Personality Organization

The Three Levels of Personality Organization 

Psychodynamic theorists propose that each of us have a level of personality organization, which are broken down into three levels. These levels give us a sense of how "healty" a person is regarding both inter- and intrapersonal functioning. Each level organization provides a picture of the person's psychological functioning. 

1) The Neurotic Level - The neurotic level is the healthiest level. A person has intact reality testing, which refers to the ability to differentiate between one's external and internal world. A person with this level of organization also has a consistent sense of self and others, and generally uses mature defense mechanisms. A sense of self and others refers to having a balanced understanding of ourselves, others, and of our relationships with others. To have a consistent sense of self and others means we can distinguish between ourself and others, meaning you know and understand your thoughts, feelings and experiences are unique and different than another person's thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Think of this as your self-identity. Defense mechanisms are ways we manage internal conflicts. In other words, these are our coping strategies. Some can be very healthy, while others can be very unhealthy. The more "mature" the defense mechanism, the more likely someone is able to function well within society. A person with a neurotic level of personality organization will be able to cope with stress in adaptive and healthy ways. 

2) The Borderline Level - The borderline level is apparent when reality testing is generally intact; however, there may be periods under stress in which reality testing may become impaired. This person oftentimes has a fragmented sense of self and others, meaning, they may not be able to appropriate differentiate between their own world, and the world of others around them. Someone with this level of organization often experience severe and repetitive relationships, and generally use primitive (unhealthy) defense mechanisms. This individual will have a very hard time coping with stress in an adaptive and healthy ways, and may even resort to using "splitting." Splitting is a defense mechanism consisting of polarized views of self and others. This manifests as a person idealizing, and then devaluing others, sometimes within a short period of time. 

3) The Psychotic Level - Don't be confused. This does not mean someone "is psychotic" or even has a diagnosable psychotic condition, although (s)he might! This level consists of individuals who do not have intact reality testing. They may be severely disorganized in their thought processes and functioning. Similarly to the borderline level, people with this level have an inconsistent sense of self and others. They will generally use immature defense mechanisms and do not cope with stress well. They often time cannot differentiate between their real experiences, and their own perceptions that they've made up in their own mind. 

In the diathesis-stress model of understanding mental illness, the level of personality organization is just one form of diathesis, meaning, it is an underlying predisposition for a disorder, and a person with that diathesis will be more likely than others to develop a disorder when faced with stress. Stress can be external, adverse environmental events, or it can be internal psychological events. It is the combination of BOTH the diathesis AND stress that some psychologists believe contribute to the development of a disorder.