Differentiate how the posttraumatic model and the sociocognitive model differ in their explanations of the causes of dissociative identity disorder (DID).Identify which view has been empirically supported and list several observations that have provided support for this view.

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The Answer is Answers will vary,but a full credit answer should contain the following points.
--According to the posttraumatic model (Gleaves,May,& Cardeña,2001;Ross,1997),DID arises from a history of severe abuse-physical,sexual,or both-during childhood.This abuse leads individuals to "compartmentalize" their identity into distinct alters as a means of coping with intense emotional pain.In this way,the person can feel as though the abuse happened to someone else.
--Advocates of the posttraumatic model claim that 90 percent or more of individuals with DID were severely abused in childhood (Gleaves,1996).Nevertheless,many studies that reported this association didn't check the accuracy of abuse claims against objective information,such as court records of abuse (Coons,Bowman,& Milstein,1988).Moreover,researchers haven't shown that early abuse is specific to DID,as it is present in many other disorders (Pope & Hudson,1992).These considerations don't exclude a role for early trauma in DID,but they suggest that researchers must conduct further controlled studies before drawing strong conclusions (Gleaves,1996;Gleaves et al. ,2001).
--According to advocates of the competing sociocognitive model (see Chapter 5),the claim that some people have hundreds of personalities is extraordinary,but the evidence for it is unconvincing (Giesbrecht et al. ,2008;Lilienfeld et al. ,1999;McHugh,1993;Merskey,1992;Spanos,1994,1996).According to this model,people's expectancies and beliefs-shaped by certain psychotherapeutic procedures (i.e. ,hypnosis,repeated prompting of alters),and cultural influences,rather than early traumas-account for the origin and maintenance of DID.
--Observations in support of latter view:

Differentiate How the Posttraumatic Model and the Sociocognitive Model Differ