Multiple Identities & False Memories : A Sociocognitive Perspective

Multiple personality—the mysterious capture of the body by alien, unseen personalities, or "alters"—is the stuff of courtroom drama and the basis of riveting accounts like Sybil.

It's also a staple in horror movies, and that, according to Nicholas Spanos, is where it should stay. In Multiple Identities and False Memories, Spanos, one of the world's leading experts in the study of hypnosis, delivers a blistering rebuttal to long-held assumptions about multiple personality disorder (MPD) or dissociative identity disorder (DID). Written in a forceful, unapologetic style, and bolstered by a thorough examination of the relevant science, this book argues that MDP, or DID, is not a legitimate psychiatric disorder but a cultural construct, one with roots in earlier beliefs about demonic possession and upheld today by misguided psychotherapists and their patients. Multiple Identities is a vivid, scholarly statement on a subject that fascinates psychology professionals, sociologists, cultural critics, and lay readers alike. This softcover edition is a re-release of the 1996 hardcover edition.