R
80-578: [REDACTED] Look up elective in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Elective may refer to: Choice , the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them Elective course in education Elective (medical) , a period of study forming part of a medical degree In medical procedures, planned interventions, as opposed to emergency care Elective surgery An adjective for election Elective monarchy ,
160-643: A task force called the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC) to investigate whether brainwashing or coercive persuasion did indeed control cults members. The Task Force concluded that: Cults and large group awareness trainings have generated considerable controversy because of their widespread use of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control. These techniques can compromise individual freedom, and their use has resulted in serious harm to thousands of individuals and families. This report reviews
240-484: A "popular misconception". The report concludes that "exhaustive research of several government agencies failed to reveal even one conclusively documented case of 'brainwashing' of an American prisoner of war in Korea." The concept of brainwashing has been raised in defense of criminal charges. The 1969 to 1971 case of Charles Manson , who was said to have brainwashed his followers to commit murder and other crimes, brought
320-454: A GPA of 2.5, whereas Candidate S had experience of 10 KY programs and a GPA of 3.9. The results showed that in joint evaluation both candidates received roughly the same starting salary from subjects, who apparently thought a low GPA but high experience was approximately equal to a high GPA but low experience. However, in the separate evaluation, subjects paid Candidate S, the one with the high GPA, substantially more money. The explanation for this
400-498: A Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? , describes the religious conversion process to the Unification Church (whose members are sometimes informally referred to as Moonies ), which had been one of the best-known groups said to practice brainwashing. Barker spent close to seven years studying Unification Church members and wrote that she rejects the "brainwashing" theory because it does not explain why many people attended
480-625: A U.S. Army officer who specialized in military intelligence and psychological warfare during the Second World War and the Korean War) depict brainwashing to remove memories of traumatic events as a normal and benign part of future medical practice. Brainwashing remains an important theme in science fiction. A subgenre is corporate mind control , in which a future society is run by one or more business corporations that dominate society, using advertising and mass media to control
560-749: A chart copied from a 1957 Air Force study of "Chinese Communist" brainwashing techniques used to elicit false confessions from American POWs during the Korean War. The report showed how the Secretary of Defense's 2002 authorization of the aggressive techniques at Guantánamo led to their use in Afghanistan and in Iraq , including at Abu Ghraib . In 1983, the American Psychological Association (APA) asked Singer to chair
640-435: A choice to avoid experiencing regret. Further research has expanded on choice overload , suggesting that there is a paradox of choice . As increasing options are available, three problems emerge. First, there is the issue of gaining adequate information about the choices in order to make a decision. Second, having more choices leads to an escalation of expectation. When there are increased options, people's standards for what
720-576: A choice with excessively numerous options may lead to confusion, reduced satisfaction, regret of the alternatives not taken, and indifference in an unstructured existence; and the illusion that choosing an object or a course, necessarily leads to the control of that object or course, can cause psychological problems. One can distinguish four or five main types of decisions, although they can be expressed in different ways. Brian Tracy breaks them down into: A fifth type, however, (or fourth if "avoided" and "no-brainer" decisions are combined as one type),
800-514: A common theme in popular culture especially in war stories , thrillers , and science fiction stories. In casual speech, "brainwashing" and its verb form, "brainwash", are used figuratively to describe the use of propaganda to sway public opinion . The Chinese term xǐnǎo ( traditional Chinese : 洗腦 ; simplified Chinese : 洗脑 lit. ' wash brain ' ) was originally used by early 20th century Chinese intellectuals to refer to modernizing one's way of thinking. The term
880-610: A felony. Her attorney, F. Lee Bailey , argued in her trial that she should not be held responsible for her actions since her treatment by her captors was the equivalent of the alleged brainwashing of Korean War POWs (see also Diminished responsibility ). Bailey developed his case in conjunction with psychiatrist Louis Jolyon West and psychologist Margaret Singer . They had both studied the experiences of Korean War POWs. (In 1996, Singer published her theories in her best-selling book Cults in Our Midst . ) Despite this defense, Hearst
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#1732783785342960-468: A higher propensity to purchase a product from a larger choice set compared to a smaller one.Currently, the effect of choice set size on the probability of a purchase is unclear. In some cases, large choice set sizes discourage individuals from making a choice and in other cases it either encourages them or has no effect. One study compared the allure of more choice to the tyranny of too much choice. Individuals went virtual shopping in different stores that had
1040-614: A highly evaluable attribute is the SAT score. It is widely known in the United States that an SAT score below 800 is very bad while an SAT score above 1500 is exceptionally good. Because the distribution of scores on this attribute is relatively well known it is a highly evaluable attribute. Compare the SAT score to a poorly evaluable attribute, such as the number of hours spent doing homework. Most employers would not know what 10,000 hours spent doing homework means because they have no idea of
1120-482: A larger increase in negative mood. On the other hand, people who refrain from taking better choices through drugs or other forms of escapism tend to be much happier in life. Others say that there is never too much choice and that there is a difference between happiness and satisfaction: a person who tries to find better decisions will often be dissatisfied, but not necessarily unhappy since his attempts at finding better choices did improve his lifestyle (even if it wasn't
1200-518: A monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Elective . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elective&oldid=1161030863 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1280-463: A new mind into that resulting void", was not so successful. Controversial psychiatrist Colin A. Ross claims that the CIA was successful in creating programmable so-called " Manchurian Candidates " even at the time. The CIA experiments using various psychedelic drugs such as LSD and Mescaline drew from previous Nazi human experimentation . In 1979, John D. Marks wrote in his book The Search for
1360-542: A person to exploit this individual for sexual and financial reasons. Earlier scientific debates in the 1980s and 1990s about torture-based ritual abuse in cults was known as " satanic ritual abuse ," which was mainly viewed as a " moral panic ." Brain-Washing: A Synthesis of the Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics published by the Church of Scientology in 1955 about brainwashing. L. Ron Hubbard authored
1440-452: A person's concept of self-identity or associated values. A 2014 review of previous studies on choice investigated how synchronic (changing) and diachronic (persisting) identity can influence choices and decisions that an individual makes and especially in consumer choices . The synchronic dimension of identity is more about the various parts of an identity and how these shifting aspects can change behavior. The diachronic dimension of identity
1520-478: A randomly determined set of choices ranging from 4 to 16, with some being good choices and some being bad. Researchers found a stronger effect for the allure of more choice. However, they speculate that due to random assignment of number of choices and goodness of those choices, many of the shops with fewer choices included zero or only one option that was reasonably good, which may have made it easier to make an acceptable choice when more options were available. There
1600-477: A recruitment meeting and did not become members nor why so many members voluntarily disaffiliate or leave groups. James Richardson said that if the new religious movements had access to powerful brainwashing techniques, one would expect that they would have high growth rates, yet in fact, most have not had notable success in recruiting or retaining members. For this and other reasons, sociologists of religion including David Bromley and Anson Shupe consider
1680-446: A significant role in how individuals deal with large choice set sizes. Psychologists have developed a personality test that determines where an individual lies on the satisfier spectrum. A maximizer is one who always seeks the very best option from a choice set, and may anguish after the choice is made as to whether it was indeed the best. Satisfiers may set high standards but are content with a good choice, and place less priority on making
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#17327837853421760-735: A society where people are frequently confronted with choice. One study found that maximizers reported significantly less life satisfaction , happiness, optimism, and self-esteem, and significantly more regret and depression, than did satisfiers. In regards to buying products, maximizers were less satisfied with consumer decisions and were more regretful. They were also more likely to engage in social comparison, where they analyze their relative social standing among their peers, and to be more affected by social comparisons in which others appeared to be in higher standing than them. For example, maximizers who saw their peer solve puzzles faster than themselves expressed greater doubt about their own abilities and showed
1840-483: A stronger preference for retaining the ability to revise choices. Additionally, after making a choice to buy a poster, satisfiers offered higher ratings of their chosen poster and lower ratings of the rejected alternatives. Maximizers, however, were less likely to change their impressions of the posters after making their choice which left them less satisfied with their decision. Maximizers are less happy in life, perhaps due to their obsession with making optimal choices in
1920-417: Is an acceptable outcome rise; in other words, choice "spoils you." Third, with many options available, people may come to believe they are to blame for an unacceptable result because with so many choices, they should have been able to pick the best one. If there is one choice available, and it ends up being disappointing, the world can be held accountable. When there are many options and the choice that one makes
2000-460: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models . Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or artificially restricted choice can lead to discomfort with choosing, and possibly an unsatisfactory outcome. In contrast,
2080-447: Is disappointing, the individual is responsible. However, a recent meta-analysis of the literature on choice overload calls such studies into question. In many cases, researchers have found no effect of choice set size on people's beliefs, feelings, and behavior. Indeed, overall, the effect of "too many options" is minimal at best. While it might be expected that it is preferable to keep one's options open, research has shown that having
2160-399: Is how a person’s identity persists and is the same and how they understand an object in relation to their identity. They found that stereotypes in concepts like gender norms play a big role in decision-making and that this might stem from significant historical beliefs in gender roles and identity. As part of his thinking on choiceless awareness , Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) pointed out
2240-546: Is improved by presenting the smaller or simpler choices first, and by choosing and promoting sensible default options. Certain choices, as personal preferences, can be central to expressing one's concept of self-identity or values. In general, the more utilitarian an item, the less the choice says about a person's self-concept. Purely functional items, such as a fire extinguisher , may be chosen solely for function alone, but non-functional items, such as music, clothing fashions, or home decorations, may instead be chosen to express
2320-433: Is only given a single option. The canonical example is a hiring decision made about two candidates being hired for a programming job. Subjects in an experiment were asked to give a starting salary to two candidates, Candidate J and Candidate S. However, some viewed both candidates at the same time (joint evaluation), whereas others only viewed one candidate (separate evaluation). Candidate J had experience of 70 KY programs, and
2400-589: Is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values, and beliefs. The term "brainwashing" was first used in English by Edward Hunter in 1950 to describe how the Chinese government appeared to make people cooperate with them during the Korean War . Research into
2480-559: Is some evidence that while greater choice has the potential to improve a person's welfare, sometimes there is such a thing as too much choice. For example, in one experiment involving a choice of free soda, individuals explicitly requested to choose from six as opposed to 24 sodas, where the only benefit from the smaller choice set would be to reduce the cognitive burden of the choice. A recent study supports this research, finding that human services workers indicated preferences for scenarios with limited options over extensive-options scenarios. As
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2560-563: Is susceptible to such manipulation. Benjamin Zablocki , late professor of sociology at Rutgers University said that the number of people who attest to brainwashing in interviews (performed in accordance with guidelines of the National Institute of Mental Health and National Science Foundation ) is too large to result from anything other than a genuine phenomenon. He said that in the two most prestigious journals dedicated to
2640-456: Is that KY programs is an attribute that is difficult to evaluate and thus people cannot base their judgment on this attribute in separate evaluation. Several research studies in economic psychology have concentrated on examining the variations in individual behavior when confronted with a low versus high choice set size, which refers to the number of available options. A particular area of interest lies in determining whether individuals demonstrate
2720-438: Is the collaborative decision, made in consultation with, and by agreement of others. Collaborative Decision Making revolutionized air-traffic safety by not deferring to the captain when a lesser crew-member becomes aware of a problem. Another way of looking at decisions focuses on the thought mechanism used - whether the decision is: Recognizing that "type" is an imprecise term, an alternate way to classify types of choices
2800-659: Is to look at outcomes and the impacted entity. For example, using this approach three types of choices might be: Or politicians may choose to support or oppose options based on local, national, or international effects. As a moral principle , decisions should be made by those most affected by the decision, but this is not normally applied to persons in jail, who might likely make a decision other than to remain in jail. Robert Gates cited this principle in allowing photographs of returning war-dead. One can distinguish between conscious and unconscious choice. Processes such as brainwashing or other influencing strategies may have
2880-816: The United Nations NGO, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), prompted international awareness of human sex trafficking in her 1979 book Female Sexual Slavery . In his 1986 book Woman Abuse: Facts Replacing Myths, Lewis Okun reported that: "Kathleen Barry shows in Female Sexual Slavery that forced female prostitution involves coercive control practices very similar to thought reform." In their 1996 book, Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and
2960-459: The War on Terrorism , concluding that, in this context, thought reform was possible without violence or physical coercion. He also pointed out that in their efforts against terrorism, Western governments were also using some alleged mind control techniques. In her 2004 popular science book, Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control , neuroscientist and physiologist Kathleen Taylor reviewed
3040-399: The best decision he will continually try to incrementally improve the decisions he takes). Choice architecture is the process of encouraging people to make good choices through grouping and ordering the decisions in a way that maximizes successful choices and minimizes the number of people who become so overwhelmed by complexity that they abandon the attempt to choose. Generally, success
3120-607: The sociology of religion there have been no articles "supporting the brainwashing perspective," while over one hundred such articles have been published in other journals "marginal to the field." He concluded that the concept of brainwashing had been blacklisted . Eileen Barker criticized the concept of brainwashing because it functioned to justify costly interventions such as deprogramming or exit counseling. She has also criticized some mental health professionals, including Singer, for accepting expert witness jobs in court cases involving NRMs. Barker's 1984 book, The Making of
3200-661: The 1970s, reported on what he called " Nazi brainwashing" of the people of Belarus by the occupying Germans during the Second World War , which took place through both mass propaganda and intense re-education, especially in schools. Romanovsky noted that very soon, most people had adopted the Nazi view that the Jews were an inferior race and were closely tied to the Soviet government, views that had not been at all common before
3280-479: The 1980s there was a wave of 'brainwashing' claims, and then parliaments around the world examined the issue, courts around the world examined the issue, and reached a clear ruling: That there is no such thing as cults…that the people making these claims are often not experts on the issue. And in the end courts, including in Israel, rejected expert witnesses who claimed there is "brainwashing." For 20 years, starting in
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3360-624: The Chinese subjected them to brainwashing techniques during their imprisonment. The U.S. military and government laid charges of brainwashing in an effort to undermine confessions made by POWs to war crimes, including biological warfare . After Chinese radio broadcasts claimed to quote Frank Schwable , Chief of Staff of the First Marine Air Wing admitting to participating in germ warfare, United Nations commander General Mark W. Clark asserted: "Whether these statements ever passed
3440-572: The Church of Scientology had practiced brainwashing on him, which left him unsuitable to make independent decisions. The court ruled that the use of brainwashing theories is inadmissible in expert witnesses, citing the Frye standard , which states that scientific theories utilized by expert witnesses must be generally accepted in their respective fields. Since then, United States courts have consistently rejected testimony about mind control or brainwashing on
3520-519: The German occupation. Italy has had controversy over the concept of plagio , a crime consisting in an absolute psychological—and eventually physical—domination of a person. The effect is said to be the annihilation of the subject's freedom and self-determination and the consequent negation of his or her personality . The crime of plagio has rarely been prosecuted in Italy, and only one person
3600-760: The Manchurian Candidate that until the MKUltra program was effectively terminated in 1963, the agency's researchers had found no reliable way to brainwash another person, as all experiments at some stage always ended in either amnesia or catatonia, making any operational use impossible. A bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report, released in part in December 2008 and in full in April 2009, reported that U.S. military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 had based an interrogation class on
3680-641: The Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China , was based on this research.) Lifton found that when the POWs returned to the United States their thinking soon returned to normal, contrary to the popular image of "brainwashing." In 1956, after reexamining the concept of brainwashing following the Korean War, the U.S. Army published a report entitled Communist Interrogation, Indoctrination, and Exploitation of Prisoners of War , which called brainwashing
3760-561: The United States , Rita Nakashima Brock and Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite report that the methods commonly used by pimps to control their victims "closely resemble the brainwashing techniques of terrorists and paranoid cults." In his 2000 book, Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism , Robert Lifton applied his original ideas about thought reform to Aum Shinrikyo and
3840-518: The United States by using a brainwashed sleeper agent for political assassination. The concept of brainwashing became popularly associated with the research of Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov , which mostly involved dogs as subjects. In The Manchurian Candidate the head brainwasher is "Dr. Yen Lo, of the Pavlov Institute." The science fiction stories of Cordwainer Smith (pen name of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (1913–1966),
3920-511: The Unknown , and The Fearmakers . Forbidden Area told the story of Soviet secret agents who had been brainwashed through classical conditioning by their own government so they wouldn't reveal their identities. In 1962, The Manchurian Candidate (based on the 1959 novel by Richard Condon ) "put brainwashing front and center" by featuring a plot by the Soviet government to take over
4000-436: The add (Aad) shows to have a significant impact on choice of brand as well as the act of buying the brand (AB). This suggests that the attitude one had towards a brand can influence the choice and the intention to buy a particular item. Brainwashing Brainwashing is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. Brainwashing
4080-441: The best choice. Due to this different approach to decision-making, maximizers are more likely to avoid making a choice when the choice set size is large, probably to avoid the anguish associated with not knowing whether their choice was optimal. One study looked at whether the differences in choice satisfaction between the two are partially due to a difference in willingness to commit to one's choices. It found that maximizers reported
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#17327837853424160-399: The brainwashing defense undermines the law's fundamental premise of free will . In 2003, forensic psychologist Dick Anthony said that "no reasonable person would question that there are situations where people can be influenced against their best interests, but those arguments are evaluated based on fact, not bogus expert testimony." In the 1970s and 1980s, the anti-cult movement applied
4240-439: The concept also looked at Nazi Germany and present-day North Korea , at some criminal cases in the United States, and at the actions of human traffickers . Scientific and legal debate followed, as well as media attention, about the possibility of brainwashing being a factor when lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was used, or in the induction of people into groups which are considered to be cults . Brainwashing has become
4320-414: The concept of brainwashing to explain seemingly sudden and dramatic religious conversions to some new religious movements (NRMs) and other groups that they considered cults . News media reports tended to accept their view and social scientists sympathetic to the anti-cult movement, who were usually psychologists , developed revised models of brainwashing. While some psychologists were receptive to
4400-418: The concept of brainwashing. In 1999, forensic psychologist Dick Anthony criticized another adherent to this view, Jean-Marie Abgrall , for allegedly employing a pseudoscientific approach and lacking any evidence that anyone's worldview was substantially changed by these coercive methods. He claimed that the concept and the fear surrounding it was used as a tool for the anti-cult movement to rationalize
4480-456: The concept, sociologists were, for the most part, skeptical of its ability to explain conversion. Critics of Mormonism have accused it of brainwashing its adherents. Philip Zimbardo defined mind control as "the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition or behavioral outcomes," and he suggested that any human being
4560-510: The confusions and bias of exercising choice. Sophia Rosenfeld analyses critical reactions to choice in her 2014 review of some of the work of Iyengar , Ben-Porath, Greenfield , and Salecl . A study was conducted that looked into how attitude towards a particular brand would influence choice of a brand as it is being advertised. A picture of running shoes was created to either make the ad look good or bad and participants were asked to choose between four different brands. The attitude toward
4640-400: The distribution of scores of potential workers in the population on this attribute. As a result, evaluability can cause preference reversals between joint and separate evaluations. For example, a 1999 review and theoretical analysis looked at how people choose between options when they are directly compared because they are presented at the same time or when they cannot be compared because one
4720-571: The early 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Department of Defense conducted secret research, including Project MKUltra , in an attempt to develop practical brainwashing techniques; These experiments ranged "from electroshock to high doses of LSD ". The director Sidney Gottlieb and his team were apparently able to "blast away the existing mind" of a human being by using torture techniques; however, reprogramming, in terms of finding "a way to insert
4800-401: The effect of having unconscious choice masquerade as (praiseworthy) conscious choice. Choices may lead to irreversible or to reversible outcomes; making irreversible choices ( existential choices ) may reduce choice overload . When choosing between options one must make judgments about the quality of each option's attributes. For example, if one is choosing between candidates for a job,
4880-459: The evolution of brainwashing from its origins in the Cold War through to today's War on Terror. The author, Dominic Streatfeild , uses formerly classified documentation and interviews from the CIA. In George Orwell 's 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four , the main character is subjected to imprisonment, isolation , and torture to conform his thoughts and emotions to the wishes of
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#17327837853424960-591: The grounds that these theories are not part of accepted science under the Frye standard. In 2003, the brainwashing defense was used unsuccessfully in defense of Lee Boyd Malvo , who was charged with murder for his part in the D.C. sniper attacks . Allegations of brainwashing have also been raised by plaintiffs in child custody cases. Thomas Andrew Green , in his 2014 book Freedom and Criminal Responsibility in American Legal Thought , argues that
5040-449: The history of mind control theories, as well as notable incidents. In it, she theorized that persons under the influence of brainwashing may have more rigid neurological pathways, and that can make it more difficult to rethink situations or to be able to later reorganize these pathways. In 2006 Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control ( ISBN 0-340-83161-8 ) is a non-fiction book published by Hodder & Stoughton about
5120-463: The idea that "cults" are brainwashing American youth to be implausible. Thomas Robbins , Massimo Introvigne , Lorne Dawson , Gordon Melton , Marc Galanter , and Saul Levine , amongst other scholars researching NRMs, have argued and established to the satisfaction of courts, relevant professional associations and scientific communities that there exists no generally accepted scientific theory, based upon methodologically sound research, that supports
5200-482: The issue to renewed public attention. In 1974, Patty Hearst , a member of the wealthy Hearst family , when 19 years old was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army , a left-wing militant organization. After several weeks of captivity, she agreed to join the group and took part in their activities. In 1975, she was arrested and charged with bank robbery and the use of a gun in committing
5280-725: The lips of these unfortunate men is doubtful. If they did, however, too familiar are the mind-annihilating methods of these Communists in extorting whatever words they want ... The men themselves are not to blame, and they have my deepest sympathy for having been used in this abominable way." Beginning in 1953, Robert Jay Lifton interviewed American servicemen who had been POWs during the Korean War as well as priests, students, and teachers who had been held in prison in China after 1951. In addition to interviews with 25 Americans and Europeans, Lifton interviewed 15 Chinese citizens who had fled after having been subjected to indoctrination in Chinese universities. (Lifton's 1961 book Thought Reform and
5360-514: The literature on this subject, proposes a new way of conceptualizing influence techniques, explores the ethical ramifications of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control, and makes recommendations addressing the problems described in the report. On 11 May 1987, the APA's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) rejected the DIMPAC report because the report "lacks
5440-713: The mind". Meerloo's view was influenced by his experiences during the German occupation of his country during the Second World War and his work with the Dutch government and the American military in the interrogation of accused Nazi war criminals . He later emigrated to the United States and taught at Columbia University . His best-selling 1956 book, The Rape of the Mind , concludes by saying: The modern techniques of brainwashing and menticide—those perversions of psychology—can bring almost any man into submission and surrender. Many of
5520-445: The number of choices within the extensive-options scenarios increased, the preference for limited options increased as well. Attempts to explain why choice can demotivate someone from a purchase have focuses on two factors. One assumes that perusing a larger number of choices imposes a cognitive burden on the individual. The other assumes that individuals can experience regret if they make a suboptimal choice, and sometimes avoid making
5600-424: The opportunity to revise one's decisions leaves people less satisfied with the decision outcome. A recent study found that participants experienced higher regret after having made a reversible decision. The results suggest that reversible decisions cause people to continue to think about the still relevant choice options, which might increase dissatisfaction with the decision and regret. Individual personality plays
5680-518: The persecution of minority religious groups. Additionally, Anthony, in the book Misunderstanding Cults , argues that the term "brainwashing" has such sensationalist connotations that its use is detrimental to any further scientific inquiry. In 2016, Israeli anthropologist of religion and fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute Adam Klin-Oron said about then proposed "anti-cult" legislation: In
5760-399: The quality of relevant attributes such as previous work experience, college or high school GPA, and letters of recommendation will be judged for each option and the decision will likely be based on these attribute judgments. However, each attribute has a different level of evaluability , that is, the extent to which one can use information from that attribute to make a judgment. An example of
5840-431: The rulers of the book's fictional future totalitarian society. The torturer representing the authorities says, "We make the brain perfect before we blow it out...Everyone is washed clean." Orwell's vision influenced Hunter and is still reflected in the popular concept of brainwashing. In the 1950s, some American films were made that featured brainwashing of POWs, including The Rack , The Bamboo Prison , Toward
5920-403: The scientific rigor and evenhanded critical approach necessary for APA imprimatur" and concluded that "after much consideration, BSERP does not believe that we have sufficient information available to guide us in taking a position on this issue." Joost Meerloo , a Dutch psychiatrist, was an early proponent of the concept of brainwashing. "Menticide" is a neologism he coined meaning "killing of
6000-470: The text and alleged it was the secret manual written by Lavrentiy Beria , the Soviet secret police chief, in 1936. When the FBI ignored him, Hubbard wrote again stating that Soviet agents had, on three occasions, attempted to hire him to work against the United States, and were upset about his refusal, and that one agent specifically attacked him using electroshock as a weapon. Kathleen Barry , co-founder of
6080-463: The victims of thought control, brainwashing, and menticide that we have talked about were strong men whose minds and wills were broken and degraded. But although the totalitarians use their knowledge of the mind for vicious and unscrupulous purposes, our democratic society can and must use its knowledge to help man to grow, to guard his freedom, and to understand himself. Russian historian Daniel Romanovsky , who interviewed survivors and eyewitnesses in
6160-574: The word "brainwashing" in an article by a journalist Edward Hunter , in Miami News , published in 1950. Hunter was an anticommunist and was alleged to be a CIA agent working undercover. Hunter and others used the Chinese term to explain why, during the Korean War (1950–1953), some American prisoners of war (POWs) cooperated with their Chinese captors, and even in a few cases defected to their side . British radio operator Robert W. Ford and British army Colonel James Carne also claimed that
6240-409: Was ever convicted. In 1981, an Italian court found that the concept is imprecise, lacks coherence and is liable to arbitrary application. Recent scientific book publications in the field of the mental disorder " dissociative identity disorder " (DID) mention torture -based brainwashing by criminal networks and malevolent actors as a deliberate means to create multiple "programmable" personalities in
6320-452: Was found guilty. In 1990, Steven Fishman , who was a member of the Church of Scientology , was charged with mail fraud for conducting a scheme to sue large corporations via conspiring with minority stockholders in shareholder class action lawsuits. Fishman's attorneys notified the court that they intended to rely on an insanity defense , using the theories of brainwashing and the expert witnesses of Singer and Richard Ofshe to claim that
6400-540: Was later used to describe the coercive persuasion used under the Maoist government in China, which aimed to transform "reactionary" people into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system. The term punned on the Taoist custom of "cleansing/washing the heart/mind" ( Chinese : 洗心 ; pinyin : xǐxīn ) before conducting ceremonies or entering holy places. The earliest known English-language usage of
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