A 34-year-old woman describes an ordinary work disagreement in highly theatrical, hyperbolic terms, dressed strikingly for the appointment, and repeatedly steers the conversation back toward whether you find her impressive. On closer contact her initial charm proves mixed with flirtatiousness and a degree of manipulativeness, and she becomes visibly upset when you glance at your notes rather than at her. What personality pattern is this?

This is histrionic personality disorder: self-dramatisation and theatrical, hyperbolic description of ordinary events, sexual provocativeness and egocentricity, an excessive demand for praise and approval, and an initial appearance of charm that on closer contact proves shallow and manipulative, together with marked sensitivity to any threat to the attention she depends on. It is not dependent personality disorder, which involves passively relying on others to take the initiative rather than actively and dramatically pursuing attention. It is not narcissistic personality disorder, where the central theme is grandiosity and a sense of entitlement rather than theatrical attention-seeking. And it is not borderline personality disorder, which centres on instability of identity, relationships, and affect rather than this pattern of dramatic self-presentation.