Plurality (psychology)

Plurality or multiplicity is the psychological phenomenon in which a body can feature multiple distinct or overlapping consciousnesses, each with their own degree of individuality. This phenomenon can feature in identity disturbance, dissociative identity disorder, and other specified dissociative disorders. Some individuals describe their experience of plurality as a form of neurodiversity, rather than something that demands a diagnosis.

Plurality exists in many forms, including in dissociative disorders, tulpamancy, spirituality, and other distinct states of being. The distinct consciousnesses are often termed "headmates", "alters", "parts", or "selves", with terms for a group of headmates including "system", "collective", and others. One who does not experience plurality is typically called a "singlet".

In personality research, plurality can also be referred to as a personality style defined as "an individual's relatively consistent inclinations and preferences across contexts".

It is said by journalists and experts in psychology that plurality is significantly under-researched and often misrepresented in the media, leading to widespread misunderstanding of and stigma towards those who identify as systems.

History

Throughout history, concepts of phantoms, muses, and fluid "selves" have been applied to this phenomenon. 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.

Plato described the soul ("psyche") as tripartite, calling the parts Logos (rationality), Eros (erotic love), and Thymus (desire). According to science writer Rita Carter, Shakespeare showed examples of this via characters such as Hamlet and Macbeth who had distinct personalities. 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. Carl Jung proposed: "The many contains the unity of the one without losing the possibilities of the many."

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

Terms

• Fronting: Fronting is when a given headmate or alter is in control of their body, also known as the front. The exact mechanics of how fronting works depends on the plural at hand, with some being able to have multiple headmates take control at once, whereas others are limited in that only one can. There may be headmates who are unable to front.
• Switching: Switching is the act of having another headmate take control over the body. This can take anywhere from a few seconds or minutes to a few hours, with the exact mechanics also varying between plurals.
• Headspace: Also known as an "innerworld", a headspace is a mental location where different headmates are able to interact with one another. They can appear similar to how a physical location does, and can be anything from a small room to a city to a forest. There will often be a location or object in the headspace to represent control of the front. Some plurals have a headspace which can be altered by a given headmate, while others may not even have a headspace to begin with.

Individuality

Different headmates, also known as "alters," may have different names, ages, genders, sexualities, and mental appearances from both one another and from their body. The discrepancy of mental appearances may cause individual headmates to feel gender dysphoria or phantom limbs. Some headmates may even identify as non-human. Others may be able to move between different ages randomly, dubbed "age-sliders".

Different headmates may request the usage of different names or different pronouns when addressing them. Others may want to use the collective name of their plurality. Different headmates may have different opinions, worldviews, desires, ideas, relationships, and perspectives from one another, with it being preferred by most pluralities to treat different headmates as different people.

Introjects

Plurals are capable of having headmates based on both fictional characters and real people. These are collectively known as introjects. The term for headmates based on a fictional character is fictive, while the term for headmates based on a real person is a factive.

Plurality in Personality Research

Stephen 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. 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.

See also

• Demonic possession#Medicine and psychology
• Hypostatic model of personality
• Personality style
• Subpersonality

Further reading

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

External links

• MoreThanOne.info, an information page on plurality

This article "Plurality (psychology)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Plurality (psychology). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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