Order Effect

From Pluralpedia, the collaborative plurality dictionary


order effect ( n.)
Applies tosystems, system functions
CoinerFrank W. Putnam
OriginPsychiatric Term

Order Effect describes the unique impacts that fronting order has on headmates. It can be a large chain of fronters or a shorter succession of two or three. This includes, but not limited to:

  • Certain headmates not being able to be accessed without being proceeded by a specific headmate: headmates within subsystems, for example;[1]
  • Physiological differences, like "headmate A" showing increased heartrate when proceeded by "headmate B", but showing lowered heartrate when proceeded by "headmate C"[1];
  • Increased passive influence;
  • Altered appearance or behavior based on the previous fronter, especially headmates that do not have very defined traits, like fragments.
  • Certain headmates having a natural propensity to front after others, like in-system siblings.

History[edit | edit source]

"Order effect" is a term with multiple meanings in the context of psychology. It can refer to the structure of survey questions impacting answers[2], order of treatments given to a patient[3], and within specific conditions like Bipolar Disorder[1]. Its application to plurality was developed by Frank Putnam, hence the attribution to him.

Related Terms[edit | edit source]

Polyfragmented systems may be more likely to experience order effect, or systems experiencing rapid cycling episodes, but this is not well proven.[4]

Front requirements and stopovers may include or be related to order effects.

References[edit | edit source]