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Eight Personalities Types

Do you have trouble developing the characters in your fiction? Do they seem almost like cardboard people who lack life and depth?

It's really not that hard to GET REAL! There are basically eight types of people in this world. No, seriously. Of course, most of us share traits from several of the eight catagory types. The following is a brief description of the eight personality types in their extremes. I have found this resource helpful when I am creating my characters. You'll recognize all of them because you know people like this.

This information comes from Screenplay.com. Enjoy!

The Antisocial Personality

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others. Most significant is the substantial lack of remorse for the crimes that they commit. They also often exhibit an inability to control their violent impulses. They erupt without warning.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY:

They are often drawn to illegal professions.
They tend to be loners; they don't like to be associated with others.
They display a pervasive disregard for and violation of the rights of others.
They have a pattern for performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
They detest rules and regulations.
They proudly show a blatant disregard for societal norms, customs, and laws.
They are natural con men and deceive others constantly for both profit and pleasure.
They tend to lie and use aliases.
They tend to be very heedless and impulsive.
They are very irritable and aggressive, very prone to physical altercations.
They have a pronounced disregard for their own safety and also for that of others.
They are irresponsible; they do not honor their word.
They have difficulty in holding down a job.
They ignore financial obligations.
They are very unemotional; they have blunted affects.
They show a startling lack of remorse.
They tend to rationalize their hurtful treatment of others.
They rely on primitive defenses.
They fail to establish human attachments.
They show increased sensation seeking behavior.
They need sharper or more jolting experiences to feel anything.
They have an inability to articulate emotion.
They act instead of talk.
When they do feel, it's either blind rage or manic exhilaration.
They have a need for omnipotent power and control.
They have an absence of conscience.
They tend to brag about their crimes, but often feel ashamed of their misdemeanors.
They tend to burn out by middle age.
They act out - they don't think. They are slaves to impulse.
They equate normal emotions with weakness.
They have difficulty with abstract thought.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Charming. Articulate. Persuasive. Manipulative.

PROFESSIONS
Places of power. Politicians, crooks, financiers, gangsters, superheroes, detectives, cops.

DRESS
Flashy. Designer clothes. Dressed for success. The complete opposite can also hold true. They can be disheveled, unkempt, natty, soiled, and thoughtless in choice.

HEALTH
Premature death due to violence is typical. Wounds. Gunshots. Facial and head injuries. Drug and alcohol abuse. Sexual addictions. Sexual abuse as children is very common.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY:

Psycho.
Dimestore Detective.
Serial Killer.
Mass Murderer.
Gumshoe.
Man-With-No-Name.
Gunslinger.
Gun-for-Hire.
Mercenary.
Iconoclast.
Con man.
Avaricious.
Parsimonious.
Greedy.
Self-seeking.
Predatory.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY:

THE PARANOID PERSONALITY
THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY
THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY

The Histrionic Personality

A pervasive and excessive emotionality, theatricality, self-dramatization and attention-seeking behavior. Beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY:

A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking.
Their personalities frequently seem inauthentic and melodramatic.
Histrionic Personalities are usually unhappy or uncomfortable in situations where they are not the center of attention.
Their behavior is customarily categorized by flagrantly sexual, seductive, or provocative actions, no matter what the setting or specific interaction.
Histrionics consistently use their physical appearance - in particular their sexual allure - to draw attention to themselves.
They regularly view themselves as sex objects.
They tend to rely on their appearance for social acceptance.
The expression of emotions of the Histrionic is generally shallow, and equally often tends to shift rapidly.
They repeatedly become distracted or despondent when careful thought and consideration are required.
Histrionics are intensely theatrical and are prone to exaggerated, stagy expressions of emotions and self-dramatization.
Judgments are recurrently rash, harsh, and based on the visual.
They are easily swayed by the influence of others and by circumstance - they are highly suggestible.
They commonly consider - and treat - relationships as much more intimate than they may be.
Personal relationships are frequently arranged in triangles.
They often do not see themselves responsible for what happens to them.
They very likely suffer from disassociative episodes.
Common defenses: regression, denial, acting out.
There is a high propensity for role-playing.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Prone to florid exclamations, dramatics, and excessiveness. What it will generally lack is details and specifics.
PROFESSIONS
Oftentimes in entertainment, fashion, beauty, teaching, sales-or (to quote Blanche) professions are found with "the kindness of strangers." It would be extremely rare to find this type of personality as a surgeon, scientist, or CEO.
DRESS
A tendency to be flamboyant, flashy, loud, abrasive, and seductive. Jewelry, colors and design that bring attention are customarily worn. Notable examples are found in the characters of Blanche, Carly, Helen Sinclair, Aurora, Albin, Tina, Sally Bowles, Auntie Mame, and Dr. Frank N Furter. There is not a costume amongst them that does not feature a couture that captures the consistently fluctuating, almost ethereal nature of their personalities.
HEALTH
Consistently vocalized. Pains and woes are regularly mantras. Histrionics complain a great deal about bodily problems, women's problems, "the vapors", fainting, persistent concerns about weight, aging and appearance.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY:

A women's intuition.
A woman's right to change her mind.
Life of the party.
Bed Hopping.
Daddy's Little Girl.
The Diva.
The Drama-Queen.
The Tough Guy. The Macho Man.
The Femme.
The Stud.
Theatrical.
Melodramatic.
Artificial.
Overdone.
Fake.
Overwrought.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY:

THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY
THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY

The Paranoid Personality

A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE PARANOID PERSONALITY:

A consuming distrust and pervasive suspiciousness of others.
They tend to interpret the motives of others as malevolent.
They reflexively react with suspicion without any tangible basis that others are exploiting or deceiving them.
They are consumed with unsubstantiated doubts concerning the loyalty and trustworthiness of not only people with whom they work but with friends as well.
They are reluctant to confide in others.
They worry that any trust they give or confidence they share will be used maliciously against them.
They perceive demeaning or threatening nuances in the benign remarks of others or in neutral events.
They tenaciously hold onto grudges.
They do not forgive insults, injuries, or slights - even if they are the only ones who perceive them as such.
They are convinced that attacks and injurious slander are aimed at them and their reputations, though others may not see this.
They immediately react with anger and counterattacks to any slights, either covert or overt, that they perceive.
They are plagued with suspicions regarding the fidelity of their mates.
They have unwarranted and consistent feelings of being attacked.
They generally avoid intimacy.
They tend to isolate themselves.
They are ardently self-sufficient.
They tend to be very jealous.
They tend to be very fiercely argumentative.
They are hypervigilant of the words and deeds of others.
They tend to be very cold emotionally and seldom display warmth and tenderness.
They pride themselves in their rationality, objectivity, and the suppression of emotion - even if they are the only ones who think so.
They have difficulty with authority figures.
They often appear as uncompromising, stubborn, and defensive.
They are prone to being hostile.
They jealously guard their independence.
They seldom take responsibility for their own feelings but instead assign it to others.
They are constantly expecting to be attacked and exploited.
They externalize emotions and attribute their own motives and impulses onto others.
They are impressed with power and rank.
They hold those with less power and those who are weak in disdain.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARANOID PERSONALITY

SPEECH
Hyper-vigilante. Distrustful. Careful. Demonstrative. Can be soft spoken or loud and pushy to ward off feared attacks.
PROFESSIONS
Loners. Career military. Religious leaders. Hi-Tech. Engineers. Jobs not known for individualism. Jobs that are group affiliated. Jobs out of the public eye.
DRESS
Often subdued. Sometimes representing group affiliation. Oftentimes little emphasis on a desire to be individually recognized.
HEALTH
Hypocondriacal issues. Severe paranoia about health in general and specifics. Fatalistic view. Self-medication with substance abuse is common. Panic attacks with and without Agoraphobia. Phobias, sexual difficulties from stress inducing situations. Ejaculatory problems. Sleep disorders. Sleep terrors and nightmares.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE PARANOID PERSONALITY:

Vigilante.
Loner.
Skinhead.
Bigot.
Racist.
Computer Nerd.
Righteously corrupt.
Morally indignant.
Misfit.
Outcast.
Pariah.
Puritan.
Partisan.
Zealot.
Monomaniac.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE PARANOID PERSONALITY:

THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY
THE MASOCHISTIC PERSONALITY

The Narcissistic Personality

A pervasive self-centeredness - an all-encompassing grandiosity about themselves, their achievements, and their place in life. Along with this exalted self-centered behavior, there is also a discernible lack of empathy and a sense of entitlement that blinds them to all needs except their own. Beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY:

They tend to have active fantasy lives that revolve around their own grandiosity.
Their grandiosity bleeds into their behavior as well-they carry themselves in a grandiose way.
They display an unquenchable need for admiration.
They have a notable absence of empathy.
They have an overly inflated sense of self-importance.
They are preoccupied with dreams and fantasies of unlimited and unequaled power, beauty, intelligence, success, and idealized love.
They believe that they are special, a notch above all others.
They believe that they can only be truly appreciated and understood by other special people.
They only desire to associate with other special people, all others are beneath them and association with the latter would tarnish their luster.
They have a continual and insatiable need for admiration and praise.
They have a belief that they are intrinsically entitled to more than they've earned or deserve.
They tend to exploit any relationship that comes their way; no one is too sacred not to be used for the optimal benefit and betterment of the Narcissist.
They are unwilling to acknowledge the feelings or needs of others.
They tend to be obsessively envious of others and usually believe that others are covetous of all their possessions and attributes.
They tend to be arrogant.
They tend to be haughty.
They tend to be dismissive of anyone they deem as being of lower rank.
They tend to focus on themselves to an inordinate degree during conversations.
They tend to have fantasies of omnipotence.
They relentlessly pursue self-perfection.
Internally, they may feel phony and unlovable.
They secretly harbor fears of being weak, unworthy, insufficient or inferior.
They are often hiding feelings of shame.
They generally overestimate their own talents and attributes.
They tend to be highly judgmental.
They tend to be preoccupied with ranking-i.e., who is the richest, who is the biggest, etc.
They tend to hold themselves up to impossible standards and unrealistic ideals.
They may elevate chosen others to the rank of perfect and then identify with that idealized person and thereby inflate themselves through the association.
They direfully need others in their life, but their love for those others is shallow.
They expect special treatment.
They handle criticism poorly-they react with either rage or indifference. Narcissistic injury.
They are usually very ambitious.
They insist on having their own way.
Their relationships are tenuous.
They often refuse to obey conventional rules of behavior.
They are usually prone to depression.
They handle aging poorly.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Attention-seeking. A grandiose style. Self-centered in tone. Manipulative. Sarcastic. Often very technical and/or impressive use of words and phrases. For the sake of attention, it can also be the opposite grandiose-silent, clipped, wounded.
PROFESSIONS
Acting, politics, medicine, law. Center of attention. Top in field.
DRESS
Dressed to impress. Dress to make a statement. Dress to rebel. For sake of attention seeking may dress down to be noticed.
HEALTH
Due to the inability to express feelings, they often convert into physical ailments. Polar reactions occur: self obsessed about health or don't care. Substance abuse issues. Addictive difficulties. Unrealistic view of body leads to obsession with such things as plastic surgery, tension issues, migraines, gastrointestinal difficulties, and eating disorders.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY:

S.O.B.
Ice Princess.
Puppet Master.
Workaholic.
Snobs.
Egotist.
Diva.
Self-centered.
Entitled.
Schemer.
Self-anointed.
Arrogant.
Smart aleck.
Wise guy.
Conceited.
Insolent.
Brazen.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY:

THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY
THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY
THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY

The Borderline Personality

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulse behavior. Beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY:

They have consistent patterns of instability in their relationships.
They commonly complain of depression and boredom.
They have very little control over their impulses.
They have a fragile and unstable self-image and affect.
They exert a lot of energy avoiding abandonment, whether real or imaginary.
Their relationships tend to be intense and short-lived.
They alternately idealize and devalue others, particularly their mates.
They suffer from Identity Disturbance (a distorted or disturbed sense of self).
They are recklessly impulsive which can prove harmful to themselves and others (i.e., they are prone to substance abuse, binge-eating, shopping sprees, careless sex, etc.)
They are prone to indulging in suicidal gestures and threats.
They are prone to self-mutilation.
They have violent, eruptive mood swings.
They are very reactive; the slightest stimuli can send them into intense bouts of irritability, depression, anxiety, etc.
They experience feelings of chronic emptiness.
They cannot control their anger, and it is usually inappropriate and often quite intense.
They are prone to acting out physically (i.e., fighting).
They tend to be prone to paranoia.
They often have severe dissociative symptoms.
They make excessive emotional demands in close relationships.
They have difficulty tolerating ambivalence.
They have great difficulty with being alone.
They tend to be non-reflective.
They tend to lead chaotic lives.
They allow themselves to be used by others.
They may experience intermittent psychotic delusions.
They demand gratification.
They prefer action to verbalization and reflection.
Diagnosis is more common in females than in males.
They always seem to be in a state of crisis.
Their behavior is highly unpredictable.
They rarely live up to their potential (because their lives are too erratic).
They tend toward promiscuity in an attempt to circumvent being alone.
They place people in polar extremes, either all good or all bad.
They tend to dismiss complexity in theirs and others' personalities.
They tend to globalize and minimize; they tend to reduce to a single characteristic.
They don't have the capacity to defer gratification.
They don't feel that they have a problem-it's the only reality that they have ever known.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Usually will reflect the mood swings of the individual. When highly depressed-they will have flat, undefined speech that is global in nature. Non-specific in structure. With feelings of abandonment-they are loud, accusatory, and known to rage. When regressed-they are childlike. They can be manipulative in order to minimize abandonment issues. Sometimes they are psychotic in nature-with loose associations that don't relate. "The television is on, let's get married!"
PROFESSIONS
Difficulty with maintaining a professional life. Usually not reaching their potential. Artistic fields such as acting, painting, writing-jobs that are means to managing their mental stress and chronic boredom. Usually not found in scientific or engineering fields.
DRESS
Again, reflective of moods. Typical example: goes out shopping, bored with what they buy and returns it all the next day-or buys ten belts because they can't make up their mind. Flamboyant or overstated. Can manifest depression.
HEALTH
Hypocondriacal. Unreal views about body. Eating disorders. Hysterical conversions. Substance abuse. Sexual addictions. Self-mutilating.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY:

Moody.
The Live Wire.
The Short Fuse.
The Slut.
The Nut Case.
Unreliable.
Fly by night.
Capricious.
Treacherous.
Unbalanced.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY:

THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY
THE PARANOID PERSONALITY
THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY

The Obsessive-Compulsive Personality

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.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY:

They tend to be preoccupied with orderliness.
They will strive for perfection.
They have a need for intellectual, unemotional control.
They are often inflexible-stubborn.
They frequently lack spontaneity.
They tend not to be open or forthcoming.
They sometimes sacrifice efficiency for attention to the smallest and most insignificant of details.
They follow rules and schedules.
They are excessively devoted to work and productivity.
They allow themselves little or no time for friends and leisure activity.
They tend to be inflexible when it comes to proper behavior and moral conduct.
They may not be able to ever throw anything away, even if it holds no sentimental value.
They tend to be reluctant to delegate tasks but prefer to complete them themselves.
They view money as something that is to be hoarded in case of future calamities-they tend to be miserly.
They seldom display emotions. When emotions are displayed, anger is the most common. Anger is acceptable to them if it is justified; righteous indignation is therefor admired.
They tend to be rigid in both manner and appearance.
They have difficulty working with others.
They are overly disciplined.
They are highly non-adaptive.
They are dependable and reliable.
They succumb to ritualized behaviors.
They hold themselves up to impossibly high expectations, and they feel shame when they fall short.
They consider emotions and feelings to be weak, childish, disorganized, and messy.
They tend to convert emotional situations into intellectual situations.
They keep the aggressive, lustful, needy parts of themselves strictly in abeyance.
They tend to worry needlessly and a lot.
They do not make choices easily; difficult ones can paralyze them.
They tend to isolate-isolation is their favorite defense mechanism.
They are preoccupied with cleanliness and may exhibit an abject fear of contamination-and therefor a compulsion to wash.
They may have an obsession with doubt, and therefor a compulsion for checking.
They often have intrusive and unwanted thoughts. They have the desire to ignore or suppress such intrusive thoughts with actions.
They often have a childhood characterized by harsh discipline.
They tend to lack a sense of humor, taking everything seriously.
They tend to be unwilling or unable to compromise.
They tend to alienate people.
They are eager to please those that they perceive as being more powerful than they are.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Mechanistic. Factual. Logical. Rational. Unemotional. Non-spontaneous. Extremely articulate. Detail oriented. An often-rambling speech style.
PROFESSIONS
Oftentimes law, Hi-Tech, or research. It would be extremely rare to find this type of personality in jobs requiring creativity, intuitive action, or public and excessive social interaction.
DRESS
Often reflective of their secretive, tightly held personality. Colorless an non-specific in statement. Nothing that would draw attention to itself. Certainly nothing that would indicate a creative or expressive nature inside the individual.
HEALTH
General worrisome attitude about health. Clean. Fastidious.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY:

The Workaholic.
The WorryWart.
The Control Freak.
The Dark Cloud.
By The Books.
Penny Pincher.
Perfectionist.
Fussy.
Strict.
Demanding.
Scrupulous.
Exigent.
Difficult.
Hard to please.
Imperious.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY:

THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY
THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY

The Schizoid Personality

A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expressions and emotions with regard to interpersonal settings. Beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY:

They exhibit a pervasive need to detach from any social situation.
They tend to be loners with few close friends or confidantes (if they do have a friend, it is usually one close one).
They are usually not close to their families.
They are not joiners.
They tend to be unemotional, or at least undemonstrative.
Though they may be sexually functional and orgasmic, they tend to show very little interest in sex with other people, or, if they do, the sex tends to be perfunctory.
They tend to gravitate to solitary activities and pursuits.
They don't seem to take pleasure in any activities except for their solitary pursuits.
They are often perceived as being aloof, distant, or frigid.
They often appear to others as being eccentric, lonely, isolated.
They are not usually garrulous, and almost never volunteer personal information.
They seem indifferent to either the praise or the criticism of others.
They tend to be severely self-critical.
They seldom marry, or if they do, the union is usually passionless.
They exhibit discomfort in social situations.
They gravitate to jobs that are solitary and require little interaction with people.
They show little concern for the day to day lives of those around them.
They are usually unable to express anger directly.
They tend to invest a lot of their energy in non-human interests, such as academics and science.
They can become very fond of and deeply attached to animals.
They often find it difficult to maintain eye contact for very long periods.
They tend to be good at pursuits that involve theory, philosophy, or the arts.
They are usually non-confrontational and therefor usually seem passive.
They usually have a disregard and contempt for conventional social expectations.
They usually have a fear of being subsumed or obliterated by others.
They generally are much less fearful of abandonment than they are of being consumed.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Representative of isolation from society. Simplistic or highly evolved vocabulary-it lacks influence from society.
PROFESSIONS
Drawn to careers such as literature, art, and philosophy. Or on the other end of the spectrum, careers that require little human interaction such as computers, engineering, and mathematics.
DRESS
Eccentric, odd, non-compliant with societal norms. Not highly influenced by fashion.
HEALTH
Not particularly obsessed with matters of health. Absence of stress induced illnesses. Not particularly affected by stresses of the world.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY:

Weirdo.
Oddball.
Misfit.
Sensitive.
A Prodigy.
Stuck-up.
Snobbish.
Spinster.
Off-center.
Eccentric.
Leper.
Pariah.
Droll.
Duck.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY:

THE PARANOID PERSONALITY

The Masochistic Personality

An individual whose personality exhibits the need for suffering, complaining, self-damage, and self-deprecation.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE MASOCHISTIC PERSONALITY:

They tend to exhibit a depressive mood.
They tend to complain about being the victims of fate.
They tend to feel that malevolent people are somehow involved in their prosecution.
They usually have early childhood fears of rejection and abandonment.
They usually have sadistic tendencies, as sadistic and masochistic feelings are usually always linked. The guilt of having these sadistic feelings turns inwards to self-sadism, or masochism.
This personality usually emerges early in childhood.
They usually only feel gratified when they are victimized.
Their desire for punishment is usually subconscious.
They tend to manifest failure in their lives.
They are usually accident-prone.
They tend to find or place themselves in positions where disgrace is inevitable.
They seek out unhappy relationships, or derail the ones that are good.
They tend to be resistant to therapy; they don't want to give up their suffering.
They tend to undermine pleasurable experiences.
They seek out maltreatment, even when better options are presented.
They usually feel that they're unworthy of any good things that come their way.
They usually respond with guilt when things do go their way.
They tend to invite rejection, then feel hurt, defeat, or humiliation.
They tend to provoke others to anger.
They tend to self-sacrifice to a harmful degree, and this is usually unsolicited and discouraged by others.
They tend to avoid situations that would make them happy.
When they do enjoy themselves, they are reluctant to admit it.
They usually fail to complete tasks, even when they are able to, because that would mean success.
They tend to reject or ignore people who treat them well.
They tend to harbor a sense of moral triumph through self-imposed suffering.
They tend to believe that by enduring pain they're preventing some greater anguish (such as abandonment).
They tend to have constant sadness and unconscious guilt and may feel anger and resentment toward others for their torment.
They tend to store up and harp on injustices done to them, rather than to try and correct them.
They tend to feel that it's better to be beaten than untouched, abused rather than rejected.
Unlike Paranoid Personalities, Masochists need people around them to transfer their sadistic tendencies; they need victimizers in order to be victims.
They tend live in a state of dread. That people will observe their shortcomings and reject them.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MASOCHISTIC PERSONALITY:

SPEECH
Self-defeating. Self-deprecating. Abusive. Demeaning.
PROFESSIONS
Professions that may have a demoralizing stigma attached to them-such as prostitutes. Actors. Comedians. Subservient roles in business-such as secretaries that are overqualified for job and never leave.
DRESS
Similar to speech, it is self-deprecating. Not unusual to dress in a manner that will give credence to their belief that they are unattractive.
HEALTH
Their love of pain might create an over-exaggeration of symptoms. Constant health problems due to terrors of pleasure. Stress related illnesses. Headaches. Gastrointestinal. Back pain.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF MASOCHISTIC THE PERSONALITY:

The Stick-in-the-Mud
The Complainer.
The Punching Bag.
The Accident waiting to happen.
The Sourpuss.
The Crank.
The Grouser.
The Kvetch.
The Martyr.
The Zealot.
Doormats.
Weaklings.
Scapegoat.
Victim.
Sucker.
Dupe.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE MASOCHISTIC PERSONALITY:

THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY
THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY