PSYCH 212 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Derealization, Dsm-5
Psychology
Abnormality
Treatment
Classification & Assessment
DSM-5
Dissociative Disorders
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
● Characterized by feelings of being detached from
oneself (depersonalization) or world (derealization)
● During these experiences, reality testing remains
intact
○ Reality testing: Ability to determine what is
real and what is not
● Derealization commonly includes visual or auditory
distortions
○ Blurriness
○ widened/narrowed visual field
○ Altered size of objects
○ Muted or intensified wound, etc.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
● Existence of 2+ personalities (“alters”) in one
individual
● For each alter, the disruption in identity involves
drastic changes in:
○ Sense of self
○ Sense of agency
