When you are creating your characters, the most memorable ones are always those with a strange quirkiness.The line between sanity and insanity is not always clear cut. If you think of characters in a Dickens' novel, such as Miss Haversham or Fagin, their madness was quite subtle. While it may be easier for society to label a person as insane, real life isn’t that black and white. You must remember this when creating your characters and inject shades of grey into their personalities.

There are six fundamental types of abnormal behavioural characteristics. These are: manics, depressives, paranoids, schizophrenics, psycho/sociopaths and neurotics. Just like the personality types (sensation, intuitive, thinking and feeling) in my previous article, a person will not fall completely into one of these categories. For example, a manic depressive will vary between the two and so on.  

Manics have total self-conviction; they trust they can accomplish totally anything they set their mind to. The majority of comic book style villains are manics. Manics are extremely sensitive and friendly, and get a thrill out of the chance to be dynamic. They aren't content with kicking back and giving things a chance to happen.

Depressives are the opposite; they feel like their life is useless and they can't accomplish anything. They withdraw from society in general and have a very bleak outlook on the future.

Schizophrenics are extremely alert. They are highly sensitive to remarks from others. They find it hard to mix socially and, because of this, they will do anything to avoid conflict. Instead, they prefer to remove themselves from the world. They become easily embarrassed and shy around others. Because of this, they try to avoid conflict, and instead they retreat to a quiet area to contemplate. In extreme cases, schizophrenics will imagine voices telling them how to behave, or develop multiple personalities.

Paranoids are extremely conceited, suspecting that everybody is out to get them. Having these feelings about everyone surrounding them, paranoid types tend to be defensive and hostile. Their self-centredness drives them to become power-hungry and leaders. They are cantankerous people who don't take well to feedback and hold long-standing grudges for the smallest reason.

Psycho/sociopaths - this pair of personality types are totally different and there is a clear distinction between the two. Sociopaths are introverted characters and very anti-social, they despise society and mankind in general. Psychopaths are comparative yet with a psychological unbalance, and this leads them to become heartless serial killers.They have zero compassion for individuals or animals. This personality type makes for the perfect villain in a novel because they are so intriguing and will have no feelings of regret when they are evil.They will never turn out to be balanced, ordinary characters.

Anxiety neurotics have a fear of everything and will overthink and worry over the tiniest issue. They will tell you they try to avoid anxiety while actually causing most of it themselves through needless panic. They will form behavioural characteristics like obsessive-compulsive disorders, and put a great deal of thought and grief into the smallest of things. 

Hopefully, this article has given you a clear understanding of the importance of character psychology. These are just points to keep in mind when creating the backstory for your characters and should not be your main focus. Knowing the psychology of your characters will enrich them and give them much more depth.