Multiplicity (psychology)

Multiplicity, also known as plurality,[1] is the psychological phenomenon in which a body can display multiple distinct personas.[2] This phenomenon can feature in identity disturbance, dissociative identity disorder, and other specified dissociative disorders, among other things. Some individuals describe their experience of multiplicity as a form of neurodiversity, rather than something that demands a diagnosis.[3][4] Since 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) no longer refers to "multiple personality disorder", favoring other terms.[5]

In a body that contains multiple personas, a "system" may associate behavior with each persona and switch among them.[3][6] Somebody who experiences multiplicity is described as a "multiple," while a person who does not experience multiplicity can be described as a "singlet".[2]

History

Throughout history, concepts of phantoms, muses, and fluid "selves" have been applied to this phenomenon.[7] This has been extended to concepts such as tulpamancy. Additionally, some individuals throughout history have stated that they had been taken over by a spirit, soul, or ghost.[4][8]

Plato described the soul ("psyche") as tripartite, calling them Logos (rationality), Eros (erotic love), and Thymus (desire).[8] According to Carter,[Who?] Shakespeare showed examples of this via characters such as Hamlet and Macbeth who had distinct personalities.[8] Carter claimed that Freud supported the notion of different personalities when he came up with the Id, Ego, and Superego, arguing that a split separates the conscious and unconscious mind.[8] Carl Jung proposed: "The many contains the unity of the one without losing the possibilities of the many."[9]

Carter says that Italian psychologist Roberto Assagioli developed psychosynthesis, and hypothesized that an individual may not be consciously aware of their many personae.[8] American psychologist John G. Watkins used hypnosis to bring out different personalities.[8]

Systems

Many people who experience multiplicity have a "system" of multiple, mostly-independent selves, each with a name, thoughts, emotions, behavioral patterns, preferences, and memories, along with a gender and sexual orientation.[10] An individual's personae can adopt different ages, including as children[11], sometimes called littles. They can be grouped into subsystems or families.[3] Favored terminology describes them as "members," "alters," or "resident persons". "Alter" has lost favor among the "plural" community[12] because it implies that some personae are not fully realized. One member can control behavior for some period. This is often referred to as "fronting".[13] "Switching" occurs when a different member begins to front.[14] This can happen voluntarily or involuntarily.[3]

Systems are developed throughout childhood from age 6 to around 9 due to extensive trauma. Amnesia separates these memories, and this barrier prevents the child from fully integrating its experiences into one persona. Instead the separate identities develop independently. Specific alters may not know what other alters do while fronting.

Within a system, a "main" host often lacks knowledge of past traumatic events. The main usually controls the body during quotidian activities.

Each system is unique when it comes to organization, depth and breadth of memory, and how much control they can exercise over switching. Many multiples use "we" instead of "I."[3]

Multiples may perform well in day-to-day life. Some people use multiplicity as a means of coping. Online communities and forums support multiples and provide fora for discussing unique experiences. A 2017 study estimated that around 200 to 300 people were part of these communities;[3] however, the online community is much larger.

Media portrayal

Movies may portray systems in a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde fashion, where the host struggles against an abusive alter ego. Multiplicity may be confused with borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and antisocial personality disorder, which are represented similarly as inherently violent or shameful. Multiples may want to depict their positive and negative experiences in a respectful and understanding way.

Changing the negative stereotypes of mentally ill/neurodiverse people into accurate representations may increase social support and access to care.[15] Multiplicity is part of a larger movement of self-determination and changing the way mental illness is portrayed in media.

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See also

References
  1. Mick Cooper, John Rowan (1999). The Plural Self: Multiplicity in Everyday Life. SAGE. ISBN 9780761960768.
  2. Ribáry, Gergő; Lajtai, László; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Maraz, Aniko (2017-06-13). "Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves". Frontiers in Psychology. 8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00938. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 5468408. PMID 28659840.
  3. Ribáry, Gergő; Lajtai, László; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Maraz, Aniko (13 June 2017). "Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves". Frontiers in Psychology. 8: 938. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00938. PMC 5468408. PMID 28659840.
  4. "Are Multiple Personalities Always a Disorder?". 2015-05-11.
  5. traumadissociation.com (2015-07-03). "Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Verhoeven, J. W. (2016-02-28). "Multiplicity (Spin Multiplicity)". IUPAC Standards Online. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  7. Telfer, Tori (2015-05-11). "Are Multiple Personalities Always a Disorder?". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  8. Carter, Rita (March 2008). Multiplicity: The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316115384.
  9. Michael Vannoy Adams (2008). "Multiplicity". The Cambridge Companion to Jung. Cambridge University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780521685009.
  10. Lester, David (2017-09-08), "Multiple Selves versus Meta-Preferences", On Multiple Selves, Routledge, pp. 43–46, ISBN 978-1-315-12562-6, retrieved 2020-07-20
  11. "Figure . Gross replacement rate including voluntary contributions from different ages". dx.doi.org. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  12. Albrecht, Gary L.; Devlieger, Patrick; van Hove, Geert (January 2008). "The experience of disability in plural societies". Alter. 2 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.alter.2007.09.002. ISSN 1875-0672.
  13. Author, Not Given (1968-10-01). "Operating and maintenance instructions for XE-1 test stand control system (TSCS) process system control subsystem". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "When The Night Begins". When the Night Begins. 2004-03-04. doi:10.5040/9780571292615.40000005.
  15. Aviram, Ron; Brodsky, Beth; Stanley, Barbara (September 2006). "Borderline Personality Disorder, Stigma, and Treatment Implications". Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 14 (5): 249–256. doi:10.1080/10673220600975121. ISSN 1067-3229. PMID 16990170.

Further reading
  • Ian Hacking (2000). What's Normal?: Narratives of Mental & Emotional Disorders. Kent State University Press. pp. 39–54. ISBN 9780873386531.
  • Jennifer Radden (2011). "Multiple Selves". The Oxford Handbook of the Self. Oxford Handbooks Online. pp. 547 et seq. ISBN 9780199548019.
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