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
