Multiplicity (psychology)

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

Plato described the soul ("psyche") as having three parts, calling them Logos (rationality), Eros (erotic love), and Thymus (desire).[8] According to Carter,^[Who?] Shakespeare showed examples of this in his works of literature; characters like Hamlet and Macbeth had distinct personalities that differed throughout their respective works.[8] Carter says that Freud supported the notion of different personalities when he came up with the Id, Ego, and Superego, arguing that there is a split in 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 an approach to psychology called psychosynthesis, and thought many personalities that an individual is not consciously aware of may be present.[8] American psychologist John G. Watkins used hypnosis to bring out different personalities, as a method to study those personalities.[8]

Many people who experience multiplicity have a "system" of multiple mostly-independent selves within the same physical body, each with their own name, thoughts, emotions, behavioral patterns, preferences, and memories, along with their own gender and sexual orientation. Members of a system can identify as different ages from the host, including as children sometimes called littles. The members can often be grouped into subsystems or families.[3] They are referred to as "members," "alters," or "resident persons". "Alter" is sometimes considered derogatory by the plural community because it implies the members of a system are not full people in their own right. One member takes control over the system's behaviors at a given time: this is known as "fronting". "Switching" occurs when a different member begins to front. It can happen voluntarily or involuntarily.[3]

Systems are developed throughout childhood before the ages of 6 to around 9 due to extensive trauma. Amnesia separates these memories at a young age, and this amnesia barrier prevents the identity of the child from fully integrating into one personality, so the separate identities develop by themselves to make up for this amnesia. Often, alters will not know what the others do while the other is fronting due to this amnesia that is meant to keep the body safe from further emotional harm.

Within a system, there is typically a "main" host, who is often the “part” without knowledge of traumatic past events. This host usually controls the actions of the body regarding day to day activities. . There can be other dominant members and members that remain dormant or choose not to front.

Each system is unique when it comes to organization, depth and breadth of memory, and how much they can control switching between their different members. Many multiples use the first-person plural pronoun "we" instead of first-person singular pronoun "I."[3]

Most multiples perform well in day-to-day life. Some people use multiplicity as a means of coping. Multiples have formed several online communities and forums to support each other and discuss their unique experiences. A 2017 psychology study estimated that around 200 to 300 people were part of these communities,[3] however the online community is much larger as multiples can find each other by browsing multiplicity-related hashtags on mainstream websites/apps such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram.

The current portrayal of multiplicity does not represent multiples realistically or diversely. Movies often portray systems in a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde fashion, where the host struggles against their abusive alter ego. Multiplicity is often confused with borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and antisocial personality disorder, which are represented similarly as inherently violent or shameful for one to have. Multiples want to depict both the positive and negative aspects of their experience in a respectful and understanding way.

Changing the perpetuated negative stereotypes of mentally ill/neurodiverse people into accurate representations is regarded as important due to the impact mental health stigma has on social support and the access to care that patients need.[10] Multiplicity representation is part of a larger movement of self-determination and changing the way mental way illness is portrayed in media.

• Hypostatic model of personality
• Subpersonality
• Multiple personality
• Tulpa#Tulpas in modern Western society

• 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.