Janey Davies has been published online for over 8 years. She is the head writer for Shoppersbase.com, she also writes for AvecAgnes.co.uk, Ewawigs.com and has contributed to inside3DP.com. She has an Honours Degree in Psychology and her passions include learning about the mind, popular science and politics. When she is relaxing she likes to walk her dog, read science fiction and listen to Muse.
Hear the term brainwashing
and you might think of government agents ‘turning’ unwilling spies against
their own countries, or cult leaders using mind control to manipulate their
followers.
You might even go so far as to think of the term brainwashing in
relation to propaganda spread during the First and Second World Wars, in order
to influence vast amounts of people.
But what exactly is brainwashing and should we confine it to the
past?
What is brainwashing?
The term brainwashing was first coined in the 1950’s during the
Korean War. It was used to explain how totalitarian regimes were able to
completely indoctrinate American soldiers through a process of torture and
propaganda.
Brainwashing is the theory that a person’s core beliefs, ideas,
affiliations and values can be replaced, so much so that they have no autonomy
over themselves and cannot think critically or independently.
Who is likely to be brainwashed?
In the book and film ‘The
Manchurian Candidate’, a successful senator is captured by Korean
soldiers during the war and brainwashed into becoming a sleeper agent for them,
with the intent of assassinating the presidential candidate.
The film shows that even an intelligent and powerful man can be
brainwashed, but in truth, the opposite is more likely.
It is generally people
that are vulnerable in some way and are, therefore, susceptible
to a different way of thinking that are more likely to become brainwashed.
This could include people that have:
·
Lost their loved one
through divorce or death.
·
Been made redundant or
sacked from their job.
·
Been forced to live on
the streets (especially young people).
·
Are suffering from an
illness they cannot accept.
How can you be brainwashed?
The person who is trying to brainwash you will want to know
everything about you in order to manipulate your beliefs. They will want to
find out what your
strengths are, your weaknesses, who you trust, who is important
to you and who you listen to for advice.
They will then start the process of brainwashing you which
typically take five
steps:
1.
Isolation
2.
Attacks on self-esteem
3.
Us vs. Them
4.
Blind obedience
5.
Testing
Isolation:
The first step towards brainwashing begins with
isolation because having friends and family around you is dangerous to
them. The last thing a brainwasher wants is for someone with a different
opinion to theirs questioning what you are now being asked to believe. The
isolation could start in the form of not allowing access to family or friends
or constantly checking where someone is and who they are with.
Attacks on self-esteem:
A person who wants to brainwash another can only do so if their
victim is in a vulnerable
state and has low self-confidence. A broken person is much
easier to rebuild with the brainwasher’s beliefs. The brainwasher, therefore,
needs to break down the victim’s self-esteem, this
could be through sleep deprivation, verbal or physical abuse, embarrassment or
intimidation. A brainwasher will start to control everything about the victim’s
life, from food, the time they sleep to even using the bathroom.
Us vs. Them:
In order to break a person down and reshape them in a different
image, an alternative way of living must be introduced that is far more
attractive than their present one. This is usually achieved by the victim only
mixing with other people who have been brainwashed and will, therefore, praise
the new regime. Or it could be that everyone wears a kind of uniform, have a
set diet or other rigid rules that encourage a group dynamic. There is evidence
to suggest that humans are, by nature, tribal and want to be part of a group,
the brainwasher needs to convince their victim that they lead the elite group
that everyone wants to be in. A victim might also be given a new name, as in
the case of kidnapped Patty Hearst, later called Tania by her captors, who
eventually, after being brainwashed, sided with her kidnappers.
Blind obedience:
The end goal for a brainwasher is blind obedience,
where the victim follows orders without question. This is usually achieved by
positively rewarding the person when they please the brainwasher and negative
punishing them when they do not. Chanting a phrase over and over again is also
a good way of controlling a person. Not only is repeating the same phrase over
and over is a way of calming the brain, but studies have shown that the
‘analytical’ and the ‘repetitive’ parts of the brain are not interchangeable.
This means we can only do one or the other, so how better to stop those
doubting thoughts by chanting.
Testing:
A brainwasher can never think that his or her work is done, as
there are always scenarios where the victim could start to regain their own
autonomy and start thinking for themselves
again. Testing their victims not only shows that they are still brainwashed, it
allows the brainwashers to see just how much control they still have over their
victims. Tests could include committing a criminal act, such as robbing a store
or burglarizing a home.
Brainwashing is not just the stuff of fiction or the past, it is real and present in many
forms of today’s society.
There are things you can do to stop yourself from being
brainwashed:
·
Don’t believe all that
you read
·
Don’t believe the hype
·
Don’t buy into fear or
scare tactics
·
Watch for someone’s
agenda
·
Look out for
subliminal messages
·
Follow your own path
·
Do your own research
·
Listen to your own
intuition
·
Don’t follow the crowd
·
Don’t be afraid to be
different.
If you suspect someone you know has been brainwashed, get them
away from their brainwasher, put them in touch with a professional and support
them through the process.
Someone who has been brainwashed can recover, as research and
past studies have shown that brainwashing is a temporary condition at best and
leaves no lasting damage on a person’s psyche.