Jack Dawkins, 2017. Some updates in 2024.
(This is an expanded and updated version of my 2007 article, “Plurality and ‘Genius.'”)
Although there is little evidence to substantiate these claims, there is a pervasive myth that plural systems are more spiritually or intellectually endowed compared with singletons. Both these premises give me pause, and these stereotypes are ultimately harmful for plurals who are working out who they are. Neither mystical powers nor an extremely high intelligence are necessary conditions for being a valid plural system.
Spiritual powers
People have made out that plural systems have special, mystical powers time and again: there are anecdotal stories of systems doing things like magically switching out the lights, making toasters fly, channelling long-dead spirits, and doing other things associated with the supernatural or paranormal. There appears to be no evidence for an association between multiplicity and any of these phenomena—it is nothing more than a patently ridiculous stereotype.
The attribution of mystical powers to multiples has actually become a joke in some online plural circles. Well before our time, systems started to derisively call these abilities “toaster powers,” from the stereotype that we have the telekinetic power to send kitchen appliances flying across a room. I can assure you that none of us have made any toasters fly or caused the electricity to go out.
Some people may associate multiplicity with mystical powers because of a deep-set belief that having anything considered a mental illness or disability is shameful and there should be some sort of benefit to offset it. There are a few problems with this: firstly, it’s disablist to make out that people are less valuable because they experience something disabling; and secondly, plural systems who’ve learnt to cooperate can use their plurality for beneficial ends. A system isn’t more or less valid because of their belief in supernatural phenomena. Others may associate multiplicity with the numinous because they are wrongly thought to be more intelligent than average, and there are some who attribute “giftedness” (a word we despise) to spiritual, not merely intellectual, aptitudes. (See Intelligence section below.) And there exist other parallels, too: autistic people and those with intellectual disabilities are also associated with increased spiritual faculties.
People are entitled their own beliefs about supernatural phenomena, and it is not my place to determine their validity. But we must not issue an edict that to be validly multiple, a system must be predisposed to have mystical powers.
Intelligence
Extreme intelligence may seem a bit more prosaic than mystical spiritual powers, but it’s another attribute wrongly applied to plurals as a whole. It is common to claim that, based on observations of a limited population made by psychiatrists, multiples are on average inherently cleverer than singlets, and their system members were created because they were bright enough to come up with a creative coping mechanism in reaction to repeated traumas (most often sexual) that happened early in life. I ought to add a disclaimer that we are one of those systems. We were identified as highly intelligent at a young age (and were actually severely abused and bullied for it), have always had a creative streak, and experienced repeated incestuous child sexual abuse. But we are not representative of the plural community—not in the slightest.
For example, a study conducted in 1996 suggests that there is no statistically significant relationship between Dissociative Identity Disorder and measured intelligence. Of course, it’s imperfect. First, it’s an old study that’s nearly thirty years old, though it is difficult to find research on DID compared with other mental health conditions. Second, IQ tests are an imperfect tool to capture intelligence, especially when they have been plagued with bias and often include tasks that are related only tangentially to the core ability to reason, recognise patterns, and make sense of the world. Third, the study is limited to people receiving inpatient treatment. But if this study does reflect our community’s reality, then there isn’t any evidence supporting the idea that systems receiving treatment are substantially more intelligent than other people. A more recent study found that patients with dissociative disorders performed slightly worse on IQ tests. This study doesn’t distinguish between DID and other dissociative diagnoses, but it is still instructive. And as a member of the plural community for eighteen years, I have not noticed that multiples as a whole are brighter than singletons.
Many years ago, some of our friends and we discussed this stereotype and its possible origins. We concluded that the idea came from anecdotal evidence from therapists who saw mostly educated, white, middle- and upper-class women who could afford that kind of therapy. For example, Shirley “Sybil” Mason& was apparently crashingly clever. If therapists are primarily seeing educated clients, then they may draw the erroneous conclusion that intelligence is higher amongst trauma-based plural systems seeking treatment than people in other populations. I don’t think these therapists would arrive at the same conclusions if they worked at government-run mental hospitals or mental health agencies; they’d probably find a wider spectrum of intellectual ability.
As with the claims of metaphysical powers, I think some of these claims of high intelligence can also be put down to overcompensation and disablism. After all, if plural systems are brighter than nonplurals, doesn’t it make them more valuable in society? But placing the lives of the highly intelligent over others’ reeks of eugenics. Some of us may be apt learners, and others not so much—but we the lot of us are of equal value.
Concluding remarks
Regardless of the ridiculous stereotypes, extreme intelligence and magical ability are not a requirement to be a valid plural system. Multiplicity can arise regardless of intellectual faculties or spiritual attunement. There are plural systems who struggle to learn academic subjects, and there are multiples whose system-members are primarily atheists, agnostics, or other people with more materialistic views. The only requirements are that you perceive yourselves as having more than one self-perceiving entity in a body, no matter how you originated, how quickly you learn, or how connected to the supernatural you are.