Why is schizophrenia often confused with multiple personality disorder?

I've seen them mixed up many times both on television and in real life. They are two completely different disorders. In real life when I try to correct someone when they 'joke' about someone being schizophrenic, they tell me I am wrong, they are right and that people with schizophrenia think they are multiple people. I've even had teachers talk about schizophrenics when they mean to talk about people with multiple personality disorder.

Is it because they used to be considered the same disorder? Or is it that people get confused because sometimes schizophrenics think they are someone they are not (like a messenger of god), although they do not completely change personalities and think they are multiple people? I'm just wondering why people so often mix up these two disorders and whether there is an actual reason for it or if it is just because of ignorance on the subject.

This common misconception is founded on the idea that schizophrenia is interpreted as "split brain", split brain equals more than one personality. The original concept of schizophrenia, which comes from ancient times, has changed drastically and was founded on the observations that people would sometimes appear very rationally and even intelligently, but then suddenly be influenced by hallucinations and delusions and lack self care skills. This appeared to be a change in personality, like they were two different people. With more examination of personality and mental disorders it came to be known that people who appeared to have two personalities and people who were schizophrenic did not have similar symptoms. Multiple personality is not based on hallucination, delusions, or thought and memory problems. Multiple personality disorder is considered a special case of disorders by many and is likely to occur only in specific situations, as a means of protecting the self from psychological harm.

i think its because the way people who is suffering from schizophrenia acts are very similar to those who has multiple personality disorder. people who doesn't dig deep into these two disorders just mixes them up. it's pretty human nature like other things in life that are similar and u just can't mix those two up.
also how a schizophrenic acts when he/she believes theres a ghost for example in the room, the personality changes dramatically like those who is suffering from multiple personality disorders.

I think that happens when psychological terms become popularized and people don't really understand or have the correct understandings of the symptoms! I really think that this is what has happened to these two terms. Particularly after "The Rain Man" (Raymond); "Three Faces of Eve" etc.

I hear it all the time too. It's always from ignorant people who don't know much about either disorder. They are nothing alike. I think they get the whole "voices" thing confused. And you know the bumper stickers that say, "I'm here....and so am I" or something like that? That's a huge misrepresentation of schizophrenia. That's probably what misguides people. So...you're correct in the way you think. Keep correcting those people. Just look it up online if you don't have a psych text book. You will see that they are completely different.

They don't act similar. Someone who has dissociative personality disorder can have two or more actual personalities. It seems as though there is more than just one person. The other personalities can have different handwriting as well as completely different eye glass prescriptions. Seriously. Schizophrenic people suffer from hallucinations and delusions. They have problems with reality and have lacking emotional responses. People with DID do not.

And split brained people do not have schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. Split brained people have problems with the communication between their left and right brain. They act like children in their movement.