The Road to Research

My work in AP Research actually began almost a year prior, in AP Seminar. As part of the individual paper and presentation, I conducted a literature review on the effect of sound in films, and found a great interest in studying the film industry. So, when tasked with the "Topic Speed Dating" assignment over summer, I knew exactly where to start. I explored sources such as films and television shows, as well as studies within the industry. 

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This brought me to an intersection of ideas: psychology and film, at which point I began looking into anxiety disorders. I spent a couple of weeks determining how I could approach this area of interest, but later strayed from the idea, as I wasn't certain of the viability. This is how I landed on Dissociative Identity Disorder, abbreviated DID, and formerly known as multiple personality disorder. It is a major mental health condition referring to a person with two of more identities. DID was first discovered in 1791, and it is estimated that 115 million people have a current diagnosis. The real concern, however, is that approximately 35% of DID patients were treated for schizophrenia before receiving an accurate diagnosis. This is generally related to one of two factors: misinterpretation or misinformation, the later originating from media.

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That is where my project truthfully began, and I finally formed my research question: how accurate are the portrayals of Dissociative Identity Disorder in films from 1950 to 2022 as compared to relative and historical knowledge of the associated symptoms?