Multiplicity (subculture)

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Multiplicity, also called plurality or polypsychism, is an online subculture of people identifying as having or using multiple personalities, [1] [2] [3] or as having multiple people occupying one mind and body. Multiplicity communities mostly exist online through social media platforms. [3]

Contents

Definition

The coinage multiplicity describes people displaying or experiencing multiple personalities, selves, or identities in one mind and body, each with their own thoughts, emotional reactions, preferences, behavior, memory and sense of self. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [1] [ excessive citations ]

It commonly covers: [3] [9]

In contrast to dissociative identity disorder, the social movement of people who identify as "multiple" is under-researched. [1]

Resources dedicated to multiplicity started to appear early in the internet's history. [10] According to a member of the community interviewed by Vice Magazine, the multiplicity subculture and related vocabulary originated in mailing lists of the 1980s. [3] Playing video games has also been cited as a context in which people engage with multiplicity. [11]

Vice suggests that aspects of the online multiplicity community were also found in Haitian Vodou, spirit possession and the Tibetan practice of tulpamancy. [3] Nowadays, an online subculture dedicated to tulpamancy also exists, where practitioners willfully create and engage with tulpas which has been described as an online multiplicity space. [10]

Characteristics

Multiplicity communities exist online through social media blogging sites like LiveJournal, Tumblr, [12] [13] and more recently, TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube. [2] [14] Composing their members are "systems" of multiple distinct identities or personalities in the same body. Those identities are often called "headmates", "systemmates", and sometimes "alters", and can have different names, ages, genders, sexualities, and personalities from one another. [12] [15] [10] Some other jargon used within multiplicity communities includes:

Role as a support community

Participating in online multiplicity communities can remedy social isolation. [1] [14] Ribáry et al. found that for participants, adopting a plural identity helps them cope with identity disorders and that discovering the notion of multiplicity and participating in related communities "is helpful and therapeutic". [1] According to The Plural Association (a Netherlands-based nonprofit founded to "empower Plurals, no matter the words or labels they use to define their unique and individual experiences" [17] ), "Denying the existence of separate experiences can be harmful and may not facilitate healing. Acknowledging and respecting the multiplicity-plurality of individuals with DID is essential for promoting understanding, acceptance, and support." [18]

As a personality style

In personality research, the term plurality can also refer to personality style defined as "an individual's relatively consistent inclinations and preferences across contexts". [19]

Stephen E. Braude and Rita Carter use a different definition of personality style, defining "personality style" as "personality" and proposing that a person may have multiple selves and not have any relatively consistent inclinations and preferences in personality. This may happen as an adaptation to a change of environment and role within a person's life and may be consciously adopted or encouraged, in a similar way to acting or role-playing. [20] For example, a woman may adopt a kind, nurturing personality when dealing with her children but change to a more aggressive, forceful personality when going to work as a high-flying executive as her responsibilities change. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Dissociative identity disorder (DID), also known as multiple personality disorder, split personality disorder, or dissociative personality disorder, is a member of the family of dissociative disorders classified by the DSM-5, DSM-5-TR, ICD-10, ICD-11, and Merck Manual for diagnosis. It remains a controversial diagnosis.

In psychology and mental health, the host is the most prominent personality, state, or identity in someone who has dissociative identity disorder (DID). The other personalities, besides the host, are known as alter personalities, or just "alters". The host may or may not be the original personality, which is the personality a person is born with. Additionally, the host may or may not be the personality that coincides with the official legal name of the person. Often this is thought to be the root of the person's psyche, or at least a key figure for completion of therapy, whether or not it has integration of the host and alters as a goal.

Dissociation is a concept that has been developed over time and which concerns a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a false perception of reality as in psychosis.

<i>Sybil</i> (Schreiber book) 1973 book by Flora Rheta Schreiber

Sybil is a 1973 book by Flora Rheta Schreiber about the treatment of Sybil Dorsett for dissociative identity disorder by her psychoanalyst, Cornelia B. Wilbur.

Tulpa is a concept originally from Tibetan Buddhism and found in later traditions of mysticism and the paranormal of a materialized being or thought-form, typically in human form, that is created through spiritual practice and intense concentration. Modern practitioners, who call themselves "tulpamancers", use the term to refer to a type of willed imaginary friend which practitioners consider to be sentient and relatively independent. Modern practitioners predominantly consider tulpas to be a psychological rather than a paranormal concept. The idea became an important belief in Theosophy.

<i>Sybil</i> (1976 film) 1976 film directed by Daniel Petrie

Sybil is a 1976 two-part, 3+1⁄4-hour American made-for-television film starring Sally Field and Joanne Woodward. It is based on the book of the same name, and it was broadcast on NBC on November 14–15, 1976.

Multiple personality may refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morton Prince</span> American physician

Morton Henry Prince was an American physician who specialized in neurology and abnormal psychology, and was a leading force in establishing psychology as a clinical and academic discipline.

Dissociative disorders (DDs) are a range of conditions characterized by significant disruptions or fragmentation "in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior." Dissociative disorders involve involuntary dissociation as an unconscious defense mechanism, wherein the individual with a dissociative disorder experiences separation in these areas as a means to protect against traumatic stress. Some dissociative disorders are caused by major psychological trauma, though the onset of depersonalization-derealization disorder may be preceded by less severe stress, by the influence of psychoactive substances, or occur without any discernible trigger.

Multiplicity may refer to:

Nicholas Peter Spanos, was professor of psychology and director of the Laboratory for Experimental Hypnosis at Carleton University from 1975 to his death in a single engine plane crash on June 6, 1994. Spanos conducted multiple studies that challenged common beliefs. He tried to distinguish the difference between common beliefs about hypnosis and what was actually occurring. These studies conducted by Spanos led to the modern understanding that hypnosis is not an altered state and is actually suggested behaviors that the participant chooses to go along with or not. Along with this, Spanos conducted studies regarding dissociative identity disorder in which he stated that multiple personalities are not a product of trauma but are based on social norms.

<i>First Person Plural</i> 1999 psychology-related autobiography by Cameron West

First Person Plural: My Life As A Multiple is a psychology-related autobiography written by Cameron West, who developed dissociative identity disorder (DID) as a result of childhood sexual abuse. In it, West describes his diagnosis, treatment, and personal experiences.

The term plurality refers to a part of a whole which is greater than any other part, but not necessarily a majority. It can also refer to the state of being plural, i.e. as a synonym for multiplicity.

Otherkin are a subculture of people who identify as partially or entirely nonhuman. Some otherkin believe their identity derives from spiritual phenomena, ancestry, symbolism, or metaphor. Others attribute it to unusual psychology or neurodivergence and do not hold spiritual beliefs on the subject.

Fantasy-prone personality (FPP) is a disposition or personality trait in which a person experiences a lifelong, extensive, and deep involvement in fantasy. This disposition is an attempt, at least in part, to better describe "overactive imagination" or "living in a dream world". An individual with this trait may have difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality and may experience hallucinations, as well as self-suggested psychosomatic symptoms. Closely related psychological constructs include daydreaming, absorption and eidetic memory.

<i>Rewriting the Soul</i> 1995 book by Ian Hacking

Rewriting the Soul is a 1995 book by the Canadian philosopher Ian Hacking, who offers an account of the formative influences that shape people’s understandings of their lives and their understanding of the lives of those around them. Hacking's work is both a theoretical account of the concepts and modes of agentic engagement through which people encounter the world and make sense of themselves, and a psychological account of how minds relate to memories and the fragility of this relationship, especially in the lives of people exposed to extremes of suffering and cruelty. Through a study of the history and manifestations of multiple personality disorder, Hacking describes how people come to an understanding of their lives through their own memories and autobiographies. Hacking describes the shifting shared meanings that shape our memories and become the threads with which people weave their biographies.

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) is a nonprofit professional organization of health professionals and individuals who are interested in advancing the scientific and societal understandings of trauma-based disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, and the dissociative disorders.

Christine "Sally" Beauchamp was the pseudonym of a woman, actually named Clara Norton Fowler, studied by American neurologist Morton Prince between 1898 and 1904. She was one of the first persons diagnosed as having multiple personalities. Prince reported her case in his 1906 book-length description of her disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Vivet</span>

Louis Vivet was one of the first mental health patients to be diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, colloquially known as "multiple [or] split personalities." Within one year of his 1885 diagnosis, the term "multiple personality" appeared in psychological literature in direct reference to Vivet.

Maladaptive daydreaming, also called excessive daydreaming, is when an individual experiences excessive daydreaming that interferes with daily life. It is a proposed diagnosis of a disordered form of dissociative absorption, associated with excessive fantasy that is not recognized by any major medical or psychological criteria. Maladaptive daydreaming can result in distress, can replace human interaction and may interfere with normal functioning such as social life or work. Maladaptive daydreaming is not a widely recognized diagnosis and is not found in any major diagnostic manual of psychiatry or medicine. The term was coined in 2002 by Eli Somer of the University of Haifa. Somer's definition of the proposed condition is "extensive fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/or interferes with academic, interpersonal, or vocational functioning." There has been limited research outside of Somer's.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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: 938. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00938 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   5468408 . PMID   28659840.
  2. 1 2 3 Lucas, Jessica (6 July 2021). "Inside TikTok's booming dissociative identity disorder community". Input. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Telfer, Tori (2015-05-11). "Are Multiple Personalities Always a Disorder?". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  4. ↑ "Exploring the experiences of young people with multiplicity". Youth & Policy. 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  5. ↑ Eve, Zarah; Heyes, Kim; Parry, Sarah (2023-09-12). "Conceptualizing multiplicity spectrum experiences: A systematic review and thematic synthesis". Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2910 . ISSN   1063-3995.
  6. ↑ "Enacted Identities: Multiplicity, Plurality, and Tulpamancy | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  7. ↑ cooper, mick (1996). "MODES OF EXISTENCE: TOWARDS A PHENOMENOLOGICAL POLYPSYCHISM" (PDF). Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis. 7 (2): 1.
  8. ↑ Rowan, John, ed. (1999). The plural self: multiplicity in everyday life (1. publ ed.). London: Sage Publ. p. 2. ISBN   978-0-7619-6076-8.
  9. 1 2 3 "What we can learn about respect and identity from 'plurals' | Aeon Ideas". Aeon. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Enacted Identities: Multiplicity, Plurality, and Tulpamancy | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  11. ↑ "Multiplicity and Identity Mitigation in Video Games | Nightmare Mode [Archived]" . Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  12. 1 2 3 Riesman, Abraham (2019-03-29). "The Best Cartoonist You've Never Read Is Eight Different People". Vulture. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  13. ↑ https://www.lycoming.edu/schemata/pdfs/Sullivan.pdf
  14. 1 2 Styx, Lo (2022-01-27). "Teens Are Using TikTok to Diagnose Themselves With Dissociative Identity Disorder". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  15. ↑ Parry, Sarah; Eve, Zarah; Myers, Gemma (2022-07-21). "Exploring the Utility and Personal Relevance of Co-Produced Multiplicity Resources with Young People". Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. 15 (2): 427–439. doi:10.1007/s40653-021-00377-7. ISSN   1936-1521. PMC   9120276 . PMID   35600531.
  16. ↑ Stronghold (2023-04-18). "How they took the Multiple out of Multiplicity - Understanding the history". powertotheplurals.com. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  17. ↑ Stronghold. "TPA Nonprofit". powertotheplurals.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  18. ↑ Stronghold (2023-04-18). "How they took the Multiple out of Multiplicity - Understanding the history". powertotheplurals.com. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  19. ↑ Eriksen, Karen & Kress, Victoria E. (2005). "A Developmental, Constructivist Model for Ethical Assessment (Which Includes Diagnosis, of Course)". Beyond the DSM Story: Ethical Quandaries, Challenges, and Best Practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: Page Publications. ISBN   0-7619-3032-9
  20. ↑ Stephen E. Braude (1995), First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind, Rowman & Littlefield, p. 86, ISBN   9780847679966
  21. ↑ Carter, Rita (March 2008). Multiplicity: The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self. Little, Brown. ISBN   9780316115384.

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