Dissociality in personality disorder or personality difficulty

The core feature of the Dissociality trait domain is disregard for the rights and feelings of others, encompassing both self-centeredness and lack of empathy. Common manifestations of Dissociality, not all of which may be present in a given individual at a given time, include the following:

• Self-centeredness. Self-centeredness in individuals high on Dissociality is manifested in a sense of entitlement, believing and acting as if they deserve—without further justification—whatever they want, preferentially above what others may want or need, and that this ‘fact’ should be obvious to others. Self-centeredness can be manifested both actively/intentionally and passively/unintentionally. Active—and usually intentional—manifestations of self-centeredness include expectation of others’ admiration, attention-seeking behaviours to ensure being the center of others’ focus, and negative behaviours (e.g., anger, ‘temper tantrums,’ denigrating others) when the admiration and attention that the individual expects are not granted. Typically, such individuals believe that they have many admirable qualities, that their accomplishments are outstanding, that they have or will achieve greatness, and that others should admire them. Passive and unintentional manifestations of self-centeredness reflect a kind of obliviousness that other individuals matter as much as oneself. In this aspect of Dissociality, the individuals’ concern is with their own needs, desires, and comfort, and those of others simply are not considered.
• Lack of empathy. Lack of empathy is manifested as indifference to whether one’s actions inconvenience others or hurt them in any way (e.g., emotionally, socially, financially, physically, etc.). As a result, individuals high on Dissociality are often deceptive and manipulative, exploiting people and situations to get what they want and think they deserve. This may include being mean and physically aggressive. In the extreme, this aspect of Dissociality can be manifested as callousness with regard to others’ suffering, and ruthlessness in obtaining one’s goals, such that these individuals may be physically violent with little to no provocation and may even take pleasure in inflicting pain and harm. Note that this aspect of Dissociality does not necessarily imply that individuals high on Dissociality do not cognitively understand the feelings of others, only that they are not concerned about them and instead are likely to use this understanding to exploit others.