Brainwashing and Cults
“I believe, Curmudge, that we are subjected to a degree of
brainwashing everywhere and all the time.
There was even an ad in the 3/03/14 Wall Street Journal for a workshop:
‘Learn How to Rewire People’s Purchase Behavior for Your Brand’s Advantage.’ “
“That’s subliminal marketing stuff, Julie. We’re going to stick with serious
attempts to impact people’s lives.
Here’s a useful
definition: ‘Mind control (brainwashing) refers to a process in which a
group or individual systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to
persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the
detriment of the person being manipulated,’ I first heard the term
‘brainwashing’ at the time of the Korean War. It was used by the Chinese on
American prisoners of war for interrogation and indoctrination. Former POWs were studied by Lifton
who identified these steps used in brainwashing: assault on identity, guilt,
self-betrayal, breaking point, leniency, compulsion to confess, channeling of
guilt, releasing of guilt, progress and harmony, final confession and rebirth.”
“Hey, Professor, I found another list. This one is by Biderman,
and it includes: isolation, monopolization of perception, induced debility
& exhaustion, threats, occasional indulgences, demonstrating omnipotence,
enforcing trivial demands, and degradation. You would suggest that one read the literature to get the
details, but it doesn’t take much imagination to figure them out. They all sound pretty bad. I understand that some U.S. servicemen
receive training
on resisting these techniques; I’ll bet that’s no picnic.”
“It seems to me that tactics used to recruit people to join
a cult have some elements in common with the brainwashing of POWs. These are six sociological characteristics
of cults: (1) authoritarian leadership, (2) exclusivism, (3) isolationism,
(4) opposition to independent thinking, (5) fear of being ‘disfellowshipped,’
(6) threats of satanic attack. Another list of
characteristics, including brainwashing of new inductees, provides more
details.”
“I feel almost as bad for people who become entangled in a
cult as I feel for a POW. In both cases it’s difficult—if not
impossible—to leave.”
“And
in both cases, Julie, the end result might be death. With cults, the most tragic examples were Jonestown in
Guyana (1978) and the Branch
Davidian compound near Waco, Texas (1993).”
“Okay,
Old Man, what’s next on our list of ways by which people‘s minds can be
influenced?”
“It has been—and might still be—controversial, Julie. It’s called repressed or recovered
memory. Here’s the problem: Some
psychotherapists have felt that long-forgotten memories of long-ago events are
recovered accurately. A common
example is a woman (usually) who ‘remembers,’ in the course of therapy, that
she was abused as a child. However,
experimental neuroscientists have learned that these ‘recovered’ memories are
not always true. In fact, these
memories can be constructions of expectations and suggestions in poorly managed
therapy. One can readily envision
the consequences to a family when recovered memories lead to accusations and
even legal action.”
“As you suggested, Old Guy, I have been reading the
literature. Elizabeth
Loftus’s TED talk
and a separate
article describe how she has proven that people can experience false
memories. Books by Loftus (1) and
Pendergrast (2) provide excellent discussions of the recovered memory
debate. Recent research with mice
has shown that memories can be implanted
and removed
from mouse brains.”
“And all along, Julie, I thought that memory removal
occurred automatically when one got old.”
“It’s my perception, Herr
Lehrer, that you know a bit more about this topic than you have
shared. For example, I think I
understand why you included false memory in this posting. It’s because if a therapist’s patient
panel consisted mostly of women who believe they have recovered memories, it
might resemble a cult. If that were the case, what would you suggest if the
therapist advised her patients to take legal action against their parents based
solely on their so-called recovered memories?”
“The therapist would certainly risk a malpractice suit. And as a penalty, I would propose loss
of license, stoning, and putting her head in the stocks.”
“Sounds a bit draconian, Chief, but appropriate.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
(1)
Loftus, Elizabeth and Ketcham,
Katherine The Myth of
Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse (1996). (Available from Amazon).
(2) Pendergrast,
Mark. Victims of Memory: Incest Accusations
and Shattered Lives (Upper Access, 1995). (Available from Amazon).
Link to posting from blog archives: Lean Lessons from Long Ago
2/25/10
http://kaizencurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2010/02/lean-lessons-from-long-ago.html
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