What is "dissociation"

Dissociation \Dis*so`ci*a"tion\ (?; 106), n. [L. dissociatio: cf. F. dissociation.]

1. The act of dissociating or disuniting; a state of separation; disunion.

   It will add infinitely dissociation, distraction, and confusion of these confederate republics.
   --Burke.

2. (Chem.) The process by which a compound body breaks up into simpler constituents; -- said particularly of the action of heat on gaseous or volatile substances; as, the dissociation of the sulphur molecules; the dissociation of ammonium chloride into hydrochloric acid and ammonia.

1610s, from French dissociation, from Latin dissociationem (nominative dissociatio), noun of action from past participle stem of dissociare (see dissociate).

n. 1 The act of dissociate or disunite; a state of separation; disunion. 2 (context chemistry English) The process by which a compound body breaks up into simpler constituents; said particularly of the action of heat on gaseous or volatile substances.

1. n. the act of removing from association

2. a state in which some integrated part of a person's life becomes separated from the rest of the personality and functions independently [syn: disassociation]

3. (chemistry) the temporary or reversible process in which a molecule or ion is broken down into smaller molecules or ions

In psychology, the term dissociation describes a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis.

Dissociation is commonly displayed on a continuum. In mild cases, dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanisms in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress – including boredom or conflict. At the nonpathological end of the continuum, dissociation describes common events such as daydreaming while driving a vehicle. Further along the continuum are non-pathological altered states of consciousness.

More pathological dissociation involves dissociative disorders, including dissociative fugue and depersonalization disorder with or without alterations in personal identity or sense of self. These alterations can include: a sense that self or the world is unreal ( depersonalization and derealization); a loss of memory ( amnesia); forgetting identity or assuming a new self (fugue); and fragmentation of identity or self into separate streams of consciousness ( dissociative identity disorder, formerly termed multiple personality disorder) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dissociative disorders are sometimes triggered by trauma, but may be preceded only by stress, psychoactive substances, or no identifiable trigger at all. The ICD-10 classifies conversion disorder as a dissociative disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders groups all dissociative disorders into a single category.

Although some dissociative disruptions involve amnesia, other dissociative events do not. Dissociative disorders are typically experienced as startling, autonomous intrusions into the person's usual ways of responding or functioning. Due to their unexpected and largely inexplicable nature, they tend to be quite unsettling.

Dissociation in chemistry and biochemistry is a general process in which molecules (or ionic compounds such as salts, or complexes) separate or split into smaller particles such as atoms, ions or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. For instance, when an acid dissolves in water, a covalent bond between an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom is broken by heterolytic fission, which gives a proton (H) and a negative ion. Dissociation is the opposite of recombination.

In neuropsychology, dissociation involves identifying the neural substrate of a particular brain function through identification of case studies, neuroimaging, or neuropsychological testing.

Dissociation (in the wide sense of the word) is an act of disuniting or separating a complex object into parts. Dissociation may also refer to:

• Dissociation (chemistry), general process in which molecules or ionic compounds (complexes, or salts) split into smaller particles, usually in a reversible manner
• Dissociation (neuropsychology), identification of the neural substrate of a particular brain function through various methods
• Dissociation (psychology), an experience of having one's attention and emotions detached from the environment
• Dissociation (rhetoric), a rhetorical device in which the speaker separates a notion considered to form a unitary concept into two new notions to affect an audience in some way

Dissociation is a rhetorical device in which the speaker separates a notion considered by the audience to form a unitary concept into two new notions. Kathryn Olson, Director of the Rhetorical Leadership Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, explains that by doing this, the speaker fundamentally changes the reality of the thought system in question by creating a disjunction between what was an integrated concept to begin with. According to M.A. Van Rees, dissociation is a two step process of distinction and definition: distinction divides a single concept into two new notions for the audience and definition replaces the original term or concept with two new terms, each with their own definitions. This process is rhetorically effective when a rhetor presents a particular concept in a light that is favorable to the his/her interests by dissociating a term with any notions that do not serve the rhetor's purpose. According to Øyvind Ihlen, the rhetor attempts to "remove an incompatibility that arises from confrontation between propositions" to better affect an audience's beliefs. Defining a situation through dissociation, when done correctly, authoritatively declares the two resulting concepts distinct and rules out any further argument.