Journal of Neurology & Neurosurgery-Lupine Publishers
Abstract
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Introduction: No doubt,
evolutionary psychologists are trying to enlighten personality and individual
differences by way of various theories. But, essentially and from an
evolutionary point of view, a few studies exist regarding personality
characters. In the present assessment, relationship between
obsessive-compulsive personality traits and achievement of people had been
assessed.
Method and Material: Four hundreds
relatives, who had been elected randomly, have been questioned by means of a
self-reply inquiry form as regards the existence of obsessive-compulsive
personality traits, in their highest and lowest successful offspring. Data were
analyzed by z test for comparison of proportions.
Results: Except for
‘stubbornness’, all of traits were meaningfully more prevalent among the
highest successful kids, in comparison with the lowest successful children.
“Perfectionism’ was the most prevalent character among successful group, tagged
along by ‘Rigidity regarding Morality and ethics’, ‘Orderliness and devoting to
details’ and ‘Devoting to work and avoiding Leisure’. ‘Obligating others to
submit his or her style of behavior’, ‘collecting objects and money’ and
‘parsimoniousness’, were the least prevalent qualities.
Conclusion: Obsessive-compulsive
traits, at a sensible level, seem to be one of the main interactive dynamics
that may help people with regard to achievement of personal and social
triumphs.
Keywords: Obsessive-compulsive personality
trait; Evolutionary psychology; Evolutionary psychiatry
Introduction
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According to DSM-5, ‘obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder’ is one of the most prevalent personality syndromes in the
population, with likely frequency ranging from 2.1% to 7.9% [1]. In systematic
studies, ‘obsessive-compulsive personality disorder’ appears to be diagnosed
about twice as often among men. The necessary feature of ‘obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder’ is perfectionism, preoccupation with orderliness, and
mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of openness, flexibility and productivity.
This configuration begins by early adulthood and is existent in a variety of
circumstances. Personalities with such kind of disorder attempt to maintain a
sense of control through painstaking attention to rules, procedures, lists,
trivial details, or schedules to the extent that the main point of the activity
is missing (Criterion 1) [1]. They are disproportionately watchful and
susceptible to repetition, paying unusual attention to detail and repeatedly
checking for possible faults. They may become so involved in making every
detail of a project completely perfect that the mission is never ended
(Criterion 2) [1]. Such individuals show extreme devoutness to work and
productivity to the exclusion of leisureliness and friendships (Criterion 3) [1].
When they do take time for vacations or
holidays, they are very uncomfortable unless they have taken along something to
work on, so they do not ‘waste time.’ The emphasis is on faultless enactment.
They may be extremely conscientious, trustworthy, and inflexible about matters
of ethics, moral code, or principles (Criterion 4) [1]. They may also be
unpityingly self-critical about their own faults or slips. Persons with this
syndrome are rigidly respectful to authority and instructions and insist on
quite precise obedience, with no rule bending for moderating situations. The
aforesaid qualities should not be accounted for by the individual’s religious
or cultural credentials. Personalities with this disorder may be unable to
throw away worn-out or useless stuffs, even when they have no emotional value
(Criterion 5). They are unwilling to delegate tasks or to work with others
(Criterion 6) [1]. Also, such persons may be parsimonious and ungenerous and
maintain a standard of living far below what they can pay for, considering that
expenditure must be tightly controlled to provide for future misfortunes
(Criterion 7) [1]. This disorder is characterized by rigidity and stubbornness
(Criterion 8) and unwilling to consider changes.
They may be preoccupied with rationality
and intelligence, and intolerant of sentimental behavior in others. They often
have difficulty conveying affectionate feelings, rarely paying compliments.
Many of the features of this disorder is similar to “type A” personality
characteristics (e.g., preoccupation with work, competitiveness and time
urgency), and these features may be present in people at risk for myocardial
infarction [1]. For over 80 years, astute clinical observers, including the
eminent British psychiatrist Aubrey Lewis, have described two types of
obsessive– compulsive personality [2]. Lewis noted, ‘one [was] obstinate,
morose, irritable, the other vacillating, uncertain of himself, submissive’
[2]. Features of the second type were included in DSMIII, with the addition of
‘indecisiveness’ and ‘restricted expression of affection’ [3]. These features
were retained in DSM-III-R but dropped in DSM-IV. ‘Indecisiveness’ seems to
have been dropped for the reason that some studies revealed low sensitivity and
specificity, and it was comparatively common in patients with other personality
disorders including ‘paranoid’, ‘schizotypal’, ‘avoidant’ and ‘dependent’ [4].
However, an evaluation using stepwise
logistic regression modeling found only modest support for this verdict [5].
The cause of OCPD is thought to encompass a combination of genetic and
environmental factors [6]. Under the genetic theory, people with a form of the
DRD3 gene will probably develop OCPD and depression, principally if they are
male [7]. But genetic concomitants may lie latent until activated by happenings
in the lives of those who are liable to OCPD. These events could consist of
parenting styles that are over-involved and/or excessively protecting, as well
as trauma faced during babyhood. Traumas that could lead to OCPD include
emotional, physical or sexual abuse, or other psychological traumas. Under the
environmental philosophy, OCPD is a learned behavior [7]. Also, little is known
about the etiologic connection between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and
traits of OCPD [8]. Some theoreticians have proposed that OCPD is one of
several disorders falling within an OC spectrum. This infers that OC
personality traits and symptoms should have etiologic dynamics in common, and
this should not be merely because symptoms and traits are both shaped by
general etiological effects. So, to investigate these issues, in a study a
community sample of 307 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic adult twins provided
scores on six types of OC-related symptoms, two markers of negative
emotionality, and a measure of OC personality traits.
In the end, OC symptoms and traits were
etiologically related, mostly because they are shaped by the same general
genetic factor that influenced negative emotionality [8]. Presently, no single
specific cause of OCPD has been identified. Since the early days of Freudian
psychoanalysis, however, faulty parenting has been viewed as a major factor in
the development of personality disorders. Current studies have tended to
support the importance of early life experiences, finding that healthy
emotional development largely depends on two important variables: parental
warmth and appropriate responsiveness to the child’s needs [9]. When these
qualities are present, the child feels secure and appropriately valued. By
contrast, many people with personality disorders did not have parents who were
emotionally warm toward them. Patients with OCPD often recall their parents as
being emotionally withholding and either over-protective or over-controlling.
One researcher has noted that people with OCPD appear to have been punished by
their parents for every transgression of a rule, no matter how minor, and
rewarded for almost nothing. As a result, the child is unable to safely develop
or express a sense of joy, spontaneity, or independent thought, and begins to
develop the symptoms of OCPD as a strategy for avoiding punishment.
Children with this type of upbringing are
also likely to choke down the anger they feel toward their parents; they may be
outwardly obedient and polite to authority figures, but at the same time treat
younger children or those they regard as their inferiors harshly. While genetic
contributions to OCPD have not been yet well documented, cultural influences
may, however, play a part in the development of OCPD [10]. That is, cultures
that are highly controlling and rule-bound may encourage child-rearing
rehearses that contribute to the development of OCPD. On the other hand, simply
because a culture is comparatively strict or has a strong work ethic does not
mean it is necessarily detrimental. In Japanese societies, for example,
excessive devotion to work, restricted emotional expression, and ethical
scrupulosity are highly valued features that are rewarded within that culture.
So, OCPD is not diagnosed in persons who are simply behaving in accordance with
cultural or exterior expectations. Nevertheless, in spite of all the
aforementioned statements, and from an evolutionary or sociobiological
standpoint in the realm of social Darwinism, amongst a variety of personality
characters, obsessive-compulsive traits generally seem to be suitable for
assuring human achievement.
Having faith in orderliness and concern
with details, devoting to work, perfectionism, parsimoniousness,
conscientiousness, putting force on others for obeying them and insisting on
well-organized decisions, all are in contrast with the chaotic life style of
borderline persons, exploitative style of narcissistic individuals, social
disregard of sociopaths, guardedness of paranoid people , social avoidance of
schizoid and schizotypal persons, isolation of avoidant individuals, passivity
of dependent people, and attention seeking efforts of histrionic persons. On
the other hand, while evolutionary psychologists agree that evolution is
pertinent to all psychological mechanisms, and different theories are trying to
explain personality variances and individual alterations, in comparison with
other related fields, there has been very little investigation done on
personality from an evolutionary perspective. So, for evaluation of such a
conjecture, a pilot appraisal had been accomplished to measure that: is there
basically any apparent affiliation between obsessive-compulsive traits and
social progression of persons?
Method and Material
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Four hundreds relatives, who have been
elected randomly among normal patrons of a general hospital, during a six
months period, have been questioned with reference to the existence of
obsessive-compulsive personality characters, in their highest and lowest
successful children, based on the inclusion criteria of Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition [1]. In this regard,
success was demarcated approximately as the “greatest attainable
accomplishment” in personal, social, occupational and educational aspects of
life, according to ‘their own values and standpoints’. Fathers, mothers or both
had been asked by a self-reply inquiry form, which involved the complete
obsessive-compulsive traits, itemized with distinct checkmark columns, for
their highest and lowest successful children. Moreover, it had been highlighted
for responders that such characterization of “success” could only be
admissible, when there was no any exterior or unavoidable factor accountable
for the triumph or defeat. The families with fewer than two children or
youngsters less than fourteen years old were omitted from the assessment. If
there were more than two children beyond fourteen years old, the parents were
requested to pick among them the highest and lowest successful ones, based on
their own judgment and individual sociocultural principles.
Statistical Analysis
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While data were analyzed by z test for
comparison of proportions, significance was demarcated as a p value equal to or
less than 0.05. MedCalc Statistical Software version 15.2 was used as
statistical software instrument for analysis.
Results
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Demographic features of the participants
have been shown in Table 1. Eight hundreds offspring, including 393 male and
403 female children, had been probed in the present assessment (z = -0.70, p
< 0.48, 95%CI = -0.06, 0.03) (Figure 1). In this regard, z test for
‘comparison of proportions’ did not display any gender-based significance
between highest (z = 0.56, p< =0.57, CI 95%=- 0.04, 0.08) and lowest
successful offspring (z = -1.55, p< 0.11, CI 95& = - 0.12, 0.01). In
keeping with the conclusions, and in comparison, with the lowest successful children,
all of the obsessive-compulsive traits, except than ‘stubbornness’, were
meaningfully more prevalent among the highest successful kids (Table 2) and
(Figure 2). ‘Perfectionism’ was the most prevalent peculiarity among successful
group of children, followed by ‘Rigidity regarding morality and ethics’,
‘Orderliness and devoting to details’ and ‘Devoting to work and avoiding
leisure’. By the way, ‘Obligating others to submit his or her style of
behavior’,’ Collecting objects and money’ and finally ‘Parsimoniousness’, too,
were the least widespread characters.
Discussion
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Over the last years, an increasing number
of studies have revealed individual variances in a specific behavioral feature
over time, between the same manners across different environmental conditions,
or relations between different behavioral characters. While such investigations
are indispensable for providing the material that will help us to generalize
the existence of behavioral or personality patterns across the world, they are
limited by their descriptive nature, and it is essential to transfer from this
descriptive phase of personality studies to the experimental study of the
ecological relevance and fitness consequences of personality variances [11,12].
In this regard, Reichborn-Kjennerud et al. [13] has recommended against
grouping obsessive personality within the anxious and fearful cluster C of
personality disorders, for the reason that it is much more heritable and
distinct from both the avoidant and dependent personalities. As
Reichborn-Kjennerud et al. [13] had stated, obsessive personality is truly
‘genotypically’ and ‘phenotypically’ distinct from its two counterparts,
because the avoidant personality and the dependent personality are ‘related to
the … higher-order factor’ of emotional dysregulation, while the obsessive
personality is related to ‘the lower-order trait of compulsivity’.
While nearly all etiologies assume OCPD
to be an environmentally instilled syndrome, a recent evolutionary etiology,
better accounting for prevalence rates and heritability estimates, ecologically
explains obsessive psychology as an adaptation to northern climates with express
seasonality, low population density, and low social complexity. So, the concept
of ‘phylogenetic inertia’, the decrease in fitness arising from incongruity
between past and present selective pressures, is applied by the researcher
[14]. This shows that how an evolved strategy could be mistaken for a
detrimental disorder by examining the misalignment between evolved obsessive
psychology and modernity’s demands for flexible attention, communion and
collaboration, openness and complexity. Hence, it seems that OCPD, evolved in
prehistory, remains adaptive in modernity and so phylogenetic inertia can only
be invoked as a metaphorical heuristic. According to some scholars, OCPD is
highly heritable and not ominously influenced by “common, shared-infamilies environmental
factors” [15].
Truly integrating heritability estimates
into a functional etiological account of obsessive character comes from an
evolutionary model that understands obsessive personality to be an evolved
strategy rather than a dysfunctional disorder. As a result, ‘obsessive
character’ or ‘obsessive personality’ is generally substituted for ‘Obsessive
Compulsive Personality Disorder’ because the latter is a smaller subset of the
former. Accordingly, the terms ‘obsessive character’ and ‘obsessive
personality’ are more inclusive, subsuming both clinical and non-clinical
exhibitions of the pattern. In this regard and consistent with the results of a
study, among two factors of OCPD, order/control (perfectionism, excessive
devotion to work, over-conscientiousness, reluctance to delegate, and rigidity)
and hoarding/indecision (inability to discard and indecisiveness), the
hoarding/indecision factor is familial and shows modest linkage to a region on
chromosome [16]. Then again, according to some scholars, OCPD was associated
with the ‘least overall functional impairment among the personality disorders
[17,18]; OCPD is the least pathological of the personality disorders and is not
associated with impaired autonomy or attachment problems as are many personality
disorders, such as borderline and avoidant personality [19]; OCPD is associated
with fewer comorbidities than most other personality disorders [20]; OCPD is
not associated with depressed global assessment of function (GAF) [21].
Perhaps most strikingly, obsessive
character is predictive of worldly success [22]. Specifically, obsessive
personality was found to be positively related to “high socio-economic status,
good income, and supervisory responsibilities at work, spacious living
conditions and home ownership” [23]; findings which are more or less in harmony
with the assumptions and conclusions of the present study. Conversely, scholars
like Soeteman et al. [24] had found OCPD to impose more of an overall economic
encumbrance than all other personality disorders with the single exception of
borderline personality. Likewise, some others like Diaconu and Turecki had
found that depressed patients exhibit more non-lethal suicidal behavior when
they carry a comorbid diagnosis of OCPD. While such declarations do not
correspond with the aforementioned outlooks, is should be considered that
Soeteman et al. [24] and Diaconu and Turecki had used samples that were quite
low functioning, and which were comprised of persons combining an assortment of
psychological difficulties from a variety of categories.
Rather than representing a specific
personality type, these participants most often evidenced symptoms from
multiple personality disorder categories, while also were carrying axis I
symptoms. Such participants were drawn exclusively from clinical populations,
who were receiving a combination of outpatient treatment, partial
hospitalization and inpatient care. Besides, obsessional patients should be
more socially conforming than the average person and less prone to risk taking
[25]. Nevertheless, evolutionary psychology should be construed to include all
inquiry that takes evolution into account, rather than as a subset of
evolutionary perspectives which leans solely on adaptationism. While any
explanation of human behavior should be grounded in biological evolution, this
does not, of course, mean that environment, culture, and context are any less
important to these analyses [26]. Small sample size, lack of exact operational
definition and valid measure for evaluation of personal and/or social success,
limitation of research to a middle-class urban area, lack of direct observation
and appraisal of the offspring and relying on parent’s subjective judgment were
among the weak points of this assessment. Further large practical randomized,
well-designed, appraisals are necessary to evaluate the evolutionary effects of
particular characters on civilization of human being.
Conclusion
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Obsessive-compulsive personality traits,
at a reasonable level, seem to be one of the main behavioral factors that may
help the person toward attainment of personal and/or social success.
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