Personality cluster: what is it and what types are there?

Let's see what it is and how the concept of personality cluster has developed.

We all have different tastes, different opinions, different ways of doing things and even see the world in a distinctive and personal way. We are unique individuals who have been shaped by both our biology and our life experiences. But we are still members of the same species.

In this sense, it is possible to establish different personality types with a certain resemblance between them, in which some basic elements are shared. And from the field of psychology and psychiatry these types of personalities have been organized into what have come to be called personality clusters..

What does this concept refer to? What is a personality cluster? Let's see it throughout this article.

What is personality?

Before considering what is meant by the concept of personality cluster, it may be useful to give a brief definition of its most important component: personality.

We refer to personality as the pattern or set of behaviors, cognitions, emotions, perspectives, and ways of seeing and interpreting reality and of relating to our environment and to ourselves that we have and with ourselves that are habitual to us and that we tend to maintain in a relatively stable way over time and across situations throughout life.

Personality is defined throughout our growth and in the course of our life cycle, shaped in part by our genes and on the basis of our experiences and learning. It is what defines our way of being and acting, and it is usually adaptive in order to relate effectively to the environment.

However, sometimes a series of circumstances cause us to acquire certain characteristics or ways of thinking or doing, for some reason. characteristics or ways of thinking or doing that, although that, although they allow us to survive and adapt to the environment, can cause us great difficulties in areas such as interpersonal relationships, work or the ability to enjoy life, and can generate some dysfunctionality, discomfort and suffering for us or our environment.

This is the case of people suffering from a personality disorder. And it is with respect to this type of disorder that the three main types of personality clusters that are usually used have been elaborated, a concept that we will define below.

What is a personality cluster?

A cluster is understood as an organization or way of classifying different quantitative variables into different groups which include them according to some type of characteristic or common element.

Thus, when we speak of a personality cluster we are referring to a grouping of several personality types that have some type of element that allows them to be grouped together.. That is to say, the existence of common factors between different classes or types of personalities is established, which allow to define to a large extent their group, so that the different categories are homogenized and grouped around that quality or aspect.

The three personality clusters

Although technically it would be possible to make personality clusters based on different criteria, when we talk about this concept we are generally referring to three in particular, those in which personality disorders have been classified and catalogued.. In this sense, three main personality clusters are currently contemplated, based on the type of behavior pattern that they manifest on a regular basis.

Cluster A: Rare-eccentrics

Cluster A includes personality disorder types that have as a common element the performance of acts and the maintenance of ways of thinking and interpreting the world considered as extravagant and very unusual, sometimes resembling the functioning of the population with psychotic elements (although in this case we are talking about personality traits and not a disorder per se).

It is these behaviors and manners that generate dysfunction or discomfort in the subject. Included in this cluster are paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders..

Cluster B: Unstable/Dramatic-emotional

The grouping or organization of personality disorders known as cluster B refers to the set of personality disorders that have as a common feature the presence of high emotionality, which is highly labile, and which tends to present dramatic and sometimes theatrical behavior..

It is commonly observed the presence of lack of control over emotions and affections, as well as a certain distrust towards others and/or their esteem. Within this cluster we find antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders.

Cluster C: Fearful-anxious

This third cluster integrates a group of disorders which have in common the presence of a high level of fear or anxiety (or not to do so), which leads them to act in such a way as to reduce it as much as possible. The axis or core of much of their behavior is the avoidance of that which is feared. Also Low tolerance to uncertainty is also common..

Within cluster C we find avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

A useful concept, but not as closed as it may seem

The concept of personality cluster, with regard to at least the three types that are commonly used, was first used in 1980 with the DSM-III. This was done for the purpose of making a grouping of personality disorders. a grouping of personality disorders that would allow the classification of personality disorders. The use of personality clusters has been simplified, and further research into this type of disorders has been promoted.

Since then, personality clusters have been commonly used to identify the sphere in which personality disorders move. This does not mean that they are used to diagnose (since the cluster is not a diagnosis in itself, nor does it establish one), but it can give an idea of the type of characteristics or implications that a particular problem may have in the day-to-day life of a subject.

However, although the organization into clusters can be very useful in establishing delimited categories between the different personality types, the fact is that the fact is that the performance of various factor analyses does not consistently support the idea that these clusters are always so watertight. and separate from each other: for example, in clinical practice it is not uncommon for the same patient to present characteristics and even disorders belonging to different clusters.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition. DSM-V. Masson, Barcelona.
• Buratti Hamlin, M., Casas Losada, A., Conde Amado, M., Fernández Hierro, J., Flóres Menéndez, G., Forti Sampietro, L., Martínez Valente, J. and Veiga Candán, M.J. (2015). Personality: exploration, diagnosis and treatment. Foro GALLEGO. PERSONALITY STUDY. ADAMED.
• Millon, D. (2007). Millon's Multiaxial Clinical Multiaxial Personality Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Professional Manual. Madrid, TEA Ediciones S.A.
• Millon, T. (1997). Disorders of personality: DSM-IV and beyond. New York: Wiley.