessive assertiveness.

6. Exploitative

High in narcissistic, antisocial, and dependent PDs — though the motivation differs. The common thread: using others for personal gain, whether emotionally, financially, or otherwise.

7. Over-nurturing

Typical for dependent PD, where people rely on close attachments to have their needs met. They’ll often go to great lengths — sometimes self-sacrificing — to keep their caregivers close.

8. Intrusive

Most often seen in narcissistic, borderline, histrionic, dependent, and antisocial PDs. Think boundary issues, emotional enmeshment, or controlling behaviour in relationships.

The Big Exception

Interestingly, people with obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) didn’t score particularly high on any of these eight traits. They usually have relatively stable relationships, since this disorder doesn’t typically revolve around interpersonal chaos the way the others do.

✅ Sources: S. Wilson et al., University of Minnesota – Interpersonal styles across personality disorders
📝 Note: This is a simplified overview intended for reflection and understanding, not for diagnosis.