The nosological background is outlined, with particular reference to the fifth edition of the American Psychological Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and the International Classification of Disease's eleventh iteration. Categorical diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder are critiqued. The question of what motivates people to engage with others, and how this may be lacking in antisocial individuals, is addressed. It is emphasised that to understand what people are like and why they behave the way they do, we need to look at both traits and values – the latter being goals that people find desirable and use as guides for their behaviour across different situations. The importance of motivation for an understanding of personality pathology is outlined in the context of a schema that re-describes PD in terms of an ‘approach vs withdrawal’ dimension that is fundamental to human motivation. Finally, the question ‘How does personality become pathological?’ is raised.