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 people, 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 similarity between them, in which some basic elements are shared. And from the field of psychology and psychiatry these types of personalities have been organized in what has come to be called personality clusters .

What does this concept refer to? What is a personality cluster? Let’s look at it throughout this article.

What is personality?

Before considering what is meant by the concept of personality cluster, it may be useful to briefly define the most important component of it: personality.

We call personality the pattern or set of behaviours, cognitions, emotions, perspectives and ways of seeing and interpreting reality and of relating to the environment and to ourselves that are habitual to us and that we tend to maintain in a relatively stable way over time and through situations throughout life.

Personality is defined throughout our growth and in the course of our life cycle, being shaped in part by our genes and based on 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 for some reason certain characteristics or ways of thinking or doing that, despite allowing 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 in us or around us certain dysfunctionality, discomfort and suffering.

This is the case for people with a personality disorder. It is with respect to this type of disorder that the three main types of personality clusters usually used have been developed, a concept that we will now define.

What is a personality cluster?

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

Thus, when we talk about a personality cluster we are referring to a grouping of several personality types that have some kind 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 a great deal of definition of their whole, so that the different categories are homogenised and encompassed around this 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, we are currently considering three large personality clusters, based on the type of behaviour pattern they usually manifest.

Cluster A: Rare-Eccentric

Cluster A includes the types of personality disorder 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 itself).

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

Cluster B: Unstable/Emotional-dramatic

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 a high emotionality, which is highly labile, and which tends to present a dramatic and sometimes theatrical behavior .

The presence of a lack of control over emotions and affections is commonly observed, as well as a certain distrust of others and/or their esteem. Within this group 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), which leads them to act in a way that diminishes it as much as possible. The axis or core of much of their behavior is the avoidance of that which is feared. Also there is usually a low tolerance to uncertainty .

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

A useful concept, but not as closed as it seems

The concept of a personality cluster, as regards at least the three commonly used types, was first used in 1980 with the DSM-III. This was carried out with the aim of making a grouping of personality disorders that would make it possible to classify the disorders in a simpler way, at the same time as promoting more research into this type of disorder.

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 specific problem may have in the day-to-day life of a subject.

However, although clustering can be very useful when it comes to establishing delimited categories between the different personality types, the fact is that the performance of different factor analyses does not consistently support that these clusters are always so watertight and separated 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.

Bibliographic 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. GALLEGO Forum. STUDY OF PERSONALITY. ADAMED.
  • Millon, D. (2007). Millon-III Multiaxial Clinical Inventory (MCMI-III). Professional Manual. Madrid, TEA Ediciones S.A.
  • Millon, T. (1997). Trastornos de la personalidad: DSM-IV y más allá. Nueva York: Wiley.