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Interpersonality Priming in People With Dissociative Identity Disorder?



Eich, E., Macaulay, D., Loewenstein, & Dihle, P.H. (1997). Memory, amnesia, and dissociative identity disorder. Psychological Science, 8, 417-422.

For Instructors

Links to the Lecture

Dissociative identity disorder is a controversial diagnosis. Ross, Miller, Reagor, Bjornson, et al. (1990) developed a questionnaire for the diagnosis of DID. Present the questionnaire to the class and discuss the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis. The criteria of amnesia is particularly relevant to discuss with this article.

    Ross, C.A., Miller, S. D., Reagor, P., Bjornson, L., et al. (1990). Structured interview data on 102 cases of multiple personality disorder from four centers. American Journal of Psychiatry,147, 596-601


PBS produced a 2-hour documentary on Kenneth Bianchi, the "Hillside Strangler" who attempted to use DID as a defence. Another PBS video on the brain included a powerful segment on a man with DID switching between identifies.

    Mind of a Murderer (PBS video, 120 min.).

    The Brain: Part 8: States of Consciousness (1984, PBS video, 58 min.).

This article also allows for a review of explicit versus implicit memory, linking with the topic of memory. Discuss how cognitive psychology can provide insights into psychological disorders.