Abstract
This study tested the correlations between Carter's (2008) Multiplicity Scale and the Plural Self Scale, which measures a similar concept of multiple self. 67 undergraduate students (17 men, 50 women; M age = 20.6 yr., SD = 2.3) completed Carter's Multiplicity Scale, Altrocchi's Plural Self Scale, the abbreviated Big Five Inventory and the Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale. Scores on the first two scales were only weakly associated with each other, but scores on both scales were positively associated with the Big Five Inventory's Neuroticism score. Scores on the first two scales were not associated with Tolerance for Ambiguity scores.
The notion that the mind can be conceptualized as a multiple self has a long history, recently reviewed by Lester (2010, 2012). In modern times, Andras Angyal (1965) proposed that the mind was composed of several subsystems, while Eric Berne (1961) argued that the mind was composed of three ego states, which he labeled Parent, Adult, and Child. Lester (2010, 2012) proposed a theory in which the mind is comprised of several subselves. Individuals differ in how they described their multiple selves, some using roles (myself as spouse, parent, or employee), others using moods (my depressed self and my happy self), while still others use labels such as inner critic and mediator (Lester, 2010).
Although many versions of a multiple self theory of the mind have been proposed, there have been few psychological inventories designed to measure this construct. Recently, Carter (2008) presented a multiple self theory of the mind along with a self-report inventory which was intended to measure whether individuals have the traits associated with a multiple self. In order to validate Carter's Multiplicity Scale, the present study was designed to explore its psychometric properties and correlates. It was hypothesized that positive correlations would be found between scores on Carter's Multiplicity Scale and Altrocchi's (1999) Plural Self Scale, and that scores on these scales would be associated with scores on the abbreviated Big Five Inventory (McManus & Furnham, 2004) and on the Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (McLain, 1993). The latter predictions are based on the idea that individuals who perceive themselves as having multiple selves have to live with ambiguity in their lives since their multiple selves might have different attitudes, emotions and aspirations. Furthermore, a trait such as Openness in the Big Five typology might be necessary to view oneself as having a multiple self.
Method
Participants
Undergraduate students (N = 67; 17 men, 50 women; M age = 20.6 yr., SD = 2.3) participated in the study. The participants were enrolled in a psychology course at a rural state college. The questionnaire was administered anonymously, and the participants were not recompensed. The study followed the rules established by the Institutional Review Board.
Measures
All participants completed the following four self-report scales:
Carter's (2008) Multiplicity Scale. This is a 20-item inventory that measures the multiplicity of the self with items such as: “Do you talk to yourself?” and “Do friends and acquaintances refer to events they claim to have shared with you which you cannot recall?” Items are answered on a 3-point scale: Never (0), Sometimes (1), or All the time (2). An examination of the item-total correlations indicated that two items did not correlate significantly with the total score, so these two items were discarded, leaving an 18-item scale (see Appendix) with a possible range of scores from 0–36. These 18 items had item-total correlations ranging from .32 to .71 (Mdn = .52). No previous reliability or validity studies of this scale have been carried out.
Altrocchi's (1999) Plural Self Scale. It is a 10-item inventory answered true/false, with a possible range of scores from 0–10. Typical items are: “People who know me well would say I'm pretty predictable” (reverse scored) and “I sometimes have conflicts over whether to be one kind of person or a different kind.” Altrocchi reported good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .90), and a test-retest reliability of .84 after one year.
The abbreviated Big Five Inventory (McManus & Furnham, 2006). This scale has three items for each of the five traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, answered on a five-point scale with anchors Strongly agree (5) and Strongly disagree (1). Possible scores range from 3 to 15. McManus and Furnham did not report validity studies of the inventory, although factor validity was excellent (Steiger, Kastner, Voracek, von Stumm, Chamorro-Prezumic, & Furnham, 2010). Cronbach's αs calculated by McManus and Furnham were modest (.52 to .54).
McLain's Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (McLain, 1993). It is a 22-item scale, answered on a 6-point scale with anchors Strongly agree (6) and Strongly disagree (1), with a range of possible scores from 22–132. A typical item is: “I try to avoid situations which are ambiguous.” McLain reported good concurrent validity with other measures of this construct, and factor analysis supported a single dimensional solution. No test-retest reliability was reported.
Results
Descriptive statistics and Cronbach's αs are presented in Table 1, with the matrix of correlations between the scale scores. The Pearson correlation between scores on Carter's Multiplicity Scale and Altrocchi's Plural Self Scale was .23 (df = 62, one-tailed p = .03, Cohen's d = 0.47), indicating that, although significantly associated, the two scales may be tapping different psychological traits. Scores on both of these scales were not significantly associated with the age or gender of the students.
Descriptive Statistics For Scale Scores and Correlation Matrix
p < .05.
p < .01.
For the abbreviated Big Five Inventory, scores on Carter's Multiplicity Scale were significantly associated with Neuroticism (r = .35, df = 64, two-tailed p = .005, Cohen's d = 0.75), while scores on Altrocchi's Plural Self Scale were significantly associated with Neuroticism (r = .29, df = 64, two-tailed p = .02, Cohen's d = 0.61) and Openness (r =.27, df = 64, two-tailed p = .03, Cohen's d = 0.56). Scores on Carter's Multiplicity Scale and Altrocchi's Plural Self Scale were not associated with tolerance for ambiguity scores (rs = .04 and −.09, respectively).
Discussion
The results of the present study indicate that the 18-item Carter Multiplicity Scale has good internal consistency. The hypothesis, however, was only partially supported since scores on Carter's scale had a weak association with scores on Altrocchi's Plural Self Scale, which purportedly measures a similar concept. This finding suggests that there may be several dimensions to the concept of a multiple self and that different scales to measure this trait may emphasize different dimensions. There is a need, therefore, for a study of a large pool of possible items in a large sample of participants to identify these dimensions.
Interestingly, the trait of tolerance for ambiguity was not associated with scores on Carter's and on Altrocchi's scales. Thus, having a multiple self does not appear to be associated with this personality trait. However, scores on both Carter's and Altrocchi's scales were positively associated with Neuroticism scores; perhaps having a multiple self may not be conducive to psychological health. On the other hand, the association of scores on Altrocchi's scale with Openness, as predicted, indicates some possible benefits.