Brainwashing

Brainwashing–also called mind control–is a complex process that overrides a person’s normal beliefs, will, or desires and replaces them with the opinions or will of the person or group doing the brainwashing.

What Is Brainwashing?

Brainwashing is commonly associated with cults and abuse. A cult leader might, for example, present a warm and friendly disposition to gain a person’s trust, then slowly break down the person by calling him or her names, forcing him or her to work, and engaging in other forms of abuse. This abuse might be interspersed with periodic kindness in conjunction with isolation from loved ones, rendering the person completely dependent on the cult leader. Victims of abuse–particularly child sexual abuse–sometimes report that they felt brainwashed by an abuser who, for example, convinced them the abuse was a sign of love. Brainwashing sometimes involves the use of powerful mind-altering drugs to induce feelings of euphoria and hallucinations.

A related concept, Stockholm Syndrome, occurs when a captive begins to empathize with his or her captor and may even collude with the captor.

Brainwashing is not always so extreme. Many media analysts have argued that advertisements and even news reports are a form of brainwashing. For example, an infomercial might repeatedly state the value of the product and insert subtle messages that make a viewer feel inferior without it. Similarly, the news media might choose to take one angle on a story, thus interfering with the viewer’s understanding of the larger world and altering the opinions he or she holds.

Undoing Brainwashing

Once people have identified with an abuser, captor, cult leader, or even a brand through brainwashing, they are often resistant to severing ties. Some groups have established intervention organizations to help cult escapees and other people who have experienced brainwashing.

Reference:

1. Brainwashing. (n.d.). Rick Ross. Retrieved from http://www.rickross.com/brainwashing.html

Last Updated: 08-4-2015