brainwashing

Brainwashing refers to psychological processes intended to change a person’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through coercive or manipulative means. The term is debated in psychology; researchers often prefer coercive persuasion or thought reform. It is most commonly discussed in contexts such as cults, political movements, hostage situations, and extreme ideologies, where a person may experience isolation, surveillance, and control of information.

Techniques typically involve isolating individuals from outside sources, controlling daily routines, inducing fear or guilt, exploiting affection or dependency, repetitive messaging, and a cultivated sense that dissent is dangerous or immoral. Psychological pressure can be reinforced by social pressure, withdrawal of rewards, and staged experiences that seem meaningful or revelatory. Language is often loaded with specialized jargon that discourages critical evaluation, and the group may present its doctrine as a unified, absolute truth.

Robert Lifton, a psychiatrist, described eight features of thought reform observed in coercive groups: milieu control; mystification; demand for purity; cult of confession; sacred science; loading the language; doctrine over person; and dispensing with outside reality. In combination, these factors can shift priorities, blur boundaries, and erode prior identities.

Scholars debate the extent and durability of brainwashing. Some cases show lasting belief changes; others suggest temporary influence or misinterpretation of coercive influence. Ethically and legally, coercive persuasion is widely condemned, and the concept is used to explain or critique propaganda, abusive group dynamics, and certain interrogation practices.