The Utility of the Cognitive-Affective Processing System in the Diagnosis of Personality Disorders: Some Preliminary Evidence

Abstract

The Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS) suggests that personality is best understood as a collection of situationally consistent traits that are expressed contingent upon features of the situation that elicit them. This differs from the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, in which personality is believed to be composed of five broad trait domains that are observed consistently across multiple situations. In this study, 202 licensed members of a state psychological association assigned diagnoses to written case studies that were created out of situationally specific descriptions of Axis II criteria. The accuracy of these diagnoses were compared to case studies written from FFM trait descriptions representative of the same Axis II disorders (schizoid, narcissistic, and obsessive compulsive) and to case studies taken from published DSM case books. Results demonstrated that cases constructed with the CAPS descriptions yielded more accurate diagnoses in two of the three cases compared to FFM trait description cases and equivalent diagnostic accuracy when using the DSM-IV. Based on these initial findings, it appears that clinicians may be able to judge personality disorders better with situationally specific, or context-dependent, information than simple trait descriptions.