Lecture Outline:
- Origins of the Concept
- Empirical Research on Chinese Brainwashing
- Brainwashing and the Cults
- Assessing the Brainwashing Thesis
- On Line Resouces
- Suggested Readings
Part I: Origins of the Concept
Origins of the Concept
- Intelligence and World War II
- Chinese Thought Reform
- Coining the Term "Brainwashing"
- The Alleged Power of Brainwashing
Intelligence and World War II
- [Read Anthony & Robbins for this information]
Chinese Thought Reform
- Avowed Aims
- Creation of a "new man"
- Teaching Communist point of view on specific issues
- Implicit Aims
- Creation of obedient citizens
- Transformation of an entrenched bureaucracy
- Creation of ideological unanimity
Coining the Term "Brainwashing"
- During the Korean War a few American soldiers who were prisoners of war defected.
- The defections resulted from the Chinese utilizing the same methods of
"thought reform" they had used to coerce conformity among their own citizens.
- Edward Hunter, a British journalist , used the term "brainwashing" to
characterize this process in a book entitled Brainwashing in Red China (1951).
The Alleged Power of Brainwashing
- Hunter argued that the Chinese had developed powerful techniques of thought
reform that could:
- Alter beliefs
- Alter thought processes
- Alter consciousness
- Hunter alleged, these techniques were so powerful that they were virtually
irreversible.
The power of brainwashing is so great that it is:
- Irresistible
- Undetectable
- Irreversible
Brainwashing and popular culture
- Brainwashing seemed to have an intuitively self-evident and self-confirming
meaning that quickly caught on and became a part of popular culture.
- While many would assume that strong leaders should be able to
resist this pernicious process, the threat of being subjected to
brainwashing is ever present in many arenas of culture.
- Mass media helped to promote this sentiment.
Brainwashing and mass media
- This awesome view of brainwashing gained even greater
credibility in a highly acclaimed movie entitled The Manchurian
Candidate (1962)
Part II: Empirical Research on Chinese
Brainwashing
What is the evidence for this theory of brainwashing?
- After the Korean War the U.S. government commissioned four
independent studies of brainwashing. One was a secret study
conducted by the CIA and a second was never published.. We will
examine the two published studies authored by:
- Robert Lifton
- Edgar Schein
Summary of Lifton on "brainwashing:"
"Behind this web of semantic...confusion lies an image
of 'brainwashing' as an all-powerful, irresistible, unfathomable, and
magical method of achieving total control over the human mind. It is
of course none of these things, and this loose usage makes the word a
rallying point for fear, resentment, urges toward submission,
justification for failure, irresponsible accusations, and for a wide
gamut of emotional extremism. One must justly conclude that the term
has a far from precise and a questionable usefulness."
- Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (1961)
Lifton believes alteration of beliefs possible through
manipulation
- Thought reform is the
concept he uses to characterize this process.
Thought reform is effectively achieved only in an
environment of totalism
- Thought reform consists to two basic elements:
- Confession -- the exposure and renunciation of past and present "evil"; and
- re-education -- the
remaking of a man in the "communist" image
Attributes of a totalist environment according to Lifton:
- mileau control
- mystical manipulation
- demand for ideological purity
- cult of confession
- the "sacred science"
- loading the language
- doctrine over person
- dispensing of existence
Edgar Schein's Research
- Schein is a psychologist
- The title of his book is: Coercive Persuasion: A
Social-Psychological Analsis of the "Brainwashing" of American
Civilian Prisoners of the Chinese Communists (1961)
Summary of Schein's on "brainwashing:"
"The experiences of the prisoners did not fit
such a model [the image of brainwashing as an esoteric technique of
systematically destroying the mind]...hence we have abandoned the
term brainwashing and prefer to use the term coercive
persuasion...basically what happened to the prisoners was that
they were subjected to unusually intense and prolonged persuasion in
a situation from which they could not escape; that is, they
were coerced into allowing themselves to be persuaded..."
Coercive Persuasion (1961)
Other Government Research
- There were two additional studies of brainwashing conducted by the government.
- One by L.E. Hinkle, Jr & H.E. Wolff was secretly conducted
by the CIA, but a declassified paper was later published.
- The fourth investigation by Albert Bidermann was also
never published
Conclusions:
- The use of hypnosis or altered states of consciousness to
induce conformity is not supported.
- Aggressive propaganda combined with isolation, manipulated
peer pressure, torture or the threat of torture, and total
uncertainty concerning the future produced limited, but
temporary, behavioral conformity.
- Behavior compliance occurs in an environment of coercion or
"totalism".
- People are most likely to alter their views when presented
information consistent with their own value predispositions.
- While employed by the Chinese, these techniques were not found
to be inherently objectionable.
- There is no evidence to support the horrific model of
brainwashing suggested by Hunter.
- Nor is there any evidence to support the conclusion
that any government [U.S., Germany, Soviet Union or China] achieved their
research goals of inducing belief or behavioral modification.
Part III: Brainwashing and the Cults
Three Versions of Brainwashing
- The Vulgar Version
- The Neo-Vulgar Verson
- The Laundered Version
The Vulgar Version: Deprogramming
- Ted Partick is the father of deprogramming
- Deprogramming is a process of confrontation that
aims to break the faith of a person who has joined a group that is
disapproved of by the person(s) who pay the deprogrammer.
The Neo-Vulgar Version
- Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman are journalists whose
investigation of the youth involvement led to this book
- They claim to go beyond brainwashing, but their central thesis
closely parallels that of the proponents of brainwashing.
- There are people out there messing with minds in ways we
can scarcely understand...and something must be done.
The Laundered Version
- Margaret Thaler Singer
- Research Areas:
- Schizophrenia
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Family disorganization
- Occupation:
- Professional expert witness
Theory of Systematic Manipulation of Social and Psychological
Influence (SMSPI)
- Margaret Singer is the leading proponent of a seemingly more
sophisticated theory of brainwashing/mind control.
- Her most coherent theoretical statement is located in a
brief article on "Group Psychodynamics" which appears in The
Merck Manual.
- Singer locates her perspective in learning theory
and behavior modification theory
Four Models of Learning Behavior
- Observational Learning: modeling
- Classic Conditioning: Pavlovian stimulus-response
- Operant Conditioning: Skinnerian reinforcement
- Cognitive Social Learning: Inner experience of
thoughts, feelings, images
Methods of Persuasion or Techniques for Modifying Behavior and
Gaining Compliance
- Reason
- Coercion
- Subterfuge
Hierarchy of Socially Desirable Modification Techniques
- Singer views reason as the only desirable way to gain
compliance to change behavior.
- She postulates a heirarchy or continumn ranging from reason
to subterfuge.
- The modern cult, from her perspective, has developed much
more sophisticated and socially undesirable ways of modifying
behavior, namely subterfuge.
- Subterfuge, in this context, means using secret or
deceptive techniques of influence.
- To return to the name she gave her theory, those who use
subterfuge systematically manipulate the social and
psychological environment to acheive their objective of
influence.
Types of Behavior Modification
Reason ---------> Coercion ---------> Subterfuge
Part IV: Assessing the Brainwashing Thesis
Assessing the Brainwashing Thesis
- The Singer Thesis Examined
- Empirical Evidence
- Peer Assessment: The Scientific Community
- Legal Status
A. The Singer Thesis Examined
How is SMSPI Different from Old-Fashioned
Brainwashing?
- Here is Singer's definition of cults that appears in
The Merck Manual:
"....groups with religious, political, psychologic, and other
ideologies at their core...that use the techniques of thought
reform (intense indoctrination or resocialization, coercive
persuasion, brainwashing....i.e., the systematic manipulation of
social and psychological and psychological influence,
distinguished from other forms of social learning...."
There is a fundamental lack of correspondence between the
learning theory conceptualization and the definition.
- the definition asserts that a wide array of groups engage
in...
- this activity is variously identified as "thought reform,"
"coercive persuasion," "brainwashing," and SMSPI
- the nature of the activity is characterized as intense
indoctrination or resocialization
- indoctrination and resocialization are processes that occur in
many arenas of life
- the meaning of intense is unclear
- therefore, a cult is a group that is so labeled
by those who have the social power to apply the label
B. Empirical Evidence
- While claiming to have conducted hundreds of clinical
interviews, Singer has not published a single scientific paper
with empirical data.
- Nor have any other scholars produced empirical evidence to
support Singer's thesis.
- The absence of evidence notwithstanding, Singer spent many
years an an expert witness on behalf of the brainwashing thesis.
Psych Lit Survey Challenges Singer Claims
- Psychologist Perry London conducted a comprehensive data
base search of "Psych Lit" for the years (1974-89)
- The data base consisted of 1400 journals from 54 countries
in 29 languages
- London searched for citations using the concepts
"brainwashing," "coercive persuasion," "thought reform," "mind
control, " and "destructive cults."
- 50 references were located
- Only two [2] presented empirical data:
- one study refuted the "brainwashing" concept
- one supported, but did not contain a control
group
London's Conclusions:
- There is no research base to support the "robot"
theory of influence.
- There is a significant literature to support a theory of
"social influence."
- Social influence is a normal process of
everyday life. It occurs in every walk of life on a more or
less ongoing basis.
- Social influence is not to be equated with
"brainwashing" or any of the other concepts that Singer and her
confederates use to describe influence.
C. Peer Assessment
- Science advances by two critical steps:
- Independent replication of research findings
- Peer assessment
- How do peers assess Singer's ideas?
- At least four professional associations have
reviewed and found the brainwashing or thought reform thesis lacking in
scientific merit.
Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology
(BSERP)
- BSERP is the duly responsible board of the American
Psychological Association charged with responsibility for
oversight of ethical concerns and responsibility of its
members.
- At the encouragement of Singer and a few others, BSERP
appointed a Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of
Persuasion and Conrol. Singer was appointed to chair the
Task Force.
- BSERP not only found the report unacceptable, it
cautioned Task Force members not to distribute the report without
indicating that the report was unacceptable to the Board.
D. Legal Status
- In spite of the fact that peers have repeatedly rejected the
viability of the brainwashing thesis, Singer and her colleagues
continued to successfully present their views in courts.
- Up through 1988, Singer appeared as an expert witness in at
least 37 cases
- Her testimony was not always decisive, but she was always on
the winning side.
- Efforts to challenge the intellectual integrity of her theory
were not successful
The turning point came in a case in 1990 involving a person
on trial for grand larceny who attempted to blame Scientology (USA
v Fishman)
- Key expert witnesses for his defense were Margaret Singer
and Richard Ofshe
- Steven Fishman's defense to embezzlement charges was that
he has been brainwashed while affiliated with Scientology and
could not control his behavior.
- The government moved to exclude the testimony of Singer and
Ofshe on the grounds that their views did not represent the
consensual view of the scientific community.
- In a land mark ruling, the presiding judge
substantially agreed
Significance of Fishman Ruling
- A key strategy of the anti-cultists has been to persuade
ex-members to sue the group they left.
- The "brainwashing" suits were a deliberate strategy aimed
at destroying NRMs by keeping them tied up in legal battles.
- NRMs were forced to spend very significant sums of time and
money to defend themselves.
- In rejecting the "brainwashing" argument, the
courts effectively took away this effective attack strategy of the
anti-cultists.
Singer & Ofshe sue professional colleagues
- Singer and Ofshe have twice sued social scientists and
their professional organizations, claiming that they have been
wrongfully denied their right to make a gainful living.
- Both cases were thrown out of court.
- In the mean time, the Supreme Court has
overturned the "Fry principle" which has governed the admissability of
expert witness testimony in courts.
Part V: On Line Resources
- American Psychological Association
- Documents on Brainwashing Controversies On CESNUR site.
- Introvigne, Massimo
- "Brainwashing": Career of a Myth in the United
States and Europe. CESNUR
- Introvigne, Massimo
- "Liar, Liar": Brainwashing,
CESNUR and APA CESNUR
Part V: Suggested Readings
- Anthony, Dick. 1990.
- "Religious Movements and Brainwashing Litigation: Evaluating Key Testimony," in Thomas Robbins and Dick Anthony, eds., In Gods We Trust, 2nd ed. New Brunswick, NJ:
Transaction Books, 1990.pp 295-344.
- Ginsburg, Gerald and James Richardson. 1998.
- "'Brainwashing' Evidence in Light of Daubert: Science and Unpopular Religions" in Law
and Science1:265-288.
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Last modified: 02/13/01
