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OCPD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. It is most simply described as having characteristics of rigidity and stubbornness, miserliness, and orderliness (being systematic and methodical). These tendencies are so ingrained that they interfere with health, happiness, and social/personal relationships. People who have the disorder often do not realise that there is anything unusual about their behaviour. They may even take considerable pleasure from their actions.
The disorder is not the same as OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, although there may be overlap in that people with OCD might display characteristics of the personality disorder.
OCPD was first formally described by Sigmund Freud in 1908 in similar terms to the above. He called it the 'Anal-retentive Personality' in line with his theory of psychosexual development.
This disorder is also known as Anankastic Personality Disorder but has variously also been known as compulsive personality, compulsive personality disorder, and anankastic personality.
The term 'anankastic' appears in the context of grammatical analysis. It refers to a 'conditional' construction along these lines: If Y, then X. Examples would be:
If you want to go to the movies with me, then you've got to change into something smart.
If I want to make sure I get full marks in my examination, then I have to learn every single thing that is known about the subject.
The effect of this mode of thinking is to place constraints on the individual and those around her/him, in that every action depends on a set of conditions being fulfilled.
However, in 1935, Lewis observed that OCPD traits are often found among patients who did not display obsessions. He offered a refinement to the concept of obsessional neurosis. He suggested two types of OCPD: one to do with negativity, stubbornness and irritability, the other to do with uncertainty.
According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM), OCPD is classified as a 'Cluster C' anxiety disorder. Fineberg et al (2007) (search for Fineberg then choose Does Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Belong Within the Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum? ) dispute the categorisation of OCPD as an Axis II anxiety disorder. They see OCPD as more appropriately alongside OC spectrum disorders including 'OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, compulsive hoarding, trichotillomania, compulsive skin-picking, tic disorders, autistic disorders, and eating disorders.'
The most recent edition of the DMS is DSM-TR-IV (2000). The DSM has this to say about OCPD:
“A pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
1) is preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost.
2) shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)
3) is excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)
4) is overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)
5) is unable to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value
6) is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things
7) adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes.
8) shows rigidity and stubbornness”
Left out are 'disinhibition' and a tendency to depression (70%) and a similarity to personality characteristics of Parkinson's patients.
Millon and Davis (1996, 2008) expressed the view that the obsessive-compulsive personality is a 'conflicted personality style' with traits that are in conflict with one another. The most significant of these conflicts is between obedience and defiance. This results in outward compliance but an unexpressed wish to defy constraint.
Frances, et al (1995, p. 378) offered this definition of OCPD:
perfectionistic, constricted, and excessively disciplined;
behaviorally rigid, formal, cool, distant, intellectualized, and detailed;
aggressive, competitive, and impatient;
driven with a chronic sense of time pressure and an inability to relax;
controlling of themselves, others, and situations;
indirect in their expression of anger although an apparent undercurrent of hostility is often present;
often inclined to hoard money and other possessions;
preoccupied with orderliness, neatness, and cleanliness; and
inflexible and stubborn in relationships.
One facet of OCPD that has received little attention in the literature is an observation by David Shapiro (1965). He wrote about the way people with OCPD tend, in their thinking, to focus intensely on a particular subject in the manner of some brain-damaged people. This gives them great powers of attention so that their concentration seldom wanders. This facilitates working on technical tasks or in occupations where concentration is essential. The downside to this is that they find it difficult to take a global view of a social situation. They are unable to take in the sweep with ease, but continue to focus on one aspect of a situation, forcing themselves to fight off distractions. They therefore find it hard to construe a social situation.
Shapiro also noted that people with this disorder are driven by a sense of autonomy that turns them into their own project managers. They are preoccupied with what they should do, and act on it. Last, he pointed to their fear of making mistakes and the impact on this on their sense of reality. They lack conviction about what to do in order to avoid making mistakes.
Benjamin (1993) describes individuals with OCPD as suffering from 'fear of making a mistake or being accused of being imperfect. The quest for order yields a baseline interpersonal position of blaming and inconsiderate control of others.'
Daniel (1996), in a Personal Construct Psychology study, noted similar traits and difficulty in construing social situations as a characteristic of a group of people with emotional problems who declined therapy or did not stay in therapy for long enough to resolve their issues. Similar to some people with OCPD, mostly they were contemptuous of the therapist or did not trust therapists to be adequately qualified and competent to deal with their own problems, so terminated therapy prematurely. Consistent with Shapiro's observations for OCPD, the therapy decliners in Daniel's study, when trying to interpret cartoon-style drawings of social situations, tended to focus on physical characteristics such as clothing or hair colour or how people positioned themselves in space. They were unable even to hazard a guess at what might be going on in terms of social interaction or to read the expressions on faces. In short, they appeared to have only a slender 'Theory of Mind', much as is found in Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. Their vocabulary was strongly marked by negativity and by epistemic/cognitive content, as though thinking itself was a preoccupation. Control and planning were key concerns, as were fears of getting things wrong and losing control. Like some OCPD individuals, they chose to distance themselves socially, suggesting schizotypal characteristics.
A second group, who returned repeatedly to therapy or counselling, when trying to interpret the cartoon-style drawings, focussed instead on eyes and mouths, seeking out apparent 'friendly' characteristics. Their main anxieties were to do with being 'awash' in life, while at the same time fearing being contained and controlled. They were in almost every regard the opposite of the therapy decliner group. A control group of people who had never felt the need for support and were judged to be 'robust', when viewing the drawings took in a wide range of detail and readily offered hypothetical 'stories' about the social interactions in the situation.
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