Does Multiple Personality Disorder Really Exist?
PS101 Position Paper: Does MPD Really Exist?
Imagine you're having a conversation with a friend who is a slender, attractive young woman. It's a casual chat about nothing in particular between friends. You take out a pack of cigarettes and immediately sense a change, your friend's body twitches slightly and her mannerism changes. Her shoulders square, she puts her feet flat on the floor and assumes an instinctively masculine pose. Placing her hands on her knees, she leans toward you, and says in a voice that has dropped two octaves, "Excuse me, ma'am. I really favor those cigarettes you have. Mind if I have one? I'd be most beholden to you." Your friend is gone and a strange man has popped in, literally. Again, you and your friend are walking from your car to a store, as you cross the parking lot her demeanor again abruptly changes. Her steps have become smaller, slower and clumsy as she grabs your hand and says, "This is a really big street with cars on it. We got to hold hands and look both ways." Your friend seems to have decreased 15 years in age as fast as a flip of a switch. You might think your friend is playing a prank on you because this seems like something you would see in a movie but in all actuality your friend is showing symptoms Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). You might be thinking is someone with this problem possessed? What causes it? Am I at risk? But most importantly, does Multiple Personality Disorder really exist? Multiple Personality Disorder is one of the most controversial of all psychiatric diagnoses and has had doctors and the public alike buzzing about its almost unrealistic symptoms. I believe that MPD is not a legit disorder and I will explain why in the following paragraphs. We will also consider how the general education literacy's; critical, civic, science and values relate to this topic.
MPD is a psychiatric disorder characterized by having at least one alternate personality that controls behavior at any
Imagine you're having a conversation with a friend who is a slender, attractive young woman. It's a casual chat about nothing in particular between friends. You take out a pack of cigarettes and immediately sense a change, your friend's body twitches slightly and her mannerism changes. Her shoulders square, she puts her feet flat on the floor and assumes an instinctively masculine pose. Placing her hands on her knees, she leans toward you, and says in a voice that has dropped two octaves, "Excuse me, ma'am. I really favor those cigarettes you have. Mind if I have one? I'd be most beholden to you." Your friend is gone and a strange man has popped in, literally. Again, you and your friend are walking from your car to a store, as you cross the parking lot her demeanor again abruptly changes. Her steps have become smaller, slower and clumsy as she grabs your hand and says, "This is a really big street with cars on it. We got to hold hands and look both ways." Your friend seems to have decreased 15 years in age as fast as a flip of a switch. You might think your friend is playing a prank on you because this seems like something you would see in a movie but in all actuality your friend is showing symptoms Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). You might be thinking is someone with this problem possessed? What causes it? Am I at risk? But most importantly, does Multiple Personality Disorder really exist? Multiple Personality Disorder is one of the most controversial of all psychiatric diagnoses and has had doctors and the public alike buzzing about its almost unrealistic symptoms. I believe that MPD is not a legit disorder and I will explain why in the following paragraphs. We will also consider how the general education literacy's; critical, civic, science and values relate to this topic.
MPD is a psychiatric disorder characterized by having at least one alternate personality that controls behavior at any
References: David G. Myers Psychology: Seventh Edition in Modules. New York, NY: Worth Publishing. 2004. Alejandra Swartz (Dec 10, 2001) "Dissociative Identity Disorder" retrieved Dec 1,2005 from: Http://allpsych.com 1999-2003, AllPsych and Heffner Media Group, Inc Rick Allen (Dec 2003) "Multiple Personality Disorder: Does it really exist?" retrieved Dec 1,2005 from: http://www.columbia-stmarys.org/110440.cfm 2005 EBSCO Publishing Dr. Paul R. McHugh (Jul 1, 1995) "Resolved: Multiple Personality Disorder is an individually and socially created artifact." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1995 Lippincott/Williams & Wilkins retrieved Dec 1, 2005 from http://www.highbeam.com F.W. Putnam (Jul 1, 1995) "Negative rebuttal: Putnam. (response to article by Paul R. McHugh, in this issue, p.962)" Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1995 Lippincott/Williams & Wilkins retrieved Dec 1, 2005 from http://www.highbeam.com http://www.aguidetopsychology.com "Personality" 1997-2005 Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D.