Personality Quizzes

Be modest! It is the kind of pride least likely to offend -- Jules Renard

Let's begin with the good news. A person with Histrionic Personality Disorder will always be noticed. Beginning in early adulthood these individuals would display a "pervasive and excessive emotional and attention-seeking behavior" (DSM IV, 1996, p. 655). They must be the center of attention and will do dramatic and conspicuous things to remain the focus of any group in which they find themselves. They can, at first, appear very appealing to others. They are lively, enthusiastic and have strong opinions - or so it seems. This begins to wear thin because there is no substance supporting their opinions and the larger-than-life behaviors become tiresome. This can be extremely wearing on relationships. They are often provocative and seductive in appearance and behavior.

They make up approximately 2% to 3% of the general population and 10% to 15% of psychiatric outpatients. If you begin to look around in the mall, airports or anyplace where people are en masse, you may learn to recognize these flamboyant folks. Recently, I saw a man with a very large, striking tropical bird perched on his shoulder walking down a busy city street. He may not meet the full criteria for Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD), however he definitely received lots of stares. OK, I will admit it, I was fascinated too. Human beings are programmed to notice the unusual. It is part of our survival system, honed by tens of thousands of years of evolution. That explains a great deal about our fascination with rock groups and professional wrestlers.

Histrionic folks may become an embarrassment to friends, because they can be emotional at inappropriate times. In addition, their emotional outbursts may appear shallow and overdone to others.

You will see the personality and belief patterns of a person with Histrionic Personality Disorder in the following test. To meet the criteria set by the DSM IV they should have had these symptoms since early adulthood and the symptoms must be present in a variety of situations. The symptoms must cause marked distress for the individual, annoying their friends is not enough.

Mark each question with a "Y" for yes and an "N" for no and find your total in the summaries below.

• March 17, 2010, 7:21 am - Zeetia Thanking you for this extremely informative site.