The author reports a survey of the clinical features used by
psychiatrists to diagnose personality disorders. The purpose was to develop
definitions of these disorders and to identify behavioral features that
could be used as diagnostic criteria. Psychiatrists rated trait and
behavioral items describing each disorder for the degree to which they were
prototypical of the disorder. Judgments of the prototypical quality of
traits and behaviors were found to be equally reliable. Given that
behavioral criteria require less inferential judgment, subsequent revisions
of criteria to assess personality disorders can employ behavioral criteria
in the expectation of improved reliability without loss of validity.Abstract Teaser