BannedMindControl

TechniquesUnleashed

LearntheDark

SecretsofHypnosis,Manipulation,Deception,

Persuasion,BrainwashingandHumanPsychology

ByDanielSmith

Copyright2014byMake

ProfitsEasyLLCprofitsdaily123@aol.com

TableofContentsIntroductionChapter1:TypesofMindControlBrainwashingHypnosisManipulationPersuasionDeception

Chapter2:Brainwashing

WhatisBrainwashing?StepsUsedBreakingDownofSelfAssaultonIdentityGuiltSelf-betrayalBreakingPoint

PossibilityofSalvationLeniencyCompulsiontoConfession

ChannelingofGuiltReleasingofGuilt

RebuildingofSelfHarmonyFinalConfessionandStartingOver

BrainwashingasCourtDefenseLeeBoydMalvoCase

CommonTacticsUsedinBrainwashing

Chapter3:HypnosisWhatisHypnosis?InductionSuggestionSusceptibility

ApplicationsHypnotherapyMilitaryApplicationsSelf-hypnosisStageHypnosis

TypesofHypnosis

TraditionalHypnosisEricksonianHypnosisEmbeddedTechniqueNero-LinguisticProgrammingNLPAnchoringNLPFlashNLPReframe

VideoHypnosisSubliminalHypnosis

Chapter4:Manipulation

WhatisManipulation?RequirementstoSuccessfullyManipulateHowtoControlVictimsHarrietBraikerSimon

TechniquesofManipulationBlackmailEmotionalBlackmailPuttingDownTheOther

PersonLyingCreatinganIllusion

Chapter5:PersuasionWhatisPersuasion?ElementsofPersuasionModernPersuasion

MethodsofPersuasionUsageofForceWeaponsofInfluenceReciprocity

CommitmentandConsistencySocialProofLikingAuthorityScarcity

PersuasionTechniquesCreateaNeedAppealingtoSocialNeedsUsingLoadedImagesand

WordsChapter6:DeceptionWhatisDeception?TypesofDeceptionMotivesforDeceptionDetectingDeception

MainComponentsofDeceptionCamouflageDisguiseSimulation

ResearchonDeceptionSocialResearchPsychologicalResearchPhilosophy

Conclusion

IntroductionMindcontrolisanideathathasfascinatedpeopleformanyyears.Storieshavebeentoldbythemediaandinmoviesaboutgroupsofpeoplewhohavebeenbrainwashedorhypnotizedintodoingthingsthattheywouldhaveneverdoneotherwise.Therearepeopleonboth

sidesoftheissue;somebelievethatthereisnosuchthingasmindcontrolandthatitisalljustmadeupwhileothersbelievethattheycouldbemanipulatedbymindcontrolatanymoment.Thisguidebookismeanttoexplainsomeofthedifferenttypesofmindcontrol,howtheywork,andwhetherornottheycanhaveadailylife

application.Chapter1startsouttalkingaboutthedifferenttypesofmindcontrolthatareavailableandwhichwillbediscussedinmoredetailthroughoutthebook.Thesemindcontroltechniquesinvolvebrainwashing,hypnosis,manipulation,persuasion,anddeception.Thischapterismeanttogivea

niceintroductiontoeachofthesetypesofmindcontrolinordertosetthestageforthelaterchapters.Chapter2continuesonwithtalkingaboutbrainwashing.Topicssuchaswhatbrainwashingis,thestepsthatareusedduringbrainwashing,howbrainwashinghasbeenusedasacourtdefensethroughouthistory,and

someofthecommontacticsthatcanbeusedduringthebrainwashingprocess.Muchofthischapterisdevotedtodiscussingthedifferentstepsthatareusedduringthebrainwashingprocessessuchasthethreestages;thebreakingdownoftheself,thepossibilityofsalvation,andtherebuildingofthenewself.

Next,chapter3discussesthemindcontroltechniqueofhypnosis.Thefirstsectionspendssometimetalkingaboutwhathypnosisisandincludesinformationontheinduction,suggestion,andsusceptibilitystages.Othertopicsthatarediscussedinthischapterincludetheapplicationsofhypnosis,suchashypnotherapy,andthedifferenttypesof

hypnosisrangingfromtraditionalhypnosistovideohypnosisandevensubliminalhypnosis.Chapter4changescoursealittletodescribesomeofthemindcontroltechniquesthatmightbeoccurringindailylife.Whilethefirsttwotechniqueswouldrequireisolationofthesubjectandthesubjecttobewilling,

theseotherformscansometimesoccurwithoutthesubjectsconsentorevenknowledge.Chapter4talksaboutthefirstofthesewhichismanipulation.Thischapterwillspendsometimediscussingwhatmanipulationisandsomeofthetechniquesthatwillbeusedinmanipulation.Chapter5spendssome

timediscussingthemindcontroltechniqueofpersuasion.Itwilldelveintowhatpersuasionisincludingthedifferentelementsofpersuasionalongwiththemethodsusedtopersuadethesubjectanddifferentpersuasiontechniques.Chapter6isthefinalchapterofthisguidebookandwilltakealookatthemindcontroltechniqueof

deception.Deceptionissomethingthatmanypeoplearefamiliarwithalthoughmanymightnotrecognizeitasaformofmindcontrol.Inthischapter,topicsaboutdeceptionincludingwhatisdeception,themaincomponentsofdeception,andtheusesofdeceptionwillbediscussed.Thereisalotof

informationprovidedintheworldaboutthevariousformsofmindcontrol.Whilesomeofthemwillrequirealotoftimeandefforttochangethemindofthesubject,suchasinthecaseofbrainwashing,otherswilloccurthroughoutdailylife,suchaswithdeception,manipulationorpersuasion.Understandingthesedifferentformsof

mindcontrolcanhelptomakeiteasiertobeincontrolofyourownmindandlimittheinfluencethatothershaveonyourownbeliefsystemsandidentity.Alsobyunderstandingthesevariousmindcontroltechniquesyouwillbeabletoapplysomeofthemethods.However,ifyoudecidetotakethispathmakesureyoudosowithextremecaution,because

mindcontrolifappliedmaliciouslycanbeadangerousthingandgetyouintoserioustrouble.Sowithoutfurtheradolet’sbeginandexplorethefascinatingtopicofmindcontrol.

Chapter1:TypesofMindControl

Theideaofmindcontrolhasbeenaroundformanyyearsnow.Peoplehavehadbothfascinationandfearofwhatwouldhappenifsomeonewhereabletocontroltheirmindsandmakethemdothingsagainsttheirwill.Conspiracytheoriesrun

aboundaboutgovernmentofficialsandotherpeopleofpowerusingtheirtalentstocontrolwhatsmallgroupsofpeoplearedoing.Evensomecourtcaseshavebeenbroughtupusingtheexcuseofbrainwashingasanexplanationforwhytheycommittedthecrimetheyareaccusedof.Despitethedramatizationofmindcontrolthathasbeen

portrayedinthemediaandthemovies,thereislittlethatisknownaboutthedifferenttypesofmindcontrolandhoweachofthemwork.Thischapterwillexplorealittlebitaboutthemostcommontypesofmindcontrolasanintroductiontoexplainingmoreaboutthisinterestingtopic.Whiletherearemany

differenttypesofmindcontrolthatcanbeusedtocontroltheintendedvictim,therearefivethataremostcommonlythoughtof.Theseincludebrainwashing,hypnosis,manipulation,persuasion,anddeception.Thesewillallbediscussedbelow.

BrainwashingBrainwashingisthefirsttypeofmindcontroltodiscuss.Brainwashingisbasicallytheprocesswheresomeonewillbeconnivedtoabandonbeliefsthattheyhadinthepastinordertotakenewidealsandvalues.Therearealotofwaysthatthiscanbedonealthoughnotallofthemwillbeconsidered

bad.Forexample,ifyouarefromanAfricancountryandthenmovetoAmerica,youwilloftenbeforcedtochangeyourvaluesandidealsinordertofitinwiththenewcultureandsurroundingsthatyouarein.Ontheotherhand,thoseinconcentrationcampsorwhenanewdictatorgovernmentistakingover,theywilloftengothrough

theprocessofbrainwashinginordertoconvincecitizenstofollowalongpeacefully.Manypeoplehavemisconceptionsofwhatbrainwashingis.Somepeoplehavemoreparanoidideasaboutthepracticeincludingmindcontroldevicesthataresponsoredbythegovernmentandthatarethoughttobe

easilyturnedonlikearemotecontrol.Ontheothersideofthings,thereareskepticswhodonotbelievethatbrainwashingispossibleatallandthatanyonewhoclaimsithashappenedislying.Forthemostpart,thepracticeofbrainwashingwilllandsomewhereinthemiddleofthesetwoideas.Duringthepracticeof

brainwashing,thesubjectwillbeconvincedtochangetheirbeliefsaboutsomethingthroughacombinationofdifferenttactics.Thereisnotjustoneapproachthatcanbeusedduringthisprocesssoitcanbedifficulttoputthepracticeintoaneatlittlebox.Forthemostpart,thesubjectwillbeseparatedfromallofthethingsthattheyknow.Fromthere,

theywillbebrokendownintoanemotionalstatethatmakesthemvulnerablebeforethenewconceptsareintroduced.Asthesubjectabsorbsthisnewinformation,theywillberewardedforexpressingideasandthoughtswhichgoalongwiththesenewideas.Therewardingiswhatwillbeusedinordertoreinforcethebrainwashingthatis

occurring.Brainwashingisnotsomethingthatisnewtosociety.Peoplehavebeenusingthesetechniquesforalongtime.Forexample,inahistoricalcontext,thosewhowereprisonersofwarswereoftenbrokendownbeforebeingpersuadedtochangessides.Someofthemostsuccessfulcasesofthese

wouldresultintheprisonerbecomingaveryferventconverttothenewside.Thesepracticeswereverynewinthebeginningandwouldoftenbeenforceddependingonwhowasincharge.Overtime,thetermofbrainwashingwasdevelopedandsomemoretechniqueswereintroducedinordertomakethepracticemore

universal.Thenewertechniqueswouldrelyonthefieldofpsychologysincemanyofthoseideaswereusedtodemonstratehowpeoplemightchangetheirmindsthroughpersuasion.Therearemanystepsthatgoalongwiththebrainwashingprocess.Itisnotsomethingthatisgoingtojusthappentoyouwhen

youwalkdownthestreetandtalktosomeonethatyouhavejustmet.Firstoff,oneofthemainrequirementsthatcomewithbrainwashingbeingsuccessfulisthatthesubjectmustbekeptinisolation.Ifthesubjectisabletobearoundotherpeopleandinfluences,theywilllearnhowtothinkasanindividualandthebrainwashingwillnotbe

effectiveatall.Oncethesubjectisinisolation,theywillundergoaprocessthatismeanttobreakdowntheirownself.Theyaretoldthatallthethingstheyknowarefalseandaremadetofeellikeeverythingtheydoiswrong.Aftermonthsofgoingthroughallofthis,thesubjectwillfeelliketheyarebadandtheguilt

isgoingtooverwhelmthem.Oncetheyhavereachedthispoint,theagentwillstarttoleadthemtowardsthenewbeliefsystemandidentitythatisdesired.Thesubjectwillbeledtobelievethatthenewchoicesarealltheirownandsoitismorelikelytostick.Thewholeprocessofbrainwashingcantake

manymonthstoevenyears.Itisnotsomethingthatisgoingtohappeninjustaconversationandforthemostpartitwillnotbeabletohappenoutsideofprisoncampsandafewisolatedcases.Chapter2willgointomoredetailofwhatoccursduringthethreemainstagesofbrainwashingandhowthewholeprocessoccurs.

Forthemostpart,thosewhoundergobrainwashinghavedonesowhensomeoneisjusttryingtopersuadethemofanewpointofview.Forexample,ifyouareinanargumentwithafriendandtheyconvinceyouthattheirideasmakesense,youhavetechnicallygonethroughbrainwashing.Sure,itmightnotbeevilandyouwereabletothinkaboutit

alllogically,butyouwerestillconvincedtochangethebeliefsthatyouheldbefore.Itisveryrarethatsomeoneundergoestruebrainwashingwheretheywillhavetheirwholevaluesystemreplaced.Itwillusuallyoccurduringtheprocessofcomingaroundtoanewpointofview,regardlessofwhetherthetacticsusedwereforcibleornot.

HypnosisThenexttypeofmindcontrolthatiswell-knownishypnosis.Therearealotofdifferentdefinitionsofwhathypnosisis.AccordingtotheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,hypnosisisacooperativeinteractionwherethehypnotistwillprovidesuggestionsthattheparticipantwillrespondto.

Manypeoplehavebecomefamiliarwiththetechniquesofhypnosisthankstopopularperformanceswhereparticipantsaretoldtodoridiculousorunusualtasks.Anotherformofhypnosisthatisgaininginpopularityisthekindthatusesthispracticeforitstherapeuticandmedicalbenefits,especiallywhenitcomestothereductionof

anxietyandpain.Insomeinstances,hypnosishasbeenabletoreducedementiasymptomsinafewpatients.Asyoucansee,therearealotofdifferentreasonsthathypnosisthatcanbeused.Thepointwhereitstartstobecomemindcontroliswhenthehypnotistisabletorecommendsuggestionsthatcanbeharmfulorchangethewaythatthe

participantactsintheirsurroundings.Formostpeople,whentheyhearabouthypnosistheythinkaboutapersononstagewhoisswingingawatchbackandforthinordertoputtheparticipantinatrance.Ifyouhavebeentoastageshowforentertainment,youmayhavesomeimagesinyourheadoftheridiculousacts

thattheparticipantsperformed.Inreality,thosewhoaregoingthroughwhatisconsideredrealhypnosisaregoingthroughaprocessthatisverydifferentfromthisimage.“Thehypnotistdoesnothypnotizetheindividual.Rather,thehypnotistservesasasortofcoachortutorwhosejobistohelpthepersonbecomehypnotized,”said

JohnKihlstrom.Thismeansthatthehypnotistworkstogettheparticipantintoanalteredstateofmindsothattheyaremoreopentosuggestionsthataregiven.Manyofthepeoplewhoundergohypnosissaythattheyareinasleep-liketrancekindofstate.Despitethesethoughts,whileunderhypnosisthe

participantisinastatethatincludesvividfantasies,heightenedsuggestibility,andfocusedattention.Thisnewstatemakesthemmoresusceptibletothesuggestionsthatthehypnotistwillbegivingtothem.Itishardtodetailtheeffectsthathypnosiscanhaveonsubjectssincetheexperienceswillvaryquite

abitforeachpersonwhoundergoesit.Somesubjectswillreportfeelingliketheyaredetachedfromthewholeexperience,somewillfeelextremelyrelaxedduringthehypnosis,andstillotherswillfeelthattheactionstheyaredoingwilloccuroutsideoftheirconsciouschoices.Ontheothersideofthings,individualswillstatethattheyarefully

awareoftheirsurroundingsandwillevenbeabletocarryoutconversationsduringtheirhypnoticstate.SomeexperimentsthathavebeendonebyErnestHilgardshowsthathypnosiscanbeusedinordertoaltertheperceptionsofthesubjects.TheexperimentconductedbyHilgardincludedan

instructionofthesubjecttonotfeelanypainintheirarm.Aftertheyweretoldthis,thesubjecthadtheirarmplacedinsomeicewater.Thosewhodidthisexperimentandwerenothypnotizedneededtotaketheirarmsoutofthewaterinjustafewsecondssincetheyfeltpain.Thosewhowerehypnotizedwerecapableofleavingtheirarmsinthewaterforafew

minuteswithoutexperiencingpain.Whilemoreresearchwillneedtobedone,thisstudyshowshowstrongmindcontrolcanbewhenusingthetechniqueofhypnosis.Therearemanydifferentapplicationsdemonstratedthroughresearchthathypnosiscanbeusedforincluding:

Treatingchronicpainsuchasthatfoundwithrheumatoidarthritis.Treatingandreducingthepainthatcomesduringchildbirth.Reducingthesymptomsthatareassociatedwithdementia.

SomeADHDpatientshaveseenreductionintheirsymptomsafterusinghypnotherapy.Reducingcasesofvomitingandnauseainchemotherapypatients.Controllingofpainduringdental

procedures.Eliminatingandreducingskinconditionssuchaspsoriasisandwarts.AlleviatingsymptomsthatareassociatedwithIrritableBowelSyndrome.

Thesearejustafewofthe

usesthathavebecomecommonwithhypnosis.Whilemanypeopleareunderthemisconceptionthatusinghypnosisisusedtocontrolthesubjectandmakethemperformhorrificactsordenouncetheirownbeliefs,themostcommonusesarethoseforimprovingthehealthoftheindividuals.Mostexpertsarein

agreementthattheeffectofhypnosisasaformofmindcontrolisnotreallyareality.Whileitmaybepossibletoconvincethemindtomakeafewchangesinthehabitsandbehaviorofthesubject,itisnotlikelythatthesubjectwillchangetheirwholesystemofbeliefsjustthroughthisprocess.Manyofthepeoplewhoarecertifiedinthisprofession

willuseittoassistthesubjectinself-improvementandpainmanagementratherthanfortryingtotakeovertheirminds.

ManipulationManipulationisanotherformofmindcontrolthatcanbeusedinvariouswaystodeterminethewaytheindividualwillthink.Inthisguidebook,manipulationwillrefertopsychologicalmanipulation.Thisisatypeofsocialinfluencethatworkstochangethebehaviororperceptionof

others.Thisisdoneusingabusive,deceptive,andunderhandedtactics.Thisformofmindcontrolisusedtoadvancetheinterestsoftheonemanipulating,oftenattheexpenseofothers.Themethodsthatareusedareoftenconsidereddeceptive,devious,abusive,andexploitative.Manypeoplewillrecognizewhentheyarebeingmanipulatedor

whenothersarebeingmanipulatedaroundthem,buttheydonotrecognizethisasaformofmindcontrol.Thiscanoftenbeadifficultformofmindcontroltoavoidduetothefactthatthemanipulationwillusuallyoccurbetweenthesubjectandsomeonetheyknowwell.Manipulationleavesthesubjectfeelinglikethey

havenochoiceinthematter.Theywillhavebeentoldoutrightliesorhalf-truthsanddidnotrealizethefullextentofthesituationuntilitistoolate.Iftheyfindoutaboutthesituationaheadoftime,theagentwillbeabletoblackmailandusethesubjectinordertogettothefinalgoal.Thesubjectessentiallybecomesstuckbecausetheagentwillhave

craftedeverythingoutinsuchawaythattheywillnotgetintrouble,thesubjectcantaketheblameorgethurtifitcomestothat,andtheagentwillmakeittotheirfinalgoal.Themostdifficultthingaboutthisisthattheagentisincapableoffeelingtheneedsoftheirsubjectoranyotherperson;theyarenotgoingtocareifthe

subjectgetsharmedintheprocesswhetheritisemotionalorphysicalharm.Whilethesubjectwillbeemotionallyinvestedinthesituation,theagentwillbeabletowalkaway(aslongastheymeettheirfinalgoal)withoutfeelinganyremorseorregretatwhatoccurredalongtheway.Thiscanbeadangerousformofmindcontrol

becausetheagentisgoingtobeanexpertatit,beingabletoblackmail,threaten,anddowhateverelseisnecessary;attimestheymayevenbeabletoturnthingsaroundsothesubjectfeelsliketheyaregoinginsane.

PersuasionPersuasionisanotherformofmindcontrolthatissimilartomanipulationinthatitworksinordertoinfluencethebehaviors,motivations,intentions,attitudes,andbeliefsofthesubject.Therearemanydifferentreasonsthatpersuasioncouldbeusedineverydaylifeandoftenitisanecessaryformof

communicationinordertogetpeopleofdifferingideasonthesamepage.Forexample,inbusiness,theprocessofpersuasionwillbeusedinordertochangeaperson’sattitudetowardsomeobject,idea,oreventthatisgoingon.Duringtheprocess,eitherwrittenorspokenwordswillbeusedinordertoconveyreasoning,feelings,orinformationtotheother

person.Anothertimethatpersuasioncanbeusedistomeetapersonalgain.Thiswouldincludetrialadvocacy,whengivingasalespitch,orduringanelectioncampaign.Whilenoneoftheseareconsideredbadorevil,theyarestillusedinawaytoinfluencethelistenertoactorthinkinacertain

way.Oneinterpretationofpersuasionisthatitusesone’spositionalorpersonalresourcestochangetheattitudesorbehaviorsofothers.Therearealsoseveraldifferenttypesofpersuasionthatareknown;theprocessofchangingthebeliefsorattitudesthroughappealstoreasonandlogicisknownassystematicpersuasion;theprocess

wherebeliefsandattitudesarechangedbecauseofanappealtoemotionsorhabitsisknownasheuristicpersuasion.Persuasionisaformofmindcontrolthatisusedinsocietyallofthetime.Whenyoutalktosomeoneaboutpoliticsyoumighttrytopersuadethemtothinkthesamewaythatyoudo.Whenyouare

listeningtoapoliticalcampaign,youarebeingpersuadedtovoteacertainway.Whensomeoneistryingtosellyouanewproduct,thereisalotofpersuasionthatisgoingon.Thisformofmindcontrolissoprevalentthatmostpeopledonotevenrealizethatitisoccurringtothematall.Theissuewilloccurwhensomeonetakesthetimetopersuade

youintobelievingidealsandvaluesthatdonotmatchuptoyourownsystemofvalues.Therearealotofdifferentkindsofpersuasionthatareavailable.Notallofthemhaveanevilintent,butallofthemaregoingtoworktogetthesubjecttochangetheirmindsaboutsomething.Whenapoliticalcandidatecomes

ontelevision,theyaretryingtogetthesubject,orthevoter,tovoteacertainwayontheballotonelectionday.Whenyouseeacommercialontelevisionoronline,thecompanywhopresentedthatadvertisementistryingtogetthesubjecttopurchasethatproduct.Allofthesearetypesofpersuasionthatarebentattryingtogetthesubjecttochange

thewaythattheythink.

DeceptionFinally,deceptionisalsoconsideredaformofmindcontrolbecauseoftheeffectthatitcanhaveonthesubject.Deceptionisusedinordertopropagateinthesubjectbeliefsineventsandthingsthatjustarenottrue,whethertheyarecompleteliesorjustpartiallies.Deceptioncaninvolvealotofdifferent

thingsincludingsleightofhand,propaganda,anddissimulation,concealment,camouflage,distraction.Thisformofmindcontrolissodangerousbecausethesubjectoftendoesnotknowthatanymindcontrolisgoingonatall.Theyhavebeenconvincedthatonethingistruewhenthecompleteoppositeisright.Thiscanget

dangerouswhenthedeceitishidinginformationthatcouldkeepthesubjectsafe.Often,deceptionisseenduringrelationshipsandwillusuallyleadtofeelingsofdistrustandbetrayalbetweenthetwopartners.Whendeceptionoccurs,therehasbeenaviolationoftherelationalrulesandcanmakeitdifficultforthepartnertotrusttheother

foralongtime.Itcanbeparticularlydamagingbecausemostpeopleareusetotrustingthosearoundthem,especiallyrelationalpartnersandfriends,andexpectthemtobetruthfultothemforthemostpart.Whentheyfindoutthatsomeonetheyareclosetoisdeceivingthem,theymayhaveissueswithtrustingothersandwillnothavethesenseofsecurity

thattheyareusedto.Deceptioncancausealotofissuesinarelationshiporwithintheagentandsubject.Thesubjectwillhavealotofissuestrustingtheagentinthefutureoncetheyfindoutaboutthedeception.Therewillbetimeswhenthedeceptionwillbedoneinordertohelpouttherelationship.Thesewould

includethingssuchasnottellingaspousewhensomeonesayssomethingmeanaboutthem.Othertimesthedeceptionismorespitefulorharmfulinnaturesuchaswhentheagentishidingimportantinformationfromthesubjectorisevendeceivinginthepersonthattheyreallyare.Nomatterwhattypeofdeceptionisbeingdeployed,mostpeople

agreethatdeceptionisharmfulandshouldnotbedone.

Chapter2:Brainwashing

Thischapterisgoingtofocusontheprocessofbrainwashingandallthecomponentsthatcomewithit.Throughthemediaandthemoviesthatareseen,manypeopleseebrainwashingasanevilpracticethatisdonebythosewhoaretryingto

corrupt,influence,andtogainpower.Somewhoreallybelieveinthepowerofbrainwashingbelievethatpeopleallaroundthemaretryingtocontroltheirmindsandtheirbehavior.Forthemostpart,theprocessofbrainwashingoccursinamuchmoresubtlewayanddoesnotinvolvethesinisterpracticesthatmostpeopleassociatewithit.

Thischapterwillgointoalotmoredetailaboutwhatbrainwashingisandhowitcaninfluencethesubject’swayofthinking.

WhatisBrainwashing?Brainwashinginthisguidebookwillbediscussedintermsofitsuseinpsychology.Inthisrelation,brainwashingisreferredtoasamethodofthoughtreformthroughsocialinfluence.Thiskindofsocialinfluenceisoccurringallthroughoutthedaytoeveryperson,regardlessofwhetherthey

realizeitornot.Socialinfluenceisthecollectionofmethodsthatareusedinordertochangeotherpeople’sbehaviors,beliefs,andattitudes.Forexample,compliancemethodsthatareusedintheworkplacecouldtechnicallybeconsideredaformofbrainwashingbecausetheyrequireyoutoactandthinkaspecificwaywhenyouareonthejob.

Brainwashingcanbecomemoreofasocialissueinitsmostsevereformbecausetheseapproachesworkatchangingthewaysomeonethinkswithoutthesubjectconsentingtoit.Forbrainwashingtoworkeffectively,thesubjectisgoingtoneedtogothroughacompleteisolationanddependencyduetoitsinvasive

influenceonthesubject.Thisisoneofthereasonsthatmanyofthebrainwashingcasesthatareknownaboutoccurintotalisticcultsorprisoncamps.Thebrainwasher,ortheagent,mustbeabletogaincompletecontrolovertheirsubject.Thismeansthattheymustcontroltheeatinghabits,sleepingpatterns,andfulfillingtheotherhuman

needsofthesubjectandnoneoftheseactionscanoccurwithoutthewilloftheagent.Duringthisprocess,theagentwillworktosystematicallybreakdownthesubject’swholeidentitytobasicallymakeitnotworkrightanymore.Oncetheidentityisbroken,theagentwillworktoreplaceitwiththedesiredbeliefs,attitudes,andbehaviors.

Theprocessofbrainwashingisstillupfordebatewhetherornotitwillwork.Mostpsychologistsholdthebeliefsthatitispossibletobrainwashasubjectaslongastherightconditionsarepresent.Eventhen,thewholeprocessisnotassevereasitispresentedinthemedia.Therearealsodifferentdefinitionsof

brainwashingthatmakeitmoredifficulttodeterminetheeffectsofbrainwashingonthesubject.Someofthesedefinitionsrequirethattheremustbesomesortofthreattothephysicalbodyofthesubjectinordertobeconsideredbrainwashing.Ifyoufollowthisdefinition,theneventhepracticesdonebymanyextremistcultswouldnot

beconsideredtruebrainwashingasnophysicalabuseoccurs.Otherdefinitionsofbrainwashingwillrelyoncontrolandcoercionwithoutphysicalforceinordertogetthechangeinthebeliefsofthesubjects.Eitherway,expertsbelievethattheeffectofbrainwashing,evenundertheidealconditions,isonly

ashorttermoccurrence.Theybelievethattheoldidentityofthesubjectisnotcompletelyeradicatedwiththepractice;rather,itisputintohidingandwillreturnoncethenewidentityisnotreinforcedanymore.RobertJayLiftoncameupwithsomeinterestingthoughtsonbrainwashinginthe1950safterhe

studiedprisonersoftheChineseandKoreanWarcamps.Duringhisobservations,hedeterminedthattheseprisonersunderwentamultistepprocesstobrainwashing.Thisprocessbeganwithattacksonthesenseofselfwiththeprisonerandthenendedwithasupposedchangeinbeliefsofthesubject.Thereare10stepsthatLifton

definedforthebrainwashingprocessinthesubjectsthathestudied.Theseincluded:

1. Anassaultontheidentityofthesubject

2. Forcingguiltonthesubject

3. Forcingthesubjectintoself-betrayal

4. Reachinga

breakingpoint5. Offeringthe

subjectleniencyiftheychange

6. Compulsiontoconfess

7. Channelingtheguiltintheintendeddirection

8. Releasingthesubjectofsupposedguilt

9. Progressingto

harmony10. Thefinal

confessionbeforearebirth

Allofthesestagesmusttakeplaceinanareathatisincompleteisolation.Thismeansthatallofthenormalsocialreferencesthatthesubjectisusedtocomingincontactwithareunavailable.Inaddition,mindcloudingtechniques

willbeemployedinordertoexpeditetheprocesssuchasmalnutritionandsleepdeprivation.Whilethismightnotbetrueofallbrainwashingcases,oftenthereisapresenceofsomesortofphysicalharmwhichcontributestothetargethavingdifficultyinthinkingindependentlyandcriticallyliketheynormallywould.

StepsUsedWhileLiftonseparatedthestepsofthebrainwashingprocessinto10steps,modernpsychologistsorganizeitintothreestagesinordertobetterunderstandwhatgoesonforthesubjectduringthisprocess.Thesethreestagesincludethebreakingdownoftheself,introducingtheideaofsalvationtothe

subject,andtherebuildingoftheselfofthesubject.Understandingeachofthesestagesandtheprocessthathappenswitheachofthemcanhelpyoutounderstandwhatisgoingontotheidentityofthesubjectwiththisprocess.

BreakingDownofSelf

Thefirststageofthebrainwashingprocessisthebreakingdownoftheself.Duringthisprocess,theagentwantstobreakuptheoldidentityofthesubjectinordertomakethemfeelmorevulnerableandopentothedesirednewidentity.Thisstepisnecessaryinordertocontinueontheprocess.Theagentisnotgoingto

beverysuccessfulwiththeirendeavorsifthesubjectisstillfirmlysetintheirresolveandtheiroldidentity.Breakingupthisidentityandmakingthepersonquestionthethingsaroundthemcanmakeiteasiertochangetheidentityinthelatersteps.Thisisdonethroughseveralstepsincludingassaultontheidentityofthesubject,briningon

guilt,self-betrayal,andthenreachingthebreakingpoint.

AssaultonIdentityTheassaultontheidentityofthesubjectisbasicallythesystematicattackonthesubjects’senseofself,ortheiregooridentityalongwiththeircoresystemofbelief.Itmakesthesubjectquestionwho

theyarebymakingthemthinkthateverythingtheyhaveeverknowniswrong.Theagentwillspendagreatdealoftimedenyingeverythingthatthesubjectis.Inprisonercamps,forexample,theagentwillsaythingslike“Youarenotdefendingfreedom,”“Youarenotaman,”and“Youarenotasoldier.”Thesubjectwillbeunderattackslikethese

constantlyfordaysuptomonths.Thisisdoneinordertoexhaustthesubjectssothattheybecomedisoriented,confused,andexhausted.Whenthesubjectreachesthiskindofstate,theirbeliefswillstarttoseemlesssolidandtheymightstarttobelievethethingsthattheyaretold.

Guilt

Oncethesubjecthasgonethroughtheassaultontheiridentity,theywillenterthestageofguilt.Thesubjectwillbeconstantlytoldthattheyarebadwhilegoingthroughthisnewidentitycrisisthathasbeenbroughton.Thisisdoneinordertobringalargesenseofguiltontothesubject.Thesubjectwillbeconstantlyunderattackfor

anyofthethingsthattheyhavedone,regardlessofhowbigorsmalltheactsmaybe.Therangeoftheattackscanvaryaswell;thesubjectcouldbecriticizedfortheirbeliefsystemstothewaythattheydressandevenbecausetheyeattooslowly.Overtime,thesubjectisgoingtostarttofeelshamearoundthemallofthetimeandtheywill

feelthatallthethingstheyaredoingarewrong.Thiscanhelptomakethemfeelmorevulnerableandlikelytogoalongwiththenewidentitytheagentwantstoproduce.

Self-betrayalNowthatthesubjecthasbeenledtobelievethattheyarebadandthatalloftheiractionsare

undesirable,theagentisgoingtoworktoforcethesubjecttoadmitthattheyarebad.Atthispoint,thesubjectisdrowningintheirownguiltandfeelingverydisoriented.Throughthecontinuanceofthementalattacks,thethreatofsomegreatphysicalharm,oracombinationofthetwo,theagentwillbeabletoforcethesubjecttodenouncehisoldidentity.

Thiscanincludeawidevarietyofthingssuchasgettingthesubjecttodenouncetheirownpeers,friends,andfamilywhosharethesamebeliefsystemasthem.Whilethisprocessmaytakeawhiletooccur,onceitdoes,thesubjectwillfeellikehebetrayedthosethathefeelsloyalto.Thiswillalsoincreasetheshameaswellasthelossofidentitythat

thetargetisalreadyfeeling,furtherbreakingdowntheidentityofthesubject.

BreakingPointBythispoint,thesubjectisfeelingverybrokendownanddisoriented.TheymaybeaskingquestionssuchasWhereamI?WhoamI?andWhatshouldIdo?Thesubjectisinanidentity

crisisatthispointandisgoingthroughsomedeepshame.Sincetheyhavebetrayedallofthebeliefsandthepeoplethathehasalwaysknown,thesubjectisgoingtogothroughanervousbreakdown.Inpsychology,thisjustmeansacollectionofseveresymptomsthatoftenindicatealargenumberofsupposed

psychologicaldisturbances.Someofthesymptomscaninvolvegeneraldisorientation,deepdepression,anduncontrolledsobbing.Thesubjectmayhavethefeelingsofbeingcompletelylostalongwithhavingaloosegriponreality.Oncethesubjectreachesthisbreakingpoint,theywillhavelosttheirsenseofselfandthe

agentwillprettymuchbeabletodowhatevertheywantwiththematthispointsincethesubjecthaslosttheirunderstandingofwhatisgoingonaroundthemandwhotheyare.Alsoatthispoint,theagentwillsetupthevarioustemptationsthatarenecessaryinordertoconvertthesubjecttowardsanewbeliefsystem.Thenewsystem

willbesetupinawaytooffersalvationtothesubjectfromthemiserythattheyarefeeling.

PossibilityofSalvationAftertheagenthasbeeneffectiveatbreakingdowntheselfofthesubject,itistimetomoveontothenextstep.Thisstepinvolves

offeringthesubjectthepossibilityofsalvationonlyiftheyarewillingtoturnawayfromtheirformerbeliefsystemandinsteadembracethenewonethatisbeingoffered.Thesubjectisgiventhechancetounderstandwhatisaroundthem,aretoldthattheywouldbegoodagainandthattheywouldfeelbetteriftheywouldjustfollowthenewdesired

path.Therearefourstepsthatareincludedinthisstageofthebrainwashingprocess;leniency,compulsiontoconfession,channelingoftheguiltandreleasingoftheguilt.

LeniencyLeniencyisthe“Icanhelpyou”stage.Thesubjecthasbeenbrokendownandforcedtoturnawayfrom

thepeopleandthebeliefsthattheyhaveheldontoforsomanyyears.Theyhavebeentoldthattheyarebadandthateverythingtheydoiswrong.Thesubjectisgoingtofeellostandallaloneintheworld,shamefulatallofthebadthingsthattheyhavedoneandwonderingwhichwaytheycanturn.Whentheyreachthisstage,theagentisableto

offerthemsomeformofreleasebyofferingtohelpthem.Thiswilloftenbeintheformofareprievefromtheabusethesubjecthasincurredorsomeothersmallkindness.Forexample,theagentcanofferalittleextrafoodoradrinkofwatertothesubjectoreventakeafewmomentstoaskthesubject

personalquestionsabouthomeandlovedones.Inthesubject’scurrentstate,thesesmallactsofkindnesswillseemlikeabigdeal,resultinginthesubjectfeelingabigsenseofgratitudeandrelieftowardstheagent.Oftenthesefeelingsarewayoutofproportionincomparisontotheofferingthathasbeenmade.Insomeinstances,thesubject

mayfeelliketheagenthasdonetheactofsavingtheirliferatherthanjustofferingasmallservice.Thisdistortionofeventsworksinthefavoroftheagentasthesubjectisnowgoingtogaintiesofloyaltywiththeagentratherthanthingsofthepast.

CompulsiontoConfessionOncetheagenthasbeen

abletogainthetrustoftheirsubject,theywilltrytogetaconfessionoutoftheprocess.Thisstageisoftenknownasthe“Youcanhelpyourself.”Duringthisstageofthebrainwashingprocess,thesubjectstartstoseethedifferencesbetweenthepainandguiltthattheyfeltduringtheidentityassaultandthereliefthattheyarefeelingfromthesudden

leniencythatisoffered.Ifthebrainwashingprocessiseffective,thesubjectmayevenstarttofeeladesiretoreciprocatesomeofthekindnessthathasbeenofferedtothembytheagent.Whenthisoccurs,theagentwillbeabletopresenttheideaofconfessionasapossiblemeanstorelievingthesubjectofthepainandguiltthattheyarefeeling.

Thesubjectwillthenbeledthroughaprocessofconfessingallofthewrongsandsinsthattheyhavedoneinthepast.Ofcourse,thesewrongsandsinswillbeinrelationtohowtheyaffectthenewidentitythatisbeingcreated.Forexample,ifthesubjectisaprisonerofwar,thisstepwillallowthemtoconfessthewrongsthat

theydidbydefendingfreedomorfightingagainsttheregimeoftheothercountry.Evenifthesearenotnecessarilywrongsorsins,theygoagainstthenewideologythattheregimeisalwaysrightandsotheymustbeconfessed.

ChannelingofGuiltOncethesubjectentersthechannelingofguiltstep,

theyhavebeenundergoingtheassaultoftheirselfformanymonths.Bythetimethesubjectreachesthispointinthebrainwashingprocess,theyareabletofeeltheguiltandtheshamethathasbeenputonthem,butithasprettymuchlostitsmeaning.Theyarenotabletotellyouexactlywhattheyhavedonewrongtomakethemfeelthisway;theyjust

knowthattheyarewrong.Theagentwillbeabletousetheblankslateofthesubjectinordertoexplainwhytheyareinthepainthattheyarefeeling.Theagentwillbeabletoattachthesenseofguiltthatthesubjectisfeelingtowhatevertheywant.Iftheagentistryingtoreplaceasystemofbeliefs,theywilltaketheoldsystemand

convincethesubjectthatthosebeliefsarewhataremakingthemfeeltheguilt.Thisisthestagewherethecontractbetweentheoldbeliefsandthenewbeliefsareestablished;basically,theoldbeliefsystemhasbeenestablishedtocorrespondwiththepsychologicalagonythatthesubjecthasbeenfeelingwhilethenewbeliefsystemhasbeen

establishedtocorrespondwiththeabilitytoescapethatagony.Thechoicewillbethesubjects’,butitisprettyeasytoseethattheywouldchoosethenewsysteminordertostartfeelingbetter.

ReleasingofGuiltInthisstep,thesubjecthascometorealizethattheiroldvaluesandbeliefsare

causingthempain.Bythistimetheyareworndownandtiredoffeelingtheguiltandshamethathasbeenputonthemformanymonths.Theystarttorealizethatitisnotnecessarilysomethingthattheyhavedonethatmakesthemfeelthisway;rather,itistheirbeliefsthatarecausingtheguilt.Theembattledsubjectisabletofeelsomerelieffromthe

factthatthereissomethingthattheycandoabouttheguilt.Theywillalsofeelrelievedbecausetheynowhavecometotheunderstandingthattheyarenotthebadperson,ratheritisthepeoplethattheyhavebeenaroundandtheirbeliefsystemthatisthetrueculpritthatiscausingthemalaisewhichissomethingthattheycanfixinordertobecomegood

again.Thesubjecthaslearnedthattheyhaveameansofescapesimplybyescapingthewrongbeliefsystemthattheyhaveheldandembracingthenewonethatisbeingoffered.Allthatthesubjectwillhavetodoinordertoreleasetheguiltthattheyarefeelingistodenouncetheinstitutionsandpeoplethatareassociatedwiththeoldbeliefsystemandthen

theywillbereleasedfromtheguilt.Thesubjectnowhassomecontroloverthisstage.Theywillbeabletorealizethatthereleaseofguiltisuptothemcompletely.Allthesubjectwillneedtodoforthisstageinordertobereleasedfromthewrongnessistoconfesstoanyoftheactstheyhavecommittedthatare

associatedwiththeoldbeliefsystem.Oncethefullconfessionisdone,thesubjectwillhavecompletedthefullpsychologicalrejectionoftheirformeridentity.Theagentwillneedtostepinatthispointinordertoofferanewidentitytothesubjectandhelpthemtorebuildtheiridentityintothedesiredone.

RebuildingofSelfBythisstep,thesubjecthasgonethroughalotofstepsandemotionalturmoil.Theyhavebeenputthroughanordealthatismeanttostripthemoftheiroldidentity,toldthattheyarebadandneedtobefixed,andslowlycometotherealizationthattheirbeliefsystemisthecause

oftheirwrongnessandthatitneedstobechanged.Onceallofthishasbeenreached,thesubjectisgoingtoneedtolearnhowtorebuildtheirself,withthehelpoftheagent.Thisstageallowstheagentthefreedomtoimplanttheideasofthenewsystemsincethesubjectisacleanslateandveryeagertolearnhowtobeandfeelbetter.Therearetwosteps

thatareseenduringthisstageincludingharmonyandthefinalconfessionbeforestartingover.

HarmonyTheagentwillusethisstepinordertoconvincethesubjectthatitistheirchoicetomakeachange.Theymighttellthesubjectthattheyhavethechoicetochoosewhatisgoodand

makeachangethatwillhelpthemtofeelbetter.Theagentwillthenintroducethenewbeliefsystemandpresentitinawaythatmakesitthegoodortherightchoice.Duringthisstage,theagentwillstoptheabuseandinsteadmakeapointofofferingthesubjectmentalcalmandphysicalcomfort.Thepointofdoingthisistoaligntheoldbeliefswith

thepainandsufferingwhilealigningthenewbeliefswithhappinessandrelief.Thisstageissetupsothatthesubjectisgiventhechoiceofwhichroadtotake,eventhoughitreallyisnotuptothem.Thesubjectmustusethisstagetochoosebetweentheoldbeliefsandthenewbeliefs,effectivelydetermining

howtheyaregoingtofeelfortherestoftheirlives.Bythispoint,thesubjecthasalreadygonethroughtheprocessofdenouncingtheiroldbeliefsduetotheleniencyandtormentthattheyhavegonethrough.Becauseofthis,itisfairlylikelythattheyaregoingtomakethechoiceforthenewsystemofbeliefinordertorelievetheirguilt.Thenewidentitythathas

beenpresentedisdesirableandsafebecauseitiscompletelydifferentthantheoldidentitythatledtothebreakdowninearliersteps.Usinglogicandconsideringthestateofmindthatthesubjectisin,itiseasiertoseethattheonlyidentitythatthesubjectisgoingtochoosefortheirownpeaceofmindandsafetyisthenewone.

FinalConfessionandStartingOverEventhoughthechoiceisreallynottheirsatall,theagenthasstrategicallyworkedthewholetimetoleadthesubjecttofeelingliketheyhavethefreewilltochoosethenewidentity.Ifthebrainwashingprocessisdonecorrectly,

thesubjectwillthinklogicallyaboutthenewchoicesanddeterminethatthebestoneistotakeupthenewidentity.Theyhavebeenconditionedtothinkthiswayandintheirnewstateofmind,itistheonethatmakesthemostsense.Therearenootherchoices;choosingthenewidentityallowsthemtoberelievedfromtheguiltthattheyfeelandleadsto

happinesswhilechoosingtheoldidentityleadstopainandguilt.Ifforsomereasonthesubjectdiddenythenewidentity,therewouldbeabacktrackinginthewholebrainwashingprocessandtheywouldbeforcedtoundergoitallagaininordertoendupwiththedesiredresults.Duringthisstageoftheprocess,thesubjectgetsto

decidethattheywillchoosegood,whichmeansthattheygettochoosetogowiththenewidentity.Whenthesubjectcontraststheagonyandpainoftheiroldidentitywiththepeacefulnessthatcomeswiththenew,theyaregoingtochoosethenewidentity.Thisnewidentityislikeaformofsalvation.Itisthethingthathelpsthemtofeelgoodandnot

havetodealwithguiltandunhappinessanymore.Asthisstagecompletes,thesubjectisgoingtorejecttheiroldidentityandwillgothroughaprocessofpledgingallegiancetotheirnewone,knowingthatitisgoingtoworkatmakingtheirlifebetter.Manytimes,thereareceremoniesandritualsthatoccurduringthisfinal

stage.Theconversionfromtheoldidentitytothenewidentityisabigdealsincemuchtimeandenergyhasbeenusedonbothsides.Duringtheseceremonies,thesubjectwillbeinductedintothenewcommunityandembracedwiththenewidentity.Forsomebrainwashingvictimsthereisthefeelingofrebirthduringthisperiod.Youareallowedtoembraceyour

newidentityandarewelcomedwithopenarmsintothenewcommunitythatisnowyourown.Insteadofbeingisolatedandalone,youhavemanynewfriendsandcommunitymembersonyourside.Insteadoffeelingtheguiltandpainthathasplaguedyouformanymonthsyouaregoingtofeelhappinessandpeacefulnesswith

everythingthatisaroundyou.Thenewidentityisnowyoursandthebrainwashingtransformationiscomplete.Thisprocesscantakeplaceoveraperiodofmanymonthstoevenyears.Mostpeoplearesetintheiridentityandthebeliefsthattheyhave;itisnotpossibletochangeallofthisinjust

afewdaysunlessthepersonwasalreadywillingtochangeandthatwouldmakethebrainwashingtechniquesunnecessary.Isolationwouldalsobenecessarybecauseoutsideinfluenceswillpreventthesubjectfromrelyingontheagentduringthisprocess.Thisiswhymostofthebrainwashingcasesoccurinprisoncampsandotherisolatedinstances;thevast

majorityofpeoplewillnothavethechanceofencounteringbrainwashingduetothefactthattheyarealwayssurroundedbypeopleandtechnologythatwouldhinderthewholebrainwashingprocess.Oncethepersonisinisolation,theprocesstakesalongtimeduetothemanystepsthatmustbetakeninordertochange

theidealsheldbytheindividualformanyyearssothattheywillembracethenewidentityastheirownwhilealsofeelingthatthechoicehasalwaysbeentheirs.Ascanbeseen,therearequiteafewstepsthatmustbetakeninordertogothroughthebrainwashingprocess.Itisnotsomethingthatisgoingto

happenjustbyrunningintosomeoneonthestreetandexchangingafewwords.Itrequirestheisolationandtimetoconvincethesubjectthateverythingtheyknowiswrongandthattheyareabadperson.Itthencontinuesonwithtryingtoforceoutaconfessionthatthesubjectisbadandthattheywanttorenounceallofthethingsthattheyhave

donethatarebadduetotheiroldidentity.Finally,thesubjectwillbeledinthedirectionofbelievingthattheycanchangeforthebetteriftheyjustabandontheiroldideasandinsteadembracethepeacefulnessandrightnessthatcomeswiththenewidentitythatispresented.Allofthesestepsmustoccurforthebrainwashingtobeeffectiveandthenew

identitytobeputinplace.

BrainwashingasCourtDefenseThroughouthistory,peoplehavebeenclaimingthattheycommittedterriblewrongsbecausetheyhadbeenbrainwashed.Itwasanexcusethatmanywouldclaimhopingtosavetheirownlivesortogetawaywithamassmurderorsomeothercrimeagainsthumanity.Itmightevenbe

somethingassimpleasstealingfromanotherperson.Whatevertheactionwas,brainwashingwasaneasydefensebecauseittooktheresponsibilityoftheactionawayfromtheaccusedanditwasdifficulttoprovewhethersomeonehadbeenbrainwashedornot.Whetherbrainwashingpleascanbeusedasa

defenseinthecourtroomisuptosomedebate.Manyexpertsfeelthatbyallowingthisdefenseintothecourtroom,thecourtswouldbecomeoverwhelmedwithfalseclaimsofbrainwashingandtheresourcesforprovingordisprovingthisdefensewouldbemorethanthecourtscouldhandle.Despitethis,therehavebeensomecases

broughttocourtthatmayshowthevalidityofbrainwashingasadefenseforcrimescommitted.Thefirstexampleofthishappenedin1976.PattyHearst,theheiresstoalargepublishingfortune,usedthedefenseofbrainwashingwhenshestoodtrialforabankrobbery.Intheearly1970s,Hearstwaskidnappedby

theSLA,theSymbioneseLiberationArmy,andendedupjoiningthisgroup.Duringthetrial,Hearstreportedthatshehadbeenlockedupinaclosetforatleastafewdaysaftershehadbeenkidnapped.Whileinthecloset,Hearststatedthatshewasafraidofherlife,brutalized,tired,andwasnotfedwhilemembersoftheSLAbombardedher

withtheirideologyagainstacapitalistcountry.Withinthetwomonthsofherkidnapping,Pattyhadchangedhernamewhilealsoissuingastatementsayingthatherfamilywere“pig-Hearsts”andthenappearedonthesecuritytapeofabankrobbingitalongwiththosewhohadkidnappedher.In1976,PattyHearststood

trialforthisbankrobberyandwasdefendedbyF.LeeBailey.Inthedefense,itwasclaimedthatHearsthadbeenbrainwashedbytheSLA.ThisbrainwashinghadforcedHearsttocommitacrimethatshewouldhaveneverdoneunderanyothercircumstance.Inthementalstatethatshewasunderwiththebrainwashing,shewasnot

abletotellthedifferencebetweenrightandwrongandthereforeshouldnotbefoundguiltyofthebankrobbery.Thecourtdidnotagreewiththisanalysisandinsteadfoundherguiltyandplacedherinprisonforsevenyears.Justafewyearslater,PresidentCartercommutedhersentencesosheonlyendedupspendingtwoyearsintotalinprison.

LeeBoydMalvoCaseAnotherwell-knownbrainwashingdefenseistheLeeBoydMalvocase.Thiscaseusedthedefenseofinsanitybybrainwashinganditendedupinthecourtroomsabout30yearsafterthePattyHearstcase.In2002,LeeBoydMalvowasontrial

fortherolethatheplayedinthesniperattacksthatoccurredaroundandinWashingtonD.C.Malvo,whowas17atthetime,andJohnAllenMuhammad,42,endedupkilling10peopleandwoundingthreeduringthekillingspree.ThedefensethatwasusedforthiscasewasthattheteenageMalvohadbeenbrainwashedbyMuhammadsothathe

wouldcommitthecrimes.JustlikeintheHearstcase,thedefenseclaimedthatMalvowouldnothavecommittedthesecrimesifhehadnotbeenunderthecontrolofMuhammad.Accordingtothebackgroundstoryusedbythedefense,MalvohadbeenabandonedbyhismotherontheislandofAntiguaintheCaribbean

whenhewas15yearsold.MuhammadmettheboyandbroughthimintotheUnitedStatesin2001.Muhammadwasanarmyveteranatthetimeandworkedtofilltheheadoftheteenwithvisionsofaracewarthatwasimpending.Tothatend,Malvowastrainedtobeanexpertmarksman.InadditiontosharingtheseideaswithMalvo,

MuhammadisolatedMalvofromotherswhilebeingsteepedinthevitriolicandidiosyncraticbrandofIslamthatMuhammadfollowedalongwithastrictexerciseregimenanddiet.AllofthisisbelievedtohavebeenapartofthebrainwashingprocessontheyoungMalvo.Thedefensearguedthat

becauseofhistimespentwithMuhammad,Malvohadbeenbrainwashedandbecauseofthis,hewasnotcapableoftellingwhatwasrightfromwhatwaswrong.Despitetheeffortsofthedefense,Malvowasfoundtobeguiltyandhadasentenceoflifeinprisonwithoutanychanceofparole.Inaseparatetrial,Muhammadwassentencedtothedeathpenalty.

Sofar,itdoesnotseemlikebrainwashingwillgainmuchgroundasaformofdefenseinthecourtroom.Tostartwith,itismuchtoodifficulttoprovethatadefendanthasbeenbrainwashedinthefirstplace.Next,itisveryunlikelythatsomeonehasbeenbrainwashedandinsteadthedefenseisjustusingitasameanstogeta

lightersentenceortheactionsoftheirclientforgiven.Inaddition,manyjuriesseemtofindtheideaofbrainwashingcompletelyridiculous.Overall,thisdefensewillprobablynotseemuchstrengthgrowinginthecourtroom.

CommonTacticsUsedinBrainwashingBrainwashingisnotalwaysasintenseaswhathasbeendescribedsofarinthischapter.Themethodsdescribedareusedfor“truebrainwashing”andarerarelydonetothesubject.Therearemanyothertypesofbrainwashingthatactuallyhappenonadaytoday

basis.Theymightnotworktomakeyoucompletelygiveupyouroldidentityinfavorofanewone,buttheydoworktohelpshiftyourthoughtsandideasonwhatisgoingonaroundyou.Thissectionisgoingtofocusonsomeofthetacticsthatareoftenusedduringthebrainwashingprocess,regardlessofwhetheritistruebrainwashingornot.

Hypnosis-hypnosis,whichwillbediscussedinmoredetailinthenextchapter,isaformofbrainwashinginsomecircumstances.Hypnosisisbasicallytheinductionofahighstateofsuggestibility.Thisstateisoftendisguisedthinlyasmeditationorrelaxation.Duringtheprocessofhypnosis,theagentisable

tosuggestthingstothesubjectinhopesofgettingthemtoactorreactinacertainway.Manypeoplearefamiliarwithhypnosisfromthestageshowstheyhaveseen.Itisalsooftenusedasawaytoimprovehealth.PeerPressure-everyonehasaninnateneedtobelong.Thiscouldbewithaparticulargroup,their

family,friends,andthecommunity.Withthepeerpressuretacticthereisasuppressionofthedoubtthatthesubjectfeelsalongwithgettingridoftheirresistancetonewideasbyexploitingthisstrongneedtobelong.Ifdoneright,thesubjectmaybemorewillingtotryoutnewthings,belessshyaroundnewpeople,andmayhaveaneasiertimemakingnew

friends.LoveBombing—thesenseoffamilyisverystronginpeople.Thisisthegroupthatyouwerebornintoandthatyouhavesupposedlybeenaroundforyourwholelife.Theyknowyoubetterthananyoneandthosewhohavemissedoutonthiskindofrelationshipmayfindthattheyarefeeling

aloneandunwanted.Withlovebombing,theagentisabletocreateasenseofthefamilybytheuseofemotionalbonding,feelingandthroughsharingandphysicaltouch.Thisallowstheagentandthesubjecttobondinafamilialway,makingiteasiertotradeintheoldidentityforthenewone.RejectingOldValues

—asmentionedalittlebitearlierinthischapter,theagentisworkingtoconvincethesubjecttodenouncealloftheirownvalues.Thisprocessisacceleratedthroughtheprocessofintimidation,physicalthreat,andothermeans.Attheend,thesubjectwilldenouncethevaluesandbeliefsthattheyonceheldcloseandwillbegintoacceptthenew

lifestylethatispresentedtothembytheagent.ConfusingDoctrine—inthistactic,therewillbeanencouragementtoblindlyacceptthenewidentitywhilerejectingotherlogicthatthesubjectwillhave.Inordertodothis,theagentwillgothroughacomplexsetoflecturesaboutadoctrinethatisgoingtobe

incomprehensible.Thesubjectwilllearntoblindlytrustwhattheagentissayingthroughthisprocess,whetheritisaboutthedoctrineoraboutthenewidentitythatisbeingformed.Metacommunication—thistacticisemployedwhentheagentworkstoimplantsubliminalmessagesintothemindof

thesubject.Thiswillbedonewhentheagentstressescertainwordsorphrasesthatarekeytothenewidentity.Thesephrasesandkeywordswillbeimplantedintoconfusinglonglecturesthatthesubjectwillbeforcedtositthrough.NoPrivacy—privacyisaprivilegethatmanysubjectswillloseuntilthey

haveconvertedovertothenewidentitythatisprovidedtothem.Notonlyisthistakenawayasamethodtomaketheguiltandwrongnessmoreapparenttothesubject,butitalsotakesawaytheabilitythesubjecthastologicallyevaluatethethingsthattheyarebeingtold.Ifthesubjectisallowedtohaveprivacy,theywillhavetimeto

privatelycontemplatetheinformationtheyaregivenandmaydiscoverthatitisuntrueordoesnotholduptowhattheyalreadybelieve.Takingawaythisprivacymeansthattheagentoragentsarealwaysaroundandthesubjectisalwaysbeingledtothenewidentity.Disinhibition—duringthistactic,thesubjectisencouragedbytheagentto

givechildlikeobedience.Thismakesiteasierfortheagenttoshapethemindofthesubject.UnbendingRules—therulesthatareputinplacebytheagentareoftenstrictandwillneverbechanged.Theserulesaremeanttomakeitdifficultforthesubjecttothinkandactontheirown;rather,theywillspendtheirtimedoingexactlywhattheyaretold

todobytheagent.Therearemanydifferentrulesthatcouldfitintothiscategorysuchastherulesthatwillbefollowedforthedisorientationandregressionprocessallthewaytohowthesubjectisallowedtousemedications,takebathroombreaks,andeatmeals.Theserulesareputinplaceinordertocompletelycontrolthe

subjectduringthebrainwashingprocess.VerbalAbuse—verbalabuseisoneofthetacticsthatisusedduringthebreakingdownstage.Oftenthesubjectwillbecomedesensitizedwhentheyarebombardedwithabusiveandfoullanguageallofthetime.Attimes,physicalabusemaysupplementorreplaceverbalabuse.SleepDeprivation

—whenapersonisnotgettingtheamountofsleepthattheyrequiretheywilloftenbecomevulnerableanddisoriented.Thiscanhelpcreatetheidealenvironmentthattheagentislookingforduringthebreakingdownandconfessionstagesofthebrainwashingprocess.Inaddition,manytimesthesubjectwillberequiredtodoprolongedphysicaland

mentalactivitiesontopoftheinadequatesleepinordertohurrytheprocessevenmore.DressCodes—enforcingadresscodefurtherremovesanyindividualitythatthesubjectmayhaveaswellasthechoicetheyareusedtoofpickingouttheirownclothes.Oftenduringthebrainwashingprocess,thesubjectwillbedemandedtowearthe

dresscodeheldbytherestofthegroup.Chanting—theagentwillworktoeliminateanynon-cultideasthatmaybepresentinthemindofthesubject.Onewaytoaccomplishthisisthroughchantingorrepetitionofthephrasesthatareusedbythosewhofollowthenewidentity.Confession—confessionisdeeplyencouragedin

thosewhoaretransformingfromtheiroldidentitytothenewidentity.Duringthisprocess,thesubjectwilldestructtheirownindividualegobyconfessingalloftheirinnermostfeelingsofdoubtandpersonalweaknessestotheagent.Oncetheyareabletoletgoofthesethings,theintroductionofthenew

identityisabletooccur.FinancialCommitment—insomecases,therewillbefinancialcontributionswhichmustbemet.Thiscanhelptheagentinseveralways.First,thefinancialcommitmentallowsanincreaseddependenceofthesubjectonthegroupbecausethesubjectmaybeburningbridgestotheirpast.Theywilldonatedifferentassets,

whetheritistheircar,house,money,orsomeotherfinancialcontributioninthehopesthattheywillbeabletogetovertheirshameandguilt.Nowtheyarefinanciallyattachedtothenewidentity.Inaddition,theagentwillbeabletousethesefinancialcontributionstofurthertheirownneeds.PointingtheFinger

—whenyouareabletopointthefingeratsomeoneelse,youwillfeelasenseofrighteousness.Thisisyourwayoftellingtheworldthatyouaregoodsimplybypointingoutsomeoftheshortcomingsthataregoingonintheworld.Theagentmaypointoutallofthekilling,racism,andgreedthatareintheworldbeforecontrastingittothegood

ofthenewidentitythatthesubjectisbeingledto.Isolation—ifyouareisolatedfromeverythingthatisaroundyou,itbecomesdifficulttogetoutsideopinionsthatmightchangeyourmind.Thisiswhattheagentwillstriveforbecausetheydonotwantalloftheirworktogoaway.Thosewhoarebeingbrainwashedwillbeseparatedfromsociety,

friends,family,andanyotherrationalreferencesthatwouldchangetheirwayofthinking.ControlledApproval—theagentisgoingtoworkinordertomaintaintheconfusionandvulnerabilityofthesubjectduringthebreakingdownperiod.Onemethodofdoingthisisthroughcontrolledapproval.Theagentwillalternately

punishandrewardsimilaractions,makingitdifficultforthesubjecttoknowwhatisrightandwhatiswrong.ChangeofDiet—changingtheamountoffoodthesubjectisallowedtoconsumeisanothertacticusedtocreatedisorientationwhileincreasingthesusceptibilityofthesubjecttoemotionalarousal.

Whentheagentdramaticallydecreasestheamountoffoodthatthesubjectisallowedtoconsume,theyaredeprivingthesubject’snervoussystemofthenutrientsthatarenecessarytothrive.Addingdrugstothemixmayalsobeaddedintothiscategory.Games—gamesaresometimesusedinorderto

inducemoredependenceonthegroup.Gameswillbeintroducedandmostofthemwillhavereallyobscurerulesthatthesubjectwillnotunderstand.Insomeinstances,thesubjectwillnotbetoldtherulesandtheymustfigurethemoutortheruleswillconstantlychange.Thistacticallowstheagenttogainmorecontrol.

NoQuestions—duringthebrainwashingprocess,thesubjectisnotallowedtoaskquestions.Questionspromoteindividualthinkingandthisisdangeroustothebrainwashingpractice.Whennoquestionsareallowed,ithelpstheagentaccomplishanautomaticacceptancefromthesubjecttothenewidentity.Guilt—thesubjecthas

beentoldthattheyarebadandthateverythingtheydoisbad.Guiltisacommontacticthatisusedbytheagentinordertomakethesubjectquestiontheirbeliefsandwhatisgoingonaroundthem.Thesinsofthesubject’sformerlifestylewillbeexaggeratedinordertobringabouttheguiltandreinforcetheneedofsalvationinthesubject.

Fear—fearisapowerfulmotivatorandcanaccomplishalotmorethantheothertacticsthathavebeenlisted.Agentsmayusefearinordertomaintaintheobedienceandloyaltythataredesiredtothegroup.Todothis,theagentmaythreatenthelimb,life,orsoulofthesubjectforanythingthatisagainstthenewidentitythatisbeingpresented.

Thesearejustafewofthetacticsthatcanbeusedduringthebrainwashingprocess.Thepointofeachofthemistoinstilltheideathattheoldidentityofthesubjectiswrongandconvincethemthatthenewidentityispreferable.Therearemanydifferentwaysthatthiscanbedoneandmanywillbemoreeffectivewhenusedasacombination.

Whileitispossiblethatbrainwashingcanalterthewaythatsomeonethinksandact,mostexpertsbelievethattruebrainwashingisexaggeratedandcannotbedone.Whilelittleexamplesofbrainwashingmayoccurineverydaylife,themajorityofpeoplewillnotfindthattheirwholebeliefsystemshavebeenchangedthroughthisprocess.

Chapter3:HypnosisWhilebrainwashingisawell-knownformofmindcontrolthatmanypeoplehaveheardof,hypnosisisalsoanimportanttypethatshouldbeconsidered.Forthemostpart,thosewhoarefamiliarwithhypnosisknowaboutitfromwatchingstageshowsofparticipantsdoing

ridiculousacts.Whilethisisatypeofhypnosis,thereisalotmoretoit.Thischapterisgoingtoconcentratemoreonhypnosisasaformofmindcontrol.

WhatisHypnosis?Tostartwithisthedefinitionofhypnosis.Accordingtoexperts,hypnosisisconsideredastateofconsciousnessthatinvolvesthefocusedattentionalongwiththereducedperipheralawarenessthatischaracterizedbytheparticipant’sincreasedcapacitytorespondto

suggestionsthataregiven.Thismeansthattheparticipantisgoingtoenteradifferentstateofmindandwillbemuchmoresusceptibletofollowingthesuggestionsthataregivenbythehypnotist.Itiswidelyrecognizedthattherearetwotheorygroupsthathelptodescribewhatishappening

duringthehypnosisperiod.Thefirstoneisknownasthealteredstatetheory.Thosewhofollowthistheoryseethathypnosisislikeatranceorastateofmindthatisalteredweretheparticipantwillseethattheirawarenessissomewhatdifferentfromwhattheywouldnoticeintheirordinaryconsciousstate.Theothertheoryis

thenon-statetheories.Thosewhofollowthistheorydonotthinkthatthosewhoundergohypnosisareenteringintodifferentstatesofconsciousness.Rather,theparticipantisworkingwiththehypnotisttoenteratypeofimaginativeroleenactment.Whileinhypnosis,theparticipantisthoughtto

havemoreconcentrationandfocusthatcouplestogetherwithanewabilitytointenselyconcentrateonaspecificmemoryorthought.Duringthisprocess,theparticipantisalsoabletoblockoutothersourcesthatmightbedistractingtothem.Thehypnotizedsubjectsarethoughttoshowaheightenedabilitytorespondtosuggestions

thataregiventothem,especiallywhenthesesuggestionscomefromthehypnotist.Theprocessthatisusedinordertoplacetheparticipantintohypnosisisknownashypnoticinductionandwillinvolveaseriesofsuggestionsandinstructionsthatareusedasatypeofwarmup.Therearemanydifferent

thoughtsthatarebroughtupbytheexpertsastowhatthedefinitionofhypnosisis.Thewidevarietyofthesedefinitionscomesfromthefactthattherearejustsomanydifferentcircumstancesthatcomewithhypnosisandnoonepersonhasthesameexperiencewhentheyaregoingthroughit.Someofthedifferentdefinitionsofhypnosisbyexperts

includethefollowing:

1. “Aspecialcaseofpsychologicalregression,”MichaelNash.

2. ErnestHilgard

andJanetHilgardhavewritteningreatdepthabouthypnosisanddescribeithasa

wayforthebodytodissociatefromitselfinanotherplaneofconsciousness.

3. SarbinandCoe,twowell-knownsocialpsychologists,haveusethetermofroletheorytodescribehypnosis.Under

thisdefinition,theparticipantisplayingtheroleofbeinghypnotized;theyareactingliketheyarehypnotizedratherthanactuallybeinginthatstate.

4. Accordingto

T.X.Barber,

hypnosisisdefinedbasedonthedifferentnonhypnoticbehavioralparameters.Underthisdefinition,theparticipantwilldefinethetaskmotivationandlabelthesituationthattheyareinas

hypnosissincetheyhavenootherthingtocallit.

5. Weitzenhoffer

wroteinsomeofhisearlierwritingsabouthypnosis.Heconceptualizedthathypnosisisastateofenhanced

suggestibility.Inmorerecentwritings,hewentontodefinetheactofhypnosisas“aformofinfluencebyonepersonexertedonanotherthroughthemediumoragencyofsuggestion.

6. BrenmanandGillusedthepsychoanalyticconceptof“regressionintheserviceoftheego,”tohelpdescribewhathypnosiswasallabout.Underthisdefinition,theparticipantiswillingtogounderhypnosis

andintothealteredstatebecauseithelpsouttheiregoandmakesthemtofeelbetter.

7. Accordingto

Edmonstonapersonwhohasundergonehypnosisissimplyinadeepstateof

relaxation.8. Spiegeland

Spiegelhavestatedthathypnosisissimplysomethingthathappensbecauseofthebiologicalcapacityoftheparticipant.

9. Ericksonstates

thathypnosisisanaltered,inner-directed,andspecialstateoffunctioning.Theparticipantisstillabletofunctionandisconsciousofthingsaroundthem,buttheyareinanalteredstatecomparedtotheirnormal

state.Therearemanydifferentviewsandstatementsthathavebeenmadeabouthypnosis.Somepeoplebelievethathypnosisisveryrealandareparanoidthatthegovernmentandothersaroundthemwilltrytocontroltheirminds.Othersdonotbelieveinhypnosisatallandthinkthatitisjustsleightof

hand.Mostlikely,theideaofhypnosisasmindcontrolfallssomewhereinthemiddle.Therearethreestagesofhypnosisthatarerecognizedbythepsychologicalcommunity.Thesethreestagesincludeinduction,suggestion,andsusceptibility.Eachofthemisimportanttothehypnosisprocessandwill

bediscussedfurtherbelow.

InductionThefirststageofhypnosisisinduction.Beforetheparticipantundergoesthefullhypnosis,theywillbeintroducedtothehypnoticinductiontechnique.Formanyyearsthiswasthoughttobethemethodusedtoputthesubjectintotheirhypnotictrance,but

thatdefinitionhaschangedsomeinmoderntimes.Someofthenon-statetheoristshaveseenthisstageslightlydifferently.Insteadtheyseethisstageasthemethodtoheightentheparticipants’expectationsofwhatisgoingtohappen,definingtherolethattheywillplay,gettingtheirattentiontofocusintherightdirection,andanyoftheothersteps

thatareneededinordertoleadtheparticipantintotherightdirectionforhypnosis.Thereareseveralinductiontechniquesthatcanbeusedduringhypnosis.Themostwell-knownandinfluentialmethodsisBraid’s“eyefixation”techniqueor“Braidism.”Therearequiteafewvariationsofthisapproach

includingtheStanfordHypnoticSusceptibilityScale(SHSS).Thisscaleisthemostusedtoolforresearchinthefieldofhypnosis.TousetheBraidinductiontechniquesyouwillhavetofollowacoupleofsteps.Thefirstoneistotakeanyobjectthatyoucanfindthatisbright,suchasawatchcase,andholdit

betweenthemiddle,fore,andthumbfingersonthelefthand.Youwillwanttoholdthisobjectabout8-15inchesfromtheeyesoftheparticipant.Holdtheobjectsomewhereabovetheforeheadsothatitproducesalotofstrainontheeyelidsandeyesduringtheprocesssothattheparticipantisabletomaintainafixedstareontheobjectatalltimes.

Thehypnotistmustthenexplaintotheparticipantthattheyshouldkeeptheireyesalwaysfixedontotheobject.Thepatientwillalsoneedtofocustheirmindcompletelyontheideaofthatparticularobject.Theyshouldnotbeallowedtothinkofotherthingsorlettheirmindsandeyeswanderorelsetheprocesswillnotbesuccessful.

Afterashorttime,theparticipant’seyeswillbegintodilate.Withalittlemoretimetheparticipantwillbegintoassumeawavymotion.Iftheparticipantinvoluntarilyclosestheireyelidswhenthemiddleandforefingersoftherighthandarecarriedfromtheeyestotheobject,thentheyareinthetrance.Ifnot,thenthe

participantwillneedtobeginagain;makesuretolettheparticipantknowthattheyaretoallowtheireyestocloseoncethefingersarecarriedinasimilarmotionbacktowardstheeyesagain.Thiswillgetthepatienttogointothealteredstateofmindthatisknownashypnosis.WhileBraidstoodbyhis

owntechnique,hedidacknowledgethatusingtheinductiontechniqueofhypnosisisnotalwaysnecessaryforeverycase.Infact,researchersinmoderntimeshaveusuallyfoundthattheinductiontechniqueisnotasimportanttotheeffectsofhypnoticsuggestionaspreviouslythought.Overtime,otheralternativesandvariationsofthe

originalhypnoticinductiontechniquehavebeendeveloped,althoughtheBraidmethodisstillconsideredthebest.

SuggestionThenextstageofhypnosisisknownasthesuggestionstage.WhenhypnosiswasfirstdescribedbyJamesBraid,thetermofsuggestionwasnotused.

Instead,Braidreferredtothisstageastheactofhavingtheconsciousmindoftheparticipantfocusononecentralanddominantidea.ThewaythatBraiddidthiswastostimulateorreducethephysiologicalfunctioningofthedifferentregionsontheparticipant’sbody.Lateron,Braidbegantoplacemoreandmoreemphasisontheuseofdifferentnon-verbaland

verbalformsofsuggestioninordertogettheparticipantintothehypnoticstateofmind.Thesewouldincludeusing“wakingsuggestions”aswellasself-hypnosis.Anotherwell-knownhypnotist,HippolyteBernheim,continuedtoshifttheemphasisofthephysicalstateoftheprocessofhypnosisovertothepsychologicalprocess

thatcontainedverbalsuggestions.AccordingtoBernheim,hypnotismistheinductionofapsychicalconditionthatispeculiarandwhichwillincreasethesusceptibilityofthesuggestiontotheparticipant.Often,hestated,thehypnoticstatethatisinducedwillhelptofacilitatethesuggestion,eventhoughthismightnotbenecessarytostartthe

susceptibilityinthefirstplace.Modernhypnotismusesalotofdifferentsuggestionformsinordertobesuccessfulsuchasmetaphors,insinuations,indirectornon-verbalsuggestions,directverbalsuggestions,andotherfiguresofspeechandsuggestionsthatarenon-verbal.Someofthenon-

verbalsuggestionsthatmaybeusedduringthesuggestionstagewouldincludephysicalmanipulation,voicetonality,andmentalimagery.Oneofthedistinctionsthataremadeinthetypesofsuggestionthatcanbeofferedtotheparticipantincludesthosesuggestionsthataredeliveredwithpermissionandthosethataremore

authoritarianinmanner.Oneofthethingsthathavetobeconsideredinregardstohypnosisisthedifferencebetweentheunconsciousandtheconsciousmind.Thereareseveralhypnotistswhoviewthestageofsuggestionasawayofcommunicatingthatisdirectedforthemostparttotheconsciousmindof

thesubject.Othersinthefieldwillseeitintheoppositedirection;theyseethecommunicationoccurringbetweentheagentandthesubconsciousorunconsciousmind.ProponentsofthefirstclassofthoughtincludedBernheim,Braid,andotherpioneersoftheVictorianage.Theybelievedthatthe

suggestionswerebeingaddressedstraighttotheconsciouspartofthesubjectsmind,ratherthantotheunconsciouspart.Infact,Braidgoesfurtherandactuallydefinestheactofhypnotismasthefocusedattentionuponthesuggestionorthedominantidea.Thefearofmostpeoplethathypnotistswillbeabletogetintotheirunconscious

andmakethemdoandthinkthingsbeyondtheircontrolissimplyimpossibleaccordingtothosewhofollowthistrainofthought.Thenatureofthemindhasalsobeenthedeterminantofthedifferentconceptionsaboutsuggestion.Thosewhobelievedthattheresponsesgivenarethroughthe

unconsciousmind,suchasinthecaseofMiltonErickson,bringupthecasesofusingindirectsuggestions.Manyoftheseindirectsuggestions,suchasstoriesormetaphors,willhidetheirintendedmeaninginordertoconcealitfromtheconsciousmindofthesubject.Subliminalsuggestionisaformofhypnosisthatrelies

completelyonthetheoryoftheunconsciousmind.Iftheunconsciousmindwerenotbeingusedinhypnosis,thiskindofsuggestionwouldnotbepossible.Thedifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsarefairlyeasytorecognize;thosewhobelievethatthesuggestionswillgoprimarilytotheconsciousmindwillusedirectverbalinstructionsand

suggestionswhilethosewhobelievethesuggestionswillgoprimarilytotheunconsciousmindwillusestoriesandmetaphorswithhiddenmeanings.Ineitherofthesetheoriesofthought,theparticipantwillneedtobeabletofocusononeobjectoridea.Thisallowsthemtobeledinthedirectionthatis

neededinordertogointothehypnoticstate.Oncethesuggestionstagehasbeencompletedsuccessfully;theparticipantwillthenbeabletomoveintothethirdstage,susceptibility.

SusceptibilityOvertime,ithasbeenobservedthatpeoplewillreactdifferentlyto

hypnosis.Somepeoplefindthattheyareabletofallintoahypnotictrancefairlyeasilyanddonothavetoputmucheffortintotheprocessatall.Othersmayfindthattheyareabletogetintothehypnotictrance,butonlyafteraprolongedperiodoftimeandwithsomeeffort.Stillotherswillfindthattheyarenotabletogetintothehypnotictranceand

evenaftercontinuedeffortswillnotreachtheirgoals.Onethingthatresearchershavefoundinterestingaboutthesusceptibilityofdifferentparticipantsisthatthisfactorremainsconstant.Ifyouhavebeenabletoeasilygetintoahypnoticstateofmind,youarelikelytobethesamewayfortherestofyourlife.Ontheotherhand,ifyouhave

alwayshaddifficultyinreachingthehypnoticstateandhaveneverbeenhypnotized,thenitislikelythatyouneverwill.Therehavebeenseveraldifferentmodelsdevelopedovertimetotryanddeterminethesusceptibilityofparticipantstohypnosis.Someoftheolderdepthscalesworkedtoinfer

whichleveloftrancetheparticipantwasinthroughtheobservablesignsthatwereavailable.Thesewouldincludethingssuchasthespontaneousamnesia.Someofthemoremodernscalesworktomeasurethedegreeofself-evaluatedorobservedresponsivenesstothespecificsuggestionteststhataregivensuchasthedirectsuggestionsofarm

rigidity.AccordingtotheresearchthathasbeendonebyDeirdreBarrett,therearetwotypesofsubjectsthatareconsideredhighlysusceptibletotheeffectsofhypnotism.Thesetwogroupsincludedissociatersandfantasizers.Thefantasizerswillscorehighontheabsorptionscales,willbeabletoeasilyblock

outthestimulioftherealworldwithouttheuseofhypnosis,spendalotoftheirtimedaydreaming,hadimaginaryfriendswhentheywereachild,andalsogrewupinanenvironmentwhereimaginaryplaywasencouraged.Ontheothersideofthingsarethedissociaters.Thisgroupwilloftencomefrom

abackgroundoftraumaorchildhoodabuse,foundwaystoforgettheunpleasanteventsthatareintheirpast,andcanescapeintoanumbness.Ifapersoninthisgroupdoesdaydream,itismoreinthetermsofgoingblankinsteadofcreatingfantasies.Bothofthesegroupsscoredhighonthetestsofhypnoticsusceptibility.Thetwo

groupsthathavethehighestratesofhypnotizabilityincludethosesufferingfromposttraumaticstressdisorderanddissociativeidentitydisorder.

ApplicationsHypnosisasafieldandasanideahasbeenaroundforalongtime.Duetothis,variousapplicationshavebeguntoemergethathelptoputtheprocessofhypnosistogooduse.Infact,thevariousapplicationsofusinghypnosiscrossmanyfieldssuchasentertainment,self-improvement,military

uses,andmedicaluses.Otherareasthathaverecentlybeguntousehypnotismincluderehabilitation,physicaltherapy,education,sports,andforensics.Evenartistshavebeguntoemployhypnotisminordertoreachcertaincreativepurposes.ThisisshownthemostbyAndreBreton,asurrealistartist,whohasemployedhypnosisamong

othertechniquesforhisowncreativepurposes.Oneofthegrowingusesofhypnosisisinthefieldofself-improvement;manypeoplehavechosentodoself-hypnosisinordertohelpthemloseweight,reducestress,andquitsmoking.Thefollowingsectionswilldiscusssomedifferentfieldswherehypnosishas

beengrowingaswellashowtheprocessofhypnosisisworkinginthosefields.

HypnotherapyHypnotherapyistheuseofhypnosisasaformofpsychotherapy.Itisusedasamethodtohelpthepatientorsubjectthroughtroublingissuesthatareplaguingthem,especially

whenothermethodsofself-controlarenoteffective.Licensedpsychologistsandphysiciansmightperformaformofhypnotherapyonwillingpatientsinordertohelpthemtreatposttraumaticstress,compulsivegambling,sleepdisorders,eatingdisorders,anxiety,anddepression.

Itisalsopossibletovisitwithacertifiedhypnotherapisttoassistyouintreatingissuessuchasweightmanagementandthecessationofsmoking.Ifyougotoacertifiedhypnotherapist,itisimportanttorememberthattheyarenotpsychologistsorphysicianssotheywilljustbeabletoassistyouwithreachingthehypnoticstateandnot

withcuringyourmoreseriousailments.Itisbestthatyoumakesurewhoeveryouareworkingwithhasbeencertifiedtoprovideyouwiththeseservices,whetheryouchooseahypnotherapistoraphysician.Theprocessofhypnotherapyhasbeenseeninmanydifferentformsinmodernhistory.

Allofthemhavehadvaryingdegreesofsuccessdependingontheissuefacedandtheparticipants.Someoftheformsthathavebeenusedinclude:

Cognitive-behavioralhypnotherapy—thisisacombinationofclinicalhypnosisalongwith

differentelementsoftheCognitive-BehavioralTherapy.Hypnoanalysis—thisisalsoknownasageregressionhypnotherapy.Hypnosistoassistwithdealingwithphobiasand

fears.Ericksonianhypnotherapy.Hypnotherapytoassistwithaddictions.Hypnotherapytoassistwithhabitcontrol.Hypnotherapytoassistwithpainmanagementinthosewhosufferfromchronic

pain.Hypnotherapytoassistinthepsychologicaltherapythepatientisalreadydealingwith.Hypnotherapytoassistwithrelaxation.Hypnotherapytoassistwithskindiseases.Hypnotherapyto

assistwithsoothingpatientswhoareanxiousaboutundergoingsurgery.Hypnotherapytoassistwiththeperformanceofathletesbeforeacompetition.Hypnotherapytoassistwithweightloss.

MilitaryApplicationsInadditiontoassistingpeoplewhodealwithvarioushealthissuesandaddiction,peoplehavelongwonderedifhypnosishasbeenusedbymilitaryandgovernmentalofficialsinordertochangethewaycitizensthinkaboutthings.Sofar,therehasbeenlittle

proofthattheAmericanmilitaryiscapableorhasusedhypnosistoreachtheirgoals.Infact,adeclassifieddocumentthatwasobtainedoutoftheFreedomofInformationActarchiverecentlyshowsthattheprocessofhypnosishasbeeninvestigatedfortheuseinmilitaryapplications.Despitetheresearchthathasbeendone,thestudy

concludedthattherereallywasn’tanyevidencethattheprocessofhypnosiswouldbeusefulinamilitaryapplication.Inaddition,therewasnotanyevidencethatclearlyshowedthathypnosisactuallyexistsinregardsasanactualphenomenonoutsideofsubjectexpectancy,highmotivation,andordinarysuggestion.

Thedocumentfurthergoesontoexplainhowitwouldbenearlyimpossibleforhypnosistobeusedinamilitaryapplication.Itstates:“Theuseofhypnosisinintelligencewouldpresentcertaintechnicalproblemsnotencounteredintheclinicorlaboratory.Toobtaincompliancefromaresistantsource,for

example,itwouldbenecessarytohypnotizethesourceunderessentiallyhostilecircumstances.Thereisnogoodevidence,clinicalorexperimental,thatthiscanbedone.”Thedocumentgoesontoexplainthatithasbeendifficulttostudytheeffectsandapplicationofhypnosistobeusedinthemilitarybecausenooneisabletosaywithcertainty

whetherhypnosisisauniquestatewithsomeconditionedresponsesorjustaformofsuggestionthathasbeeninducedasaresultofthepositiverelationshipbetweenthesubjectandthehypnotist.

Self-hypnosisTherearesomeinstances,suchaswhenacertifiedhypnotherapistorother

professionalisnotavailable,whenyoumaydecidetousetheprocessofself-hypnosis.Thisprocessoccurswhenapersonisabletohypnotizethemselves,oftenusingthetacticofautosuggestion.Theprimaryuseforthistechniqueisforself-improvementandmanypeoplewillperformitinordertoreducetheirstresslevels,quitsmoking,orto

getthemotivationtheyneedtogoonadiet.Whilesomepeoplemaybeabletoself-hypnotizethemselves,manyfindthattheyneedsomesortofassistanceinreachingthealteredstate.Thiscouldincludehypnoticrecordingsorevenmindmachinedevicestohelpthemreachthatstate.Otherareasthatyoucoulduseself-hypnosisfor

includeyouroverallphysicalwell-being,torelax,andtogetoverstagefright.

StageHypnosisWhenmostpeoplethinkofhypnosis,theythinkofstagehypnosis.Thisisaformofentertainmentthatwilloccurinatheatreoraclubinfrontofanaudience.Thehypnotistis

oftenshownasagreatshowmanandthishelpstoencouragetheideathathypnosisiscompletelyaboutmindcontrol.Inthebeginningoftheact,thehypnotistwillattempttoputthewholeaudienceunderthealteredstatebeforeselectingcertainindividualswhomeetthecriteriatocomeuponthestageandgothroughdifferentembarrassingacts

whiletherestofthegroupwatches.Itisunknownwhystagehypnosisissoeffectivealthoughitiscommonlythoughttobeacombinationoftrickery,stagecraft,physicalmanipulation,suggestibility,participantselection,andpsychologicalfactors.Forthemostpart,experts

believethattheparticipantisjustplayingalonginawaywiththehypnotistandprovidingagoodshow.Theseindividualsmaybewillingtodothisbecausetheydesiretobeinthemiddleofalltheattention,thepressuretopleaseothers,andtheexcusetogoagainsttheirownsuppressorsoffearmakeiteasytogettheparticipantstoperform.Someofthe

booksthathavebeenwrittenbyformerstagehypnotistsreinforcetheideaoftrickeryanddeceptionandsomeareentirelycomposedoffakehypnosiswhereprivatewhisperswhereusedthewholetime.

TypesofHypnosisTherearealotofdifferenttypesofhypnosisthatthesubjectwillbeabletoundergo.Eachofthemwillworkinslightlydifferentwaysandsomeofthemworktohelpwithvariousissues.Somemaybemorefittohelpingthesubjecttorelaxwhileotherscanhelpmorewithweightlossorpainmanagement.This

sectionwilltalkinmoredetailaboutthedifferenttypesofhypnosisthatareavailable.

TraditionalHypnosisThemostcommontypeofhypnosisthatisusedisknownastraditionalhypnosis.Duringthisprocess,theagentissimply

makingsuggestionsdirectlytothesubject’sunconsciousmind.Thistypeofhypnosiswillworkthebestonasubjectwhoisknownforacceptingthethingsthattheyaretoldandtheydonotaskalotofquestions.Ifyougoandvisitacertifiedhypnotistorpurchaseatapetodotheprocessofself-hypnosis,youwillbegoingthroughtheprocessof

traditionalhypnosis.Thereasonthatthistypeofhypnosisissopopularisbecauseitdoesnottakethatmuchexperienceortrainingtolearnhowtodo.Thehypnotistisjustgoingtohavetowriteasimplescriptandtellthesubjectwhattodo.Whilethistechniquewillworkverywellonthosewhoacceptwhatisgoingonaroundthem,itisineffectivefor

thosewhothinkcriticallyandanalytically.

EricksonianHypnosisThenexttypeofhypnosistobediscussedisEricksonianHypnosis.Thisoneisalittlemoreindepthbecauseitisgoingtorequiretheuseofmetaphorsandlittle

stories.Theseareusedinordertopresenttheideasandsuggestionsthatarerequiredtotheunconsciousmind.Eventhoughthismethodwillrequirealittlemoreexperienceandtrainingtodo,itisaveryeffectiveandpowerfulmethodtouse.Thereasonthatitworkssowellisbecauseitisabletoeliminatetheresistanceandblockagethatthe

subjectmayhavetothesuggestions.Therearetwomaintypesofmetaphorsthatwilloftenbeusedinthiskindofhypnosis;isomorphicandinterspersal.Forthemetaphorthatisinterspersalinnature,thecommandthatisexplainedhasbeenimbeddedintothestoryandwouldnotbeeasilydiscoveredbythe

subjectoutsideoftheirunconsciousmind.Theothertype,isomorphicmetaphor,isalittlemorecommonandoffersdirectionstotheunconsciousmindsimplybypresentingastorytothesubjectthatwillofferamoralattheend.Theunconsciousmindwillbeabletodrawaonetoonerelationshipconnectingtheelementsthatcomefrom

thestoryandtheelementsthatcomewiththebehaviororproblemsituation.Anexampleofanisomorphicmetaphoristhestory“BoyWhoCriedWolf.”Manyparentswillusethisstorytoteachtheirchildrenaboutlying,especiallyiftheirchildtellsalotoflies.Afterhearingthestory,theunconscious

mindofthesubjectwouldseeaparallelbetweenthetellingofliesandtheboywhoisinthestory.Theywouldseethattellingliesmightleadtoadisasterandthechildmightbemorewillingtostoplyingintheprocessinordertopreventthatdisasterfromoccurring.

EmbeddedTechniqueAnothertypeofhypnosisiscalledtheembeddedtechnique.Duringthisprocess,thehypnotistwilltellthesubjectaninterestingstory.Thisstoryismeanttohelpdistractandengagetheconsciousmindofthesubject.Itwillalsocontain

indirectsuggestionsthatarehiddenwithinthestorybutwhichwillbeacceptedintotheunconsciousmindofthesubject.Throughthisstorythehypnotistwilluseprocessinstructionsinordertodirecttheunconsciousmindofthesubjecttofindthememorythatisneeded.Thismemoryisusuallyaboutlearningexperiencethatisappropriatefromthepast.

Thehypnotistwillthenbeabletoapplythatlearningexperiencetohelpthemtomakechangestotheirpresent.

Nero-LinguisticProgrammingWithNeuro-LinguisticProgramming,orNLP,hypnotistshaveagreatselectionofthemethods

thattheyareabletouseinthehypnosisprocess.WhenusingtheprocessofNLP,thehypnotistwillbeabletousethesamethoughtpatternsthatarecreatingtheprobleminthesubject.Thiscansavealotoftimecomparedtogoingthroughtheprocessofsuggestion.Forexample,thethoughtpatternsthatareusedwithstressorexcessiveappetitewillbe

usedtohelpeliminatetheproblemthatthesubjectisdealingwith.Ifusedwithacertifiedhypnotistorpsychologist,NLPhasbeenshowntobeveryeffective.TherearemanydifferenttypesofNLPprogrammingthathavebeenutilizedbyhypnotists.SomeofthemostcommonlyusedformsofNLPincludeNLPAnchoring,NLPFlash,andNLPReframe.

NLPAnchoringThefirsttypeofNLPthatwillbediscussedisNLPAnchoring.Agoodwaytothinkabouthowanchoringworksisthinkingaboutanoldsongthatyouknow.Haveyoueversatinacarandheardasongthatyouhavenotheardinalongtime?Didthatsongtriggersomesortoffeelinginyouthatcamefromthepast?

Thefirsttimeyouheardthatsong,orsometimedowntheroadwhenyouheardit,youweregoingthroughthesefeelingsandtheunconsciousmindattachedthesefeelingstothatparticularsong.Throughthisprocess,thesongwouldbecometheanchorforthesefeelings.Now,eachtimethatyouhearthisparticularsong,youwilltriggerthebrainto

havethesefeelingsalloveragain.Thisisagoodexampleofanchoring.Manyhypnotistshavefoundthatanchoringisausefultechniqueforthemtouseinhypnotizingtheirsubjects.Forexample,ifyouhaveamemoryofbeingrewardedfordoingsomethingrightinthepast,thehypnotistwillbeabletogetintothat

particularmemoryandhelpyoutorecreatethefeelingsthatyouweregoingthroughatthetime.Atthesametime,thehypnotistwillhaveyoudosomesortofaction,suchastouchingyourtwofingerstogetherduringthere-creationoftheprocess.Noweachtimethatyoutouchyourfingerstogether,youwillbeabletofeelthosesamehappy

feelingsagain.Theprocessofanchoringcanworkinordertomotivateyoutoaccomplishsomethingbyassociatinggoodfeelingswithit.Forexample,thismethodisoftenusedtohelppeoplefindthemotivationtheyneedtosticktolosingweightandmaintainingadiet.Thehypnotistwillworkwiththesubjectto

createapositiveanchorthatisassociatedwiththementalimageofthesubject—inthiscaseitwillbethesubjectthinkingaboutthemselvesinathinandsexybody.Whenthesubjectpicturesthisimageagain,theywilltriggertheanchorandgetthepositivemotivationthattheyneed.Infact,thereisadramaticincreaseinthemotivationforweightlossinthose

whoundergohypnosiscomparedtothosewhodonot.Theprocessofanchoringcanbeusedinavarietyofdifferentinstancestoassistinself-improvementoftheindividual.

NLPFlashNLPFlashisanotherformofhypnosisthatisconsideredtobeextremely

powerfulandonlydonebyacertifiedprofessional.Itisoftenusedinordertochangethoughtsandfeelingsaroundintheunconsciousmindofthesubject.Itcanbeagoodwaytohelpthosewhofeelchronicstressorareaddictedtoasubstance.Inthisprocess,thehypnotistwillswitchthefeelingsofthesubjectaround,insteadofacertainactbringing

pleasure,thatactwillstarttobringpainorinsteadofacertainactbringingstress,itwillbringthesubjectrelaxation.Forexample,someonewhoisaddictedtoasubstance,suchascigarettesoralcohol,willfindafeelingofpleasureandhappinesswhentheyconsumethatsubstance.ThroughthetechniqueofNLPflash,thesefeelingswillget

switchedaroundresultinginthesubjectfeelingdiscomfortorpainwhentheyconsumethesubstance.Thiscanhelpthemtogetovertheiraddictionmoreeffectively.ThosewhoareundergoingalotofstresshavealsofoundthetechniqueofNLPFlashtoworkwellforthem.Whenapersonisfeelingchronicstress,they

mayhavedifficultiesincontrollingtheirbloodpressureandtheirtempersandaregoingtofeeluncomfortablealotofthetime.Sincestressissohardonthebody,therearemanypatientswillingtoundergotheNLPFlashhypnosisinordertoassisttheminrelaxing.Withthistechnique,thesubjectwilllearntheirtriggersofstressandredirectthemso

thatthosetriggersstarttoreleasefeelingsofrelaxationintheirmindsinstead.Thistechniquehasalsobeenshowntobeeffectiveinextinguishingtheconditionedresponsesinthemindofthesubject.Anexampleofthisiswithsmoking.Ifyouareasmokerthatenjoysacigarettewhilehavinga

cupofcoffeeinthemorning,yourunconsciousbrainisgoingtostartpairingthesetwobehaviorstogether.Thismeansthatthesubjectwillgetacravingtohaveacigaretteanytimetheyenjoyacupofcoffee,especiallyinthemorning.WhenthesubjectgoesthroughtheNLPFlashtechnique,theywilllearnhowtodissociatethetwo

eventsfromeachother.Thisallowsthesmokertohaveacupofcoffeewithoutalsogettingtheurgetosmokeatthesametime.Thismakesitanevenmoreeffectivetechniquetousewhentryingtostopsmoking.

NLPReframeThethirdformofNLPthathasbeenusedinhypnosis

isknownasNLPReframe.Thistechniqueisreallypotentbecauseitworkssowellinassistingthesubjecttochangethewaythattheybehave.Todothisprocess,thehypnotistmustunderstandthatthereisasecondarygain,orapositiveoutcome,thatisaccomplishedbyeachofthebehaviorsthatapersonaccomplishes.Theoutcomethatoccursfrom

thebehaviorisimportantsincethatisthereasonthesubjectisactinginthefirstplace.Despitetheimportanceoftheoutcome,thebehaviorthatischosentoaccomplishtheoutcomeisreallynotthatimportant.Duringtheprocessofreframe,thehypnotistworkstonegotiateandreasonwiththe

unconsciousmindofthesubject.Thegoalistogetittotakeovertheresponsibilityformakingthesubjectsubstituteinsomenewbehaviorthatisavailableandeffectiveataccomplishingtherequiredsecondarygain.Whilethisisallgoingoninthesubconscious,thenewbehaviorwillbemoreacceptabletothesubjectintheirconsciousmind.For

example,ifthepersonisinthehabitofeatingwhentheyaresadinordertomakethemselvesfeelbetter,thehypnotistisgoingtoperformthismethodtoteachtheunconscioustodosomeotheractivity.Theactofeatingmightbereplacedwithexerciseorreadinganicebook,helpingthesubjecttoloseweight,eathealthierandfeelbetterall

around.

VideoHypnosisWhiletheotherformsofhypnosishavebeenextremelypopularinassistingsubjectstoovercomeobstaclesandchangethewaythattheythinkinordertolivebetterlives,newformsofhypnosisarealwaysbeingdeveloped.Oneofthe

newestformsofhypnotherapythathasbeendevelopedisvideohypnosis.Thisformisofferedthroughcommercialmeanssothatpeopleareabletopurchasethemanduseattheirownconvenience.ThetechniquesthatareusedinsomeofthebrandsofvideohypnosisarealsobasedontheNeuro-LinguisticProgramming

technologythatwasdiscussedearlier.Thismeansthatthevideohypnosistechniquewillworkbasedonutilizingtheexistingthoughtprocessesthatthesubjecthasratherthanusinghypnoticsuggestionliketraditionalmethods.Thereasonwhyvideohypnosishasgrownsorapidlyisthatmorethan

70%ofpeoplehavefoundthattheylearnthingseasierandmorequicklywhentheyseethingscomparedtowhentheyonlyheartheinformation.Thesubject’smindwilllearntochangethefeelingsthatitishavingaswellasitsvisualassociationsautomaticallyontheconsciouslevelwhilewatchingthevisualmoviesthatarepresented.

Whiletherearemanydifferentkindsofvideohypnosisprogramsthatareavailable,Neuro-VISIONisoneofthemostpopularbecauseithasbeendevelopedusingsomeofthebesttechniquesintheindustry.Thistypeofvideomethodworkstotraintheunconsciousmindofthesubjectthroughdigitaloptics,whichisahightech

simulationprocessonthecomputer.Thiswillfreethesubjectoftheirtensions,urges,andcompulsions.Throughthisprocess,thesmokerwillfindthatstoppingsmokingiseasy,thedieterwilllosetheirappetite,andthosewhofeelstresswillbegintorelaxmore.Itwilloftentakeatleastafewsessionsofvideohypnosistoseeresults,althoughthereare

thosewhofindthatjustoneviewingwillstarttoshowsomeoftheresultsthattheywant.

SubliminalHypnosisThefinaltypeofhypnosisthatwillbediscussedinthischapterissubliminalhypnosis.Oftenthesubliminalhypnosis

messageswillbeplacedonarecordingforthesubjecttolistento.Therecordingwillhavetwotracksandeachonewilltalktoadifferentpartofthemind.Onetrackwillcontainacoversoundthatwillbeheardthroughtheconsciousmindofthesubject.Thecoversoundisoftensomethingthatiseasyforthebraintolistentosuchasnaturesoundsor

music.Theothertrackwillcontaindirectsuggestionsthatwillbeheardthroughtheunconsciousmindofthesubject.Thesesuggestionspresentonthesecondtrackwillberepeatedoverandoverthroughoutthewholesession.Subliminalprogramshavetheabilitytobeplayedatanytimeandinanyplace.

YoucouldbelisteningtothesemessageswhileyouareworkingorevenwhilewatchingTV.ThebestpartisyouwillnothavetostopthetaskthatyouaredoingandsitdownandrelaxlikewhatisrequiredwithNLPortraditionalhypnosis.Insomecases,subliminalprogramswillbeaddedtoyourregularhypnoticprograms.

Theuseofsubliminalprogrammingisnotthatprevalent.Mostpeoplewillnotchoosethismethodtochangetheirhabitsandbehaviors.ResearchhasshownthatsubliminalprogramsarenotreallythateffectiveandsotheywillnotbeabletoreplaceNLPorhypnosis.Bysomeaccounts,itcouldtakemorethan80hoursoflisteningtothesubliminal

messagebeforeithasaneffectandmanytimeseventhatwillnotbeenoughformostpeople.AccordingtoJoelWeinberger,aprofessorattheAdelphiUniversityandapsychologist,regularaudiosubliminaltapesthatcanbepurchasedatstoresoronlinejustdonotwork.Subliminalpsychodynamicsmaywork

aslongasthereissomeformofvisualspresent.Thepopularoptionsavailableonlycontainauditorycomponents.Theauditoryisnotenoughtomakethismethodworkonits’own.Subliminalsuggestionwillneedtobepairedwithotherformsofhypnotherapyinordertohavetheeffectivenessthatisdesired.

Despitetheportrayalofhypnosisbythemedia,itisnotanevilplotthatismeanttotakeoverthemindsofunwillingsubjects.Infact,ifthesubjectisnotwillingtoundergohypnosis,itisprettymuchimpossibletogetthemtogointothealteredstate.Often,theuseofhypnosisistohelpothersimprovetheirlives.Thiscouldbeintheform

ofweightmanagement,stoppingsmoking,improvingotherhealthconditions,andassistingwithchronicpainmanagement.Eachofthetechniquesisalsoimportantinhelpingthesubjecttogettotheiroverallgoal.Whileallofthemcanbeeffective,theprofessionalthatyouchoosetoworkwithaswellastheissueathandwillbe

usedtodeterminewhichofthesemethodswillbestfityourneedsandassistinimprovingyourlife.

Chapter4:Manipulation

Brainwashingandhypnosisarethetwoformsofmindcontrolthateasilycometomind.Whilethesetwoareimportanttounderstandingthefunctioningofmindcontrolandhowitallworks,theyarenottheonlyoptionsthatare

available.Infact,thereareothersthatcanbeusedandareoftenmoreeffectiveintheshorttermthaneitherbrainwashingorhypnosis.Theseparticulartacticsareonesthatcanbeusedineverydaysituations,forexamplelikeinnormalconversationsapersonmayhavewithothers.Whileitisnotlikelythatapersonwillbemanipulatedorpersuadedtochange

majorbeliefsthroughnormalconversations,theycanbeconvincedtochangelittlethingssuchasbeingpersuadedtopurchasecookiesfromalocalgirlscoutortovoteacertainwayinanelection.Themainthingtorememberaboutthenextthreeformsofmindcontrolisthattheyaremorelikelytooccurina

persons’dailylifewiththepeoplethattheyknowandtrust.Obviously,apersonisnotgoingtoputtheirsubjectintoisolationorforcethemintoanalteredstateofmindaswithbrainwashing.Insteadtheywillemploydifferenttechniquesinanefforttochangethewaytheirsubjectthinks.Thethreetypesofmindcontrolthatfitintothiscategory

includemanipulation,persuasion,anddeception.Thischapterisgoingtodiscussmanipulationandhowitcanworktochangetheway“thesubject”thinks.Whilemanipulationmaynotputthepersonwhoisemployingthetacticinharms’wayorcauseanyimmediatedanger,itissetuptoworkinadeceptive

andunderhandedwaytochangethebehavior,viewpointandperceptionthattheintendedsubjecthasinregardstoaparticulartopicorsituation.

WhatisManipulation?Thefirstquestionthatisoftenaskediswhatmanipulationis?Inthisguidebookwewilldiscussmanipulationinthetermsofpsychologicalmanipulation,whichisasocialinfluencethatworkstochangethebehaviorsorperceptionofothers,orthesubject,throughabusive,deceptive,orunderhanded

tactics.Themanipulatorisgoingtoworktoadvancetheirowninterests,usuallyattheexpenseofanother,somostoftheirmethodswouldbeconsidereddeceptive,devious,abusive,andexploitative.Whilesocialinfluenceitselfisnotalwaysnegative,whenapersonorgroupisbeingmanipulated,ithasthepossibilityofcausingthemharm.

Socialinfluence,suchasinthecaseofadoctorworkingtopersuadetheirpatientstostartadoptinghealthyhabits,isusuallyperceivedtobesomethingthatisharmless.Thisistrueofanysocialinfluencethatiscapableofrespectingtherightofthoseinvolvedtochooseandisnotundulycoercive.Ontheotherhand,if

someoneistryingtogettheirownwayandisusingpeopleagainsttheirownwill,thesocialinfluencecanbeharmfulandisgenerallylookeddownupon.Psychologicaloremotionalmanipulationisseenasaformofpersuasionandcoercion.Therearemanycomponentsthatcanbeincludedinthisformof

mindcontrolsuchasbullyingandbrainwashing.Forthemostpart,peoplewillseethisasabusiveordeceptiveinnature.Thosewhodecidetoemploymanipulationwilldosoinordertoattempttocontrolthebehaviorofthosearoundthem.Themanipulatorwillhavesomeendgoalinmindandwillworkthroughvariousabuseformsinorderto

coercethosearoundthemintohelpingthemanipulatorgettothefinalgoal.Oftenemotionalblackmailwillbeinvolved.Thosewhopracticemanipulationwillusemindcontrol,brainwashing,orbullyingtacticstogetotherstocompletethetasksforthem.Thesubjectofthemanipulatormaynotwant

toperformthetask,butfeelthattheyhavenootheroptionduetotheblackmailorothertacticused.Mostpeoplewhoaremanipulativelacktheappropriatecaringandsensitivitytowardsotherssotheymaynotseeanissuewiththeiractions.Othermanipulatorsjustwanttogettotheirfinalgoalandarenotconcerned

withwhohasbeenbotheredorhurtalongtheway.Inaddition,manipulativepeopleareoftenafraidtogetintoahealthyrelationshipbecausetheyareafraidotherswillnotacceptthem.Someonewhohasamanipulativepersonalitywilloftenhavetheinabilitytotakeresponsibilityfortheirownbehaviors,problems,andlife.Since

theyarenotabletotaketheresponsibilityfortheseissues,themanipulatorwillusethetacticsofmanipulationtogetsomeoneelsetotakeovertheresponsibility.Manipulatorsareoftenabletousethesametacticsthatarefoundinotherformsofmindcontrolinordertogettheinfluencetheywantoverothers.One

ofthemostcommonlyusedtacticsisknownasemotionalblackmail.Thisiswherethemanipulatorwillworktoinspiresympathyorguiltinthesubjecttheyaremanipulating.Thesetwoemotionsarechosensincetheyareconsideredthetwostrongestofallhumanemotionsandarethemostlikelytospurothersintotheactionthatthe

manipulatorwants.Themanipulatorwillthenbeabletotakecompleteadvantageofthesubject,usingthesympathyorguiltthattheyhavecreatedtocoerceothersintocooperatingorhelpingthemreachtheirfinalgoal.Often,themanipulatorwillnotonlybeabletocreatetheseemotions,theywillbeabletoinspiredegrees

ofsympathyorguiltthatarewayoutofproportionforthesituationthatisgoingon.Thismeansthattheycantakeasituationsuchasmissingoutonapartyseemlikethesubjectismissingoutonafuneralorsomethingthatisactuallyimportant.Emotionalblackmailisjustoneofthetacticsthatisemployedbymanipulators.

Oneoftheothertacticsthathasbeensuccessfulformanymanipulatorsistouseaformofabusethatisknownascrazymaking.Thistacticisusuallyaimedwiththehopeofcreatingself-doubtinthesubjectbeingmanipulated;oftenthisself-doubtwillbecomesostrongthatsomesubjectsmaystarttohavefeelingsthattheyaregoingcrazy.Attimes,the

manipulatorwilluseformsofpassive-aggressivebehaviorinordertobringaboutcrazymaking.Theymightalsochoosetoshowsupportorapprovalofthesubjectverbally,butthengivenon-verbalcuesthatshowcontradictorymeanings.Themanipulatorwilloftenactivelytrytounderminecertaineventsorbehaviorswhileshowingtheir

supportoutloudforthatsamebehavior.Ifthemanipulatoriscaughtintheact,theywillusedenial,justification,rationalization,anddeceptionofillintentinordertogetoutofthetrouble.Oneofthebiggestissueswithpsychologicalmanipulatorsisthattheyarenotalwaysableto

recognizewhatothersaroundthemmayneedandtheywilllosetheabilitytomeetorevenconsidertheseneeds.Thisdoesnotexcusethebehaviorthattheyaredoing,butoftentheneedsofothersarenotconsideredorarenotaprioritytothemanipulatorsotheyareabletoperformmanipulativetaskswithoutfeelingguiltorshame.This

canmakeitdifficulttostopthebehaviorandexplaininarationalwaywhythemanipulatormuststop.Inaddition,themanipulatormayfindthatitisdifficultforthemtoformmeaningfulandlonglastingfriendshipsandrelationshipsbecausethepeopletheyarewithwillalwaysfeelusedandwillhavedifficultyintrusting

themanipulator.Theissuegoesbothwaysintheformationofrelationships;themanipulatorwillnotbeabletorecognizetheneedsoftheotherpersonwhiletheotherpersonwillnotbeabletoformtherequiredemotionalconnectionsortrustwiththemanipulator.

RequirementstoSuccessfullyManipulateAsuccessfulmanipulatormusthavetacticsathandthatwillmakethemsuccessfulatusingpeopletogettotheirownfinalgoal.Whilethereareseveraltheoriesonwhatmakesasuccessfulmanipulator,wewilltakea

lookatthe3requirementsthathavebeensetoutbyGeorgeK.Simon,asuccessfulpsychologyauthor.AccordingtoSimon,themanipulatorwillneedto:

1. Beabletoconcealtheiraggressivebehaviorsand

intentionsfromthesubject.

2. Beabletodeterminethevulnerabilitiesoftheirintendedsubjectorvictimsinordertodeterminewhich

tacticswillbethemosteffectiveinreachingtheirgoals.

3. Havesomelevelofruthlessnessreadilyavailablesothattheywillnotneedtodealwith

anyqualmsthatmayariseduetoharmingthesubjectsifitcomestothat.Thisharmcanbeeitherphysicaloremotional.

Thefirstrequirementthat

themanipulatorhastoaccomplishinordertosuccessfullymanipulatetheirsubjectsistoconcealtheiraggressivebehaviorsandintentions.Ifthemanipulatorgoesaroundtellingeveryonetheirplansoralwaysactsmeantoothers,nooneisgoingtostickaroundlongenoughtobemanipulated.Rather,themanipulatorneedstohavetheabilitytoconceal

theirthoughtsfromothersandactlikeeverythingisnormal.Often,thosewhoarebeingmanipulatedwillnotrealizeit,atleastnotinthebeginning.Themanipulatorwillbesweet,actliketheirbestfriend,andperhapshelpthemoutwithsomeissueoranother.Bythetimethesubjectisawareoftheissue,themanipulatorhasenoughinformationon

themtocoercethesubjectintocontinuingon.Next,themanipulatorwillneedtohavethecapabilityofdeterminingwhatthevulnerabilitiesoftheirintendedvictimorvictimsare.Thiscanhelpthemtodeterminewhichtacticsneedtobeusedinordertoreachtheoverallgoal.Sometimesthemanipulatormaybeableto

dothisstepthroughalittlebitofobservationwhileothertimestheyaregoingtoneedtohavesomekindofinteractionwiththesubjectbeforecomingupwiththefullplan.Thethirdrequirementisthatthemanipulatorneedstoberuthless.Itisnotgoingtogowellifthemanipulatorputsinalltheirworkandthen

worriesabouthowthesubjectisgoingtofairintheend.Iftheydidcareaboutthesubject,itisnotlikelythattheywouldbegoingthroughwiththisplanatall.Themanipulatorisnotgoingtocareaboutthesubjectatallanddoesnotreallycareifanyharm,eitherphysicaloremotional,befallsthesubjectaslongastheoverallgoalismet.

Onereasonthatmanipulatorsaresosuccessfulisthatthesubjectoftendoesnotrealizetheyarebeingmanipulateduntillateronintheprocess.Theymaythinkthateverythingisgoingalongjustfine;perhapstheythinkthattheyhavemadeanewfriendinthemanipulator.Bythetimethesubject

realizestheyarebeingusedornolongerwantstobeapartoftheprocess,theyarestuck.Themanipulatorwillbeabletousemanydifferenttactics,includingemotionalblackmailtogettheirwayintheend.

HowtoControlVictimsOneofthethingsthatthe

manipulatorneedstobeabletoaccomplishtoseesuccessistocontroltheirsubjects.Thereareseveraldifferenttheoriesthatareavailabletohelpexplainhowthemanipulatorwillbeabletodothis.TwoofthetheoriesthatwillbediscussedinthissectionincludethosestartedbyHarrietBraikerandSimon.

HarrietBraikerHarrietBraikerisaclinicalpsychologistwhohaswrittenaself-helpbook.Inherbook,shehasdefinedfivebasicwaysthatthemanipulatorisabletocontroltheirsubjects.Theseinclude:

PositivereinforcementNegative

reinforcementPartialorintermittentreinforcementPunishmentTraumaticlearningthatonlyprovidesonetrial

Thefirsttwotacticsthatarediscussedincludepositivereinforcementandnegativereinforcement.In

positivereinforcementthemanipulatorwilluseavarietyoftacticssuchaspublicrecognition,facialexpressions(likeasmileoraforcedlaugh),attention,gifts,approval,money,excessiveapologizing,superficialsympathywhichmayincludecrocodiletears,superficialcharm,andpraise.Thepointofutilizingthiskindofreinforcementistogivethe

personareasontowanttobeyourfriend.Ifyougivesomeoneagiftorsomemoney,theymightbemorewillingtohelpyououtwhenthetimecomes.Ifyoucanmakethesubjectfeelsorryforyou,thentheywillhavetherequiredsympathytobeonyoursidelater.Theothertypeofreinforcementthatcanbeusedisnegativereinforcement.Inthis

tacticthemanipulatorwillremovethesubjectfromasituationthatisnegativeasarewardfordoingsomethingelse.Anexampleofthiswouldbe“Youwon’thavetodoyourhomeworkifyouallowmetodothistoyou.”Eachofthesehasparticularstrengthsandweaknessesthatallowthemanipulatortogetwhattheywantoutofthesubject.Often,the

manipulatorwilluseacombinationofdifferenttacticsinordertogetthethingsthattheywant.Partialorintermittentreinforcementcanalsobeusedbyamanipulator.Thisformofreinforcementisusedinordertoeffectivelycreateaclimateofdoubtandfearinthesubject.Anexampleofthiscomesingambling.While

thegamblermaywinattimes,theyarestillgoingtolosesomeformofmoneyoverall,especiallyiftheyplayforalongtime.Butthewinningisoftenenoughtokeepthesubjectpersistingonthesamepath,longaftertheyarenotabletodoso.Themanipulatorwillusethistactictoprovidereinforcementtothesubjectatenoughintervals

tokeepthesubjectcomingback.Punishingisanothermethodthatisusedinordertocontrolthesubjectofthemanipulator.Therearealotofdifferentactionsthatcanfitintothiscategory.Theyincludeplayingthesubject,crying,sulking,usingtheguilttrip,emotionalblackmail,swearing,threats,and

intimidation,usingthesilenttreatment,yelling,andnagging.Thepointofusingthismethodistomakethesubjectfeelliketheyhavedonesomethingwrong.Thesubjectwillfeelbadandwanttomakethingsright,fallingrightbackinwiththemanipulator.Finally,thelastmethodthatBraikermentionsin

herworkisthetraumaticonetriallearning.Thisiswherethemanipulatorwillexplodeforthelittlestthingsinthehopesofconditioningortrainingthesubjectintonotwantingtocontradict,confront,orupsetthemanipulator.Someofthetacticsthatmightbeusedinthismethodincludeexplosiveanger,verbalabuse,andotherbehavior

thatisintimidatingandusedtoestablishsuperiorityanddominanceoverthesubject.

SimonSimonhasalsocomeupwithalistoftacticsthatmanipulatorsmustuseinordertosuccessfullycontroltheirvictims.SomeofthesearesimilartothoselistedbyBraikerbut

withsomemoredetails.Thesewouldinclude:

Lying:manipulatorsarereallygoodatlyingtotheirsubjects.Often,thesubjectswillfindthatitisdifficulttotellwhentheyarebeingliedtoatthetime.When

thesubjectfindsoutabouttheapparentlie,itisusuallytoolatetodoanythingaboutit.Theonlywaythatthesubjectcanmakesurethattheyarereducingtheirchancesofbeingliedtoarewatchingoutfordifferent

personalitytypesthatareexpertsintheartofcheatingandlying.Themanipulatorwilllieaboutanythinginordertogettheirwayandforthemostparttheirsubjectswillnothaveanyideathatitisgoingon

untilitistoolatetodoanythingaboutit.

Omissionlying:thisoneissimilartothemethodlistedabovewithafewslightdifferences.Omissionlyingisalittlemoresubtlebecause

themanipulatorwilltellsomeofthetruthbutwillwithholdcertainkeyissuesthatshouldhavebeenrevealed.Insomecasesthismightbecalledpropaganda.Themanipulatormightsaythattheyneedtoborrowsome

moneytogetgastogobuygrocerieswheninrealitytheyneedthemoneytogopickupsomedrugsorotherillegalsubstance.Whiletheydidusethemoneytopurchasegas,justliketheysaid,theyleftout

animportantpart.Thesubjectprobablywouldnothavegiventhemoneyiftheyknewtheendofthestoryandnowtheymaybecaughtupinsomethingillegal.

Denial:manipulatorsare

expertsatdenial.Noneofthemwilladmitthattheyhavedonesomethingwrong,evenwhenalloftheevidenceispointingtowardsthem.Theywillalwaysdenyeverythingandoftenmakethesubjectlooktobe

theoneatfault.

Rationalization:thisiswhenthemanipulatorwillmakeupanexcusethatmakesthemlookgood.Theymightsaytheyonlydidtheactbecausetheyweretryingtohelpthesubject.This

tacticisalsorelatedtothetechniqueofspinning.

Minimization:thisisablendoftherationalizationandthedenialtactics.Themanipulatorwilltelleveryonethattheirbehavioris

reallynotasirresponsibleorharmfulasthesubjectthought.Anexampleofthiswouldbewhenthemanipulatorsaysthataninsultortaunttheyperformedwasjustajokeandthatthesubjectshouldnottakeit

soseriously.

Selectiveattentionorinattention:duringthistactic,themanipulatorworkstoavoidgivingattentiontoanythingthatwilldistractthemfromtheirfinalgoal.They

willtrivializeitandmakeitseemnotthatimportanttothem,whichitreallyisn’t.Anexampleofthiswouldbewhenthemanipulatorsays“Idon’twanttohearit.”

Diversion:manipulatorsare

notonlygoodatlyingtotheirsubjects;theyarealsoexpertsatavoidinggivingstraightanswerstoquestionsthataregiventothem.Ifsomeoneasksthemaquestionthattheydonotlikeorwantstoknowoutrightif

theyarelyingtothem,themanipulatorwilltrytopushtheconversationinanotherdirection.Oftenthemanipulatorwillbrieflygiveavagueanswertothequestionbeforemovingtheconversationtoanothertopic.

Evasion:thistacticisverysimilartodiversionwithafewdifferences.Inthistactic,themanipulatorwillanswerthequestionsthataregiventothem,buttheywilluseweaselwords,vague

responses,ramble,andprovideirrelevantresponsestothequestion.Theywillleavethesubjectwithmorequestionsthananswerswhentheyaredone.

Intimidation:

Themanipulatorwillalwaystrytokeepthevictimonthedefensiveinordertomakesurethattheyremainonthesameteamthroughouttheprocess.Oftenthisisdonebyusingveiled,implied,indirect,orsubtlethreats

tothesubject.

GuiltTrip:manipulatorsliketousetheguilttripasaformofintimidationinordertogetthesubjecttodowhattheywant.Themanipulatorwilltrytomakethesubjectfeel

guiltyinsomeway,suchasbysayingthatthesubjecthasittooeasy,istooselfish,orjustdoesnotcareaboutthemanipulatorenough.Thiswillresultinthevictimstartingtofeelbadforthemanipulator.The

subjectwillthenbekeptinasubmissive,anxious,orself-doubtingposition,makingiteasierforthemanipulatortostillusethem.

Shaming:thewholegoalofthemanipulatoristomakethesubject

feelbadorhavesympathyforthemsothatthesubjectkeepsgoingalongwiththeplan.Onewaythatthemanipulatorcandothisisbyusingput-downsandsarcasminordertoshamethesubject.Thistacticwillmake

thesubjectfeelunworthy.Mostoftheshamingtacticsusedwillbeverysubtleandwouldincludethingssuchassubtlesarcasm,rhetoricalcomments,unpleasanttoneofvoice,orafierceglance.

Playingasavictim:nomatterwhat,themanipulatorwantstolookliketheyarethevictim,eventhoughtheyaretheoneincontrol.Whenthemanipulatoractsliketheyarethevictimof

theircircumstancesorthebehaviorofsomeoneelse,theywillbeabletoevokecompassion,sympathy,andpity.Mostpeoplewillnotbeabletostandbyandwatchassomeonesuffersandthe

manipulatorwillfindthatitiseasytogetthesesamepeopletocooperatewiththem.

Vilifyingthesubject:thisisoneofthemostpowerfultacticsthatcanbeusedbecauseitwillalmostinstantly

putthesubjectontheroleofdefensewhileatthesametimehidingthemanipulatorsaggressiveintents.Themanipulatorwilltrytoturnthecircumstancesaroundsothatthesubjectlooksliketheyarethe

villainandtheonewhohascausedallofthetrouble.Thesubjectwillthenwanttofindwaystochangethisoutlookandgetonthesideofthemanipulatoragain,makingiteasytobeused.

Servantrole:

manipulatorswilloftenhidetheirownagendasbymakingitlookliketheworktheyaredoingisforsomenoblecause.Theyonlysaidthemeanthingaboutyouroutfitbecausetheprincipalwantstostart

sprucingupthelookoftheschoolandtheywantedtohelpout.Theterm“justdoingmyjob,”wouldalsofitunderthiscategory.

Seduction:manipulatorscanuseseductiontoget

thethingsthattheywant.Sometoolsthatfitintothiscategorywouldincludeintensesupport,flattery,praiseandcharm.Thisisdoneinordertogetthesubjecttolowertheirdefenses.Aftertime,thesubjectwillbegintogive

theirloyaltyandtrusttothemanipulatorwhowilluseitastheyplease.

Projectingtheblame:themanipulatorwillspendalotoftimeblamingothersfortheproblemstheyarehaving.Often

itishardtodetectwhenthisisgoingonsonooneisabletocallthemoutonit.

Feigninginnocence:ifthemanipulatoriscaughtintheactofreachingtheirownagenda,theywilltrytosuggestthatif

harmwasdone,itwascompletelyunintentional.Theymayevencompletelydenythattheydidanythinginthefirstplace.Whencaught,themanipulatorwillplacealookofindignationorsurpriseontheirfaces.Thepoint

ofthistoolistomakethevictimquestiontheirownsanityandjudgmentsinceitlooksliketheywerewrong.

Feigningconfusion:anotherthingthatmighthappenifthemanipulatoris

caughtisthattheymightplaydumb.Thiswillhappenifthemanipulatortriestopretendthattheydonothaveanyideawhatthesubjectistalkingabout.Theymightalsoactliketheyareconfusedwhenacriticalissueis

broughtuptothem.

Brandishinganger:whenthemanipulatorusesanger,itistogetthesubjecttofeelsorryorsympathyforthem.Ifdoneintherightway,themanipulatorwillbeabletoshock

theirsubjectbackintosubmission.Often,themanipulatorisnotreallyangry;theyarejustputtingonanactinordertogetwhattheywant.

Ascanbeseen,therearealotoftoolsthatthemanipulatorcanusein

ordertogettotheirfinalgoals.Often,thesetacticswillbeusedinsuchawaythatthesubjectwillnotrealizewhatisgoingoninthebeginninganditwilltakesometimeforthemtocatchon.Oncetheydo,themanipulatorwillbeabletoemploysomeofthetechniquesthatwillbediscussedinthenextsectioninordertokeepthesubjectgoingintheright

direction.Themanipulatorisskilledatusingacombinationoftheseskillstogetthethingsthattheywantanditdoesnotmattertothemhowmuchtheyharmtheotherpersonintheprocess.

TechniquesofManipulationAsdiscussedbefore,amanipulatorisgoingtoworkinordertoreachtheirfinalgoal.Inordertoreachthisfinalgoal,themanipulatorwilluseanytechniquethattheycaninordertogetpeopletodowhattheywant.Thefivemostcommontechniquesthatwillbeusedbya

manipulatortoreachtheirfinalgoalsincludeblackmail,emotionalblackmail,puttingdowntheotherperson,lying,andcreatinganillusion.Thesewilleachbediscussedintheprecedingsections.

BlackmailBlackmailisthefirsttechniquethatwouldbe

utilizedbyamanipulator.Blackmailisconsideredanactthatinvolvesthreatsthatareunjustifiedinordertomakeacertaingainorcausealosstothesubjectunlessthemanipulator’sdemandismet.Itcanalsobedefinedastheactofcoercionthatinvolvesthreatsofprosecutionasacriminal,threatsoftakingthesubject’spropertyor

money,orthreatsofcausingphysicalharmtothesubject.Thereisalonghistoryofthewordblackmail;originallyitwasatermthatmeantpaymentsthatthesettlersrenderedtotheareathatwasborderingScotlandtothechieftainsincharge.Thispaymentwasmadeinordertogivethesettlersprotectionfromthemaraudersandthievesthat

weregoingintoEngland.IthassincechangedtomeansomethingelseandincertaininstancesitisanoffenseintheUnitedStates.Forthepurposesofthissection,blackmailismoreofathreat,eitherphysicaloremotional,tothesubjectinordertocoercethemintodoingwhatthemanipulatorwants.

Blackmailisalsoconsideredextortioninsomecases.Althoughtherearetimeswhenthetwoareconsideredsynonymous,therearesomedifferences.Forexample,extortioniswhensomeonetakesthepersonalpropertyofanotherbythreateningtodofutureharmifthepropertyisnotgiven.Ontheotherhand,blackmailiswhenthreatsareusedin

ordertopreventthesubjectfromengaginginlawfulactivities.Attimes,thesetwoeventsaregoingtoworktogether.Thepersonmaythreatensomeoneandrequiremoneyinordertobekeptatbayandnotcausethesubjectharm.Themanipulatorisgoingtobeabletousethistechniqueinordertoget

whattheywant.Theyaregoingtotakethetimetolearnthingsofpersonalnatureabouttheirsubjectandthentheycanusethatasaformofblackmailagainstthem.Theymightblackmailtheirsubjectbythreateningtospillanembarrassingsecretorbyruiningtheirchancesofgettinganewjoborpromotion.Orthemanipulatormightworkin

amoremenacingwaybythreateningtophysicallyharmtheirsubjectorthesubject’sfamilyiftheydonotagreetogoalongwiththemanipulator.Whatevertheblackmailmaybe,itisusedtohelpthemanipulatortogettotheirfinalgoalwiththeassistanceofthesubject.

EmotionalBlackmailAnothersimilartacticthatmaybeusedbythemanipulatorisknownasemotionalblackmail.Duringthistechnique,themanipulatorwillseektoinspiresympathyorguiltintheirsubject.Thesetwoemotionsarethestrongestonesforhumanstofeel

andtheywilloftenbeenoughtospurthesubjectintotheactionthatthemanipulatorwants.Themanipulatorisgoingtotakeadvantageofthisfactinordertogetthethingthattheywant;theywillusethesympathyortheguiltthattheyinspireinordertocoercethesubjectintocooperatingorhelpingthem.Thedegreeofsympathyorguiltwill

oftenbeblownoutofproportion,makingthesubjectevenmorelikelytohelpoutinthesituation.Thepointofusingthistypeofblackmailistoplaymoreontheemotionsofthesubject.Inregularblackmail,thesubjecthasathreattodealwith,mostlyintermsofphysicalharmtothemselvesorsomeonetheylove.With

emotionalblackmail,themanipulatorwillworktoinspireemotionsthatarestrongenoughtoincitethesubjecttoaction.Whilethesubjectmaythinkthattheyarehelpingoutoftheirownfreewill,themanipulatorhasworkedtoensurethattheysubjectisassistingandwillbringouttheemotionsagainwheneveritisneeded.

PuttingDownTheOtherPersonThereareotheroptionsavailabletothemanipulatoriftheywouldliketogettheirsubjecttoassistinreachingthefinalgoal.Onetechniquethathasquiteabitofsuccessiswhenthemanipulatorisabletoputdowntheirsubject.Innormalcases,if

themanipulatorusesverbalskillsinordertoputtheirsubjectdown,theywillrunahighriskofmakingthesubjectfeelasifapersonalattackhasbeenplacedonthem.Whenthesubjectfeelsliketheyareattacked,theywillbristleandnotbewillingtoassistthemanipulatorinthewaythattheywant.Instead,thesubjectwillnotlikethemanipulator

andwillstayasfarawayfromthemaspossible,makingitverydifficultforthemanipulatortoreachtheirfinalgoal.Thisiswhythemanipulatorisnotgoingtojustgoaroundandputdowntheirsubject.Theyhavetobemorediscreetabouttheprocessandfindawaytodoitwithoutraisingredflagsormaking

thesubjectfeelliketheyarebeingattacked.Onewaythatthiscanbedoneisthroughhumor.Humorisabletolowerbarriersthatmightotherwiseshowupbecausehumorisfunnyandmakespeoplefeelgood.Themanipulatorisabletoturntheirinsultintoajoke.Despitethefactthattheputdownhasbeenturnedintoajoke,itwillworkjustaseffectivelyasif

thejokewerenotpresentwithoutleavingthevisiblescarsonthesubject.Often,themanipulatorwilldirecttheirputdownintotheformofthirdperson.Thishelpsthemtomaskwhattheyaresayingmoreeasilyalongwithprovidinganeasywaytodenycausingharmifitcomesbacktohauntthemlateron.Forexample,they

mightstarttheirputdownwith“Otherpeoplethink…”Ifthesubjectisstillabletoguessthatthecommentsweremadeatthem,thenthemanipulatorwouldenditwithathrowawaylinethatmightincludesomethinglike“presentcompanyexcepted,ofcourse.”Theideaoftheputdownistomakethesubjectfeel

liketheyaresomehowlessthanthemanipulator.Itraisesthemanipulatoruptoanewlevelandleavesthesubjectfeelinglikesomethingiswanting.Thesubjectismorelikelytowanttomakethingsbetterandtofixanywrongthattheyhavedone.Thiswillputthemanipulatorinapositionofpower,andtheywillbeabletomoreeasilygetthesubjecttoassist

them.

LyingNomatterwhattheendgoalofthemanipulatoris,lyingissomethingthattheyareanexpertinandwhichtheywilldoallofthetimetogetwhattheywant.Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofliesthatcanbeusedbythemanipulatorthatwillhelpthemto

reachtheirfinalgoals.Oneisthattheytellcompleteliesandothersincludeomittingpartsofthetruthfromtheirsubjects.Whenthemanipulatorlies,itisbecausetheyknowthatthelieisgoingtofurthertheiragendamuchmoreeffectivelythanthetruthwould.Tellingsomeonethetruthmightmakethemnotwantto

helpthemanipulatoroutandthatwouldgocompletelyagainsttheirplans.Instead,themanipulatorwilltellalietogetthesubjectconvincedtodosomethingforthemandbythetimethesubjectfindsoutaboutthelie,itistoolatetofixtheissue.Themanipulatormightalsodecidetoomitpartof

thetruthinthestoriesthattheyaretelling.Withthismethod,theyaregoingtotellpartsofthetruth,butwillkeepcertainthingsoutthatareunsavoryorwhichmighthindertheprogressthatisbeingmade.Thesekindsofliescanbejustasdangerousbecauseitwillbecomeincreasinglydifficulttotellwhatthetruthofthestoryisandwhatthelieis.

Itisimportanttorealizethatwhenyouaredealingwiththemanipulator,anythingthattheytellyoumaybealie.Itisnotagoodideatotrustanythingthatthemanipulatorissayingsincetheyarejusttryingtoabuseandusetheirsubjectsinordertoreachthatfinalgoal.Themanipulatorisgoingtodoandsayanythingpossible,

evenlying,togetwhattheywantandtheyarenotgoingtofeelsorryaboutit.Aslongastheygetwhattheywant,theyarenottooconcernedabouthowitisaffectingthesubjectorothersaroundthem.

CreatinganIllusionInadditiontolying,themanipulatorisgoingtobeanexpertatcreating

illusionsthatarecapableofbringingabouttheirfinalgoalmoreeffectively.Theywillworktocreateapicturethattheywantandthenconvincethesubjectthatthisillusionisactuallyreality;whetherornotitisdoesnotmattertothemanipulator.Inordertodothis,themanipulatorisgoingtobuilduptheevidencethatisneededtoprovethepointthatworks

totheirgoal.Tostarttheillusion,themanipulatorisgoingtoplanttheideasandtheevidenceintothemindsofthesubject.Oncetheseideasareinplace,themanipulatorwillbeabletostepbackforafewdaysandletthemanipulationoccurinthesubjectsmindoverthattime.Afterthattimethemanipulatorwill

havemoreofachanceofgettingthesubjecttogoalongwiththeplan.Manipulationisaformofmindcontrolthatisdifficultforthesubjecttoavoid.Unlikebrainwashingandhypnosisthatwasdescribedinthepreviouschapters,manipulationisabletooccurindailylifeandinsomeinstancesitcanoccur

withoutthesubjecthavingmuchknowledgeorcontrolofit.Themanipulatorisgoingtoworkdiscretelyinordertoreachtheirfinalgoalwithoutgettingthesubjectsuspiciousandderailtheprocess.Themanipulatorwillnotworryaboutwhotheyarehurtingorhowothersmightfeelandmostofthemarenotcapableofunderstandingtheneedsoftheirsubjects.

Theyjustknowthattheywantsomethingandthatthesubjecttheyhavechosenisgoingtohelpthemtogettotheirgoal.Thetechniquesthatarediscussedinthischapteraremeanttohelpexplainwhatgoesonduringtheprocessofmanipulationandhowthemindofthemanipulatorwillwork.Itisoftenbesttoattemptto

steerclearofanyonewhomightbeamanipulatorsothatyouareabletoavoidthiskindofmindcontrol.

Chapter5:Persuasion

Persuasionisanotherformofmindcontrolthatisgoingtobediscussed.Whiletheremightnotbeasmuchmediahypeaboutthisformofmindcontrolasthereiswithbrainwashingandhypnosis,itcanbejustaseffectiveifdonecorrectly.

Theissuewiththisformisthattherearejustsomanydifferentformsofpersuasionthatarepresentindailylifethatitcanbedifficultforanyonesourcetogetthroughtothesubjectandmakeadifference.Whilepersuasionworkstochangethethoughtsandthebeliefsofthesubjectliketheotherformsof

mindcontrol,itseemslikeeveryoneistryingtopersuadeyouaboutsomethingsoitbecomeseasiertoignorethepersuasionthatiscomingtowardsthesubject.Forexample,thecommercialsontelevision,whenanargumentisgoingon,orevenwhenaconversationisgoingonthereissomeformofpersuasionthatisoccurring.Peoplewilloften

usepersuasiontotheiradvantagewithoutnoticing.Thischapterisgoingtogointomoredetailsaboutpersuasionandhowitcanbeeffectivelyusedasaformofmindcontrol.

WhatisPersuasion?Tostartwithisthedefinitionofpersuasion.Whenpeoplethinkaboutpersuasion,theywilloftencomeupwithmanydifferentanswers.Somemaythinkofthecommercialsandadvertisingthattheyseeallaroundthemthaturgethepurchaseofacertainproductoveranother.

Othersmaythinkaboutpersuasioninthetermsofpoliticsandhowthecandidatesmaytrytoswaythevoters’opinioninordertogetanothervote.Bothoftheseareexamplesofpersuasionbecausethemessageistryingtochangethewaythatthesubjectisthinking.Persuasioncanbefoundindailylifeandit’saverypowerfulforceaswellasmajorinfluenceon

thesubjectandsociety.Advertising,massmedia,legaldecisions,andpoliticsallwillbeinfluencedbyhowpersuasionworksandinturnitwillworkonpersuadingthesubjectaswell.Ascanbeseen,therearesomekeydifferencesbetweenpersuasionandtheotherformsofmindcontrolwhichhavebeen

discussedsofarinthisguidebook.Brainwashingandhypnosiswillrequirethesubjecttobeinisolationinordertochangetheirmindsandidentity.Manipulationwillalsoworkonjustonepersontogettothefinalgoal.Whilepersuasioncanbedoneonjustonesubjecttochangetheirmind,itisalsopossibletousepersuasiononalargerscaleinorderto

persuadeawholegrouporevensocietytochangethewaythattheyarethinking.Thiscanmakeitevenmoreeffective,andperhapsdangerous,becauseithastheabilitytochangethemindsofmanypeopleallatonceratherthanthemindofjustasinglesubject.Manypeoplefallunderthefalseimpressionthatthey

areimmunetotheeffectsofpersuasion.Theythinkthattheywouldbeabletoseeanysalespitchthatisthrowntheirway,whethertheagentisactuallysellingaproductorsomenewidea,andthenbeabletocomprehendthesituationthatisgoingonandfindtheconclusionthroughtheirownlogic.Insomescenariosthisisgoingtobetrue;noonefallsfor

everythingtheyhearallofthetimewhentheyuselogic,especiallyifitgoescompletelyagainsttheirbeliefs,nomatterhowstrongtheargumentmaybe.Inaddition,mostsubjectswillbeabletoavoidthemessagesaboutpurchasingtelevisionsandfancycarsorthenewestproductonthemarket.Manytimestheactofpersuasionisgoingtobe

muchmoresubtleanditcanbemoredifficultforthesubjecttoformtheirownopinionsaboutwhattheyarebeingtold.Whentheactofpersuasionisbroughtup,mostpeoplearegoingtoseeitinanegativelight.Theywillthinkofasalesmanoraconmanwhoistryingtoconvincethemtochangealloftheirbeliefsandwho

isgoingtopushandbotherthemuntilthechangeoccurs.Whilethiscertainlyisonewaytothinkaboutpersuasion,thisprocesscanoftenbeusedinapositivewayratherthanjustanegativeway.Forexample,publicservicecampaignscanurgepeopletoquitsmokingorrecyclecanbeformsofpersuasionthatareabletoimprovethelivesofthesubject.Itis

allinhowtheprocessofpersuasionisused.

ElementsofPersuasionAswiththeotherformsofmindcontrol,therearecertainelementstobewatchedoutforwhenitcomestopersuasion.Theseelementshelptodefineexactlywhatpersuasionis

sothatitismorerecognizable.AccordingtoPerloffin2003,persuasionisdefinedas“Asymbolicprocessinwhichcommunicationstrytoconvinceotherpeopletochangetheirattitudesorbehaviorsregardinganissuethroughthetransmissionofamessageinanatmosphereoffreechoice.”

Thisisoneofthethingsthatmakepersuasiondifferentfromtheotherformsofmindcontrol;thesubjectisoftenallowedtomaketheirownfreechoicesinthematterevenifthetacticsofpersuasionaregoingtoworktoshiftthesubject’smindinaparticulardirection.Thesubjectisabletochoosewhichwaytheywanttothink,iftheywantto

purchaseaproductornot,oriftheythinktheevidencebehindthepersuasionisstrongenoughtochangetheirminds.Thereareafewelementsthatarepresentinpersuasionthathelptodefineitevenfurther.Theseelementsinclude:

Persuasionis

symbolicwhichmeansthatitutilizessounds,images,andwordstogetthepointacross.Persuasionwillinvolvetheagentdeliberatelyattemptingtoinfluencethesubjectorgroup.Self-persuasionisakeypartof

thisprocess.Thesubjectisusuallynotcoercedandinsteadtheyaregiventhefreedomtochoosetheirowndecision.Therearemanywaysthatpersuasivemessagescanbetransmittedincludingfaceto

face,internet,radio,andtelevision.Thecommunicationcanalsooccurnonverballyorverbally.

Let’slookateachofthesepointsinalittlemoredetail.Thefirstelementofpersuasionisthatitneedstobesymbolic.Inordertopersuadesomeonetothink

oractinacertainway,youneedtobeabletoshowthemwhytheyshouldchangetheirthoughts.Thisisgoingtoincludetheuseofwords,sounds,andimagestogetthenewpointacross.Youcanusewordstostartupadebateorargumenttoshowyourpoint.Picturesareagreatwaytoshowtheevidencethatisneededtopersuadesomeonetogoonewayor

theother.Somenonverbalcuesarepossible,buttheyarenotgoingtobeaseffectiveasusingthewordsandimages.Thesecondkeyisthatpersuasionisgoingtobeusedinadeliberatewayinordertoinfluencethewayothersareactingorthinking.Thisoneisprettyobvious,ifyouarenotpurposelytryingto

influenceothers,youarenotusingpersuasiontogetthemtochange.Thepersuaderisgoingtotrydifferenttacticsinordertogetthesubjecttothinkthesamewaythattheydo.Thiscouldbesomethingassimpleasjusthavingadebatewiththemorpresentingevidencethatsupportstheirpointofview.Ontheotherhand,itcouldgetmuchmore

involvedandincludemoredeceptiveformstochangethesubject’smind.Moreaboutthetechniquesthatareusedinpersuasionwillbediscussedlaterinthischapter.Theuniquethingaboutpersuasionisthatitallowsthesubjecttohavesomeformoffreewill.Thesubjectisallowedtomaketheirownchoiceinthe

manner.Forthemostpart,nomatterhowhardsomeonetriestopersuadethemofsomething,theydonothavetogoforit.Thesubjectmightlistentoathousandcommercialsaboutthebestcartopurchase,butiftheydonotlikethatbrandorarenotinneedofanewvehicleatthattime,theyarenotgoingtogooutandpurchaseit.Ifthesubject

isagainstabortion,itisnotgoingtomatterhowmanypeoplecomeoutandsayhowgreatabortionis,thesubjectisnotlikelytochangetheirmind.Thisallowsmuchmorefreedomofchoicethanwhatisfoundintheotherformsofmindcontrol,whichmightexplainwhymanypeopledonotseethisasatypeofmindcontrolwhenasked.

Persuasionisaformofmindcontrolthatcanoccurinmanydifferentways.Whilebrainwashing,hypnosis,andmanipulationhavetooccuronafacetofacebasis,andinsomecasesincompleteisolation,persuasioniscapableofoccurringinotherways.Youcanfindexamplesofpersuasionallovertheplaceincludingwhenyouaretalkingto

peopleyouknow,ontheInternet,andthroughradioandtelevision.Itisalsopossibletoprovidepersuasivemessagesthroughnonverbalandverbalmeans;althoughitismuchmoreeffectivewhenverbaltechniquesareused.

ModernPersuasionOvertime,persuasionhas

beenabletoevolveandchangefromitsoriginalbeginnings.Persuasionhasbeenaroundformanyyears;infactithasbeenaroundsincethetimeofancientGreece.Thisdoesnotmeanthattheartandprocessofpersuasionisexactlythesameasitwaswaybackthen.Infact,therehavebeenquiteafewchangesmadetotheartofpersuasionandhowitis

usedinmoderntimes.Someofthekeyelementsofmoderndaypersuasionwillbediscussedinthissection.RichardM.Perloffhasspentquiteabitoftimestudyingmodernpersuasion,howitisused,andhowitcanaffectsocietyasawhole.HewroteabookcalledTheDynamicsofPersuasion:

CommunicationandAttitudesinthe21stCentury,whichoutlinesthefivewaysthattheuseofmodernpersuasionisdifferentfromhowitwasusedinthepast.Thesefivewaysinclude:

Thenumberofmessagesthatareconsideredpersuasivehasgrownbyleaps

andbounds:InthetimesofancientGreece,persuasionwasusedjustinwritingandindebatesamongtheelites.Theoccurrenceofpersuasionwasnotabigthingandyouwouldnotseeitveryoften.Inmodern

times,itisdifficulttogetanywherewithoutsomemessageofpersuasionfollowingyouaround.Thinkofthedifferenttypesandsourcesofadvertisementsthatareoutthere;the

averageadultintheUnitedStateswillcomeacrossupto3000oftheseeachday.Inadditiontothat,therearealwayspeopleknockingonyourdoortryingtogetyoutobuysomething,believetheirideas,ortry

somethingnewout.Persuasionismuchmoreapartofmodernlifethanithasbeenatanyothertimeinhistory.

Persuasiontravelsreallyquickly:backinthetimesofancientGreece,itcouldtakeweeks

orlongerforapersuasivemessagetogetfromonepointtoanother.Thislimitedtheimpactofpersuasionbecausemostpeoplewouldnotbeabletogetthemessage.Mostactsofpersuasionhad

tobedoneinthecontextoffacetofacecommunication.Inmoderntimes,persuasivemessagescancoveralargedistanceinhardlyanytimeatallthankstotheuseoftheinternet,radio,andtelevision.

Politicalcandidatescanreachconstituentsallatonceinjustsecondsandanymessagecanbespreadeasily.Persuasiontakesonamuchlargerrolewhenitcanbespreadsoquickly.

Persuasioncanmeanalotofmoney:nowthatcompanieshavediscoveredthepowerofpersuasion,theyaredoingeverythingtheycantomakeitworkforthem.Themoreeffectivetheyareatpersuading

consumerstopurchasetheirproductsthemoremoneytheywillmake.Somecompaniesareinbusinesssolelybecauseofthepersuasiveprocess,suchaspublicrelationscompanies,marketingfirms,andadvertising

agencies.Othercompanieswillbeabletousethepersuasivetechniquesofferedbythesecompaniesinordertoreachandsurpassthesalesgoalsthattheyset.

Persuasionhasbecomemore

subtlethaninthepast:inthebeginningsofpersuasion,theagentwouldannouncetheirviewsoutloudforthewholegrouptohearinthehopesofgettingthemalltochangetheirminds.Thosedaysareover

andtheprocessofpersuasionhasbecomemuchmorediscrete.Whileitispossibletofindactsofpersuasionthatarestillveryloudandinyourface,suchasinsomeformsofadvertising,manyothersare

followingamoresubtleroute.

Anexampleofthisiswhenbusinessescraftacertainimageofthemselves,suchasbeingfamilyfriendly,inordertogetconsumerstopurchasetheirproducts.Youmightalsonoticethatinsteadofgettinginto

adebatewithyourfriendovergoingtoaparty,theywillusepeerpressureorjustlistafewfactstotryandgetyoutocomewiththem.Despitebeingmoresubtle,persuasionisstillaseffectivetodayasithaseverbeen.

Theprocessofpersuasionhasbecomemore

complex:alongwithpersuasionbeingmoresubtleandsometimeshardertopointout,itisalsogoingalongtheroadofbecomingmorecomplex.Thesubjectbeingtargetedismorediversethaninthepast

andtheyhavealotmorechoicestomake.Forexample,whereonceapersonjustwenttotheonestoreintowntopurchaseeverythingtheyneed,nowtheyareabletopickfromdifferentstoresfortheirneedsfromthe

hardwarestoretothegrocerystoreandtheclothingstore.Ontopofthat,thereisoftenmorethanoneoptionavailableforeachoftheseshoppingcategoriesinthearea.Allthesechoicesmakeitmoredifficultfor

theagenttofindagoodpersuasivemessagefortheconsumeroranyothersubject.

MethodsofPersuasionPersuasionmethodscanoftengounderothernamesandbereferredtoinsuchwaysaspersuasionstrategiesandpersuasiontactics.Thereisnotjustonemethodthatcanbeusedtopersuadesomeonetothinkoractinacertainway.Theagentmaybeabletotalktothesubjectwhilepresentingevidencein

ordertoswitchthesubject’smind,theymaybeabletousesomesortofforceorpulltheyhaveagainstthesubject,andtheycanperformsomesortofserviceforthesubject,oruseanothertactic.Thissectionwillgointomoredetailsaboutthedifferentmethodsofpersuasionthatareavailableandhoweachofthemmightbeeffectiveintheprocessof

persuasion.

UsageofForceDependingonthesituation,theagentmaydecideitisagoodideatousesomeforceinordertopersuadethesubjecttothinktheirway.Thismayhappeniftheideasdonotmatchupcorrectly,regulartalkingisnotworking,orwhentheagentis

becomingfrustratedorupsetwiththeturnoftheconversation.Oftenforceisusedasatypeofscaretacticbecauseitgivesthesubjectlesstimetothinklogicallyaboutwhatisgoingoncomparedtowhenanormalconversationoccurs.Usuallyforcewillbeusedwhentheagenthashadlesssuccessusingtheothermeansofpersuasionthat

areavailable,althoughstartingwiththeuseofforceissometimesdoneaswell.Atothertimes,forcemaybeusediftheagentfeelsliketheyarelosingcontrolorwhenthesubjectisabletopresentcontradictoryevidencetotheagentandtheagentbecomesangry.Oftenitisnotthebestideatouseforcewhenitcomes

totheprocessofpersuasion.Thisisbecausemanysubjectswillseetheuseofforceasathreatduetothefactthattheagentwillnotgiveotheroptionstotherequestthattheyaremaking.Thewholeappealofpersuasionisthatitoffersthesubjectthechoiceofpaths,butonceforceisbroughtintothemix,thatfreedomofchoiceisgoneandthesubjectis

morelikelytofeelthreatened.Oncethesubjectfeelsthreatened,theyarelesslikelytolistenandconsideranythingthattheagentissayingandsotheprocesswillnotgoanyfurther.Duetothesereasons,theuseofforceisgenerallydiscouragedandavoidedintheartofpersuasion;unliketheotherformsofmindcontroldiscussed.

WeaponsofInfluenceAnothermethodthatcanbeusedinordertopersuadethesubjecttoleanaspecificwayistousetheweaponsofinfluencethatareavailable.ThesesixinfluencesweredevelopedbyRobertCialdiniinhisbookInfluence.Thisbook

discussestheartofpersuasionanddefinesthesixweaponsofinfluencethatcanmaketheagentsuccessfulintheirgoals.Thesixweaponsofinfluencearereciprocity,commitmentandconsistency,socialproof,liking,authority,andscarcity.Thesesixweaponsofinfluenceareveryimportanttotheagentsincetheyareapartofthe

processofchangeintheirsubjects.Eachofthesesixweaponswillbediscussedbelow.

ReciprocityThefirstweaponofinfluenceistheprincipleofreciprocity.Thisprinciplestatesthatwhenoneperson,theagent,providestheotherperson,thesubject,withsomethingof

value,thesubjectisgoingtoattempttorepaytheagentinkind.Thisbasicallymeans,whentheagentperformssometypeofservicetothesubject,thesubjectwillfeelthattheyhaveanobligationtoperformasimilarservicetotheagentatsometime.Whilethetwoservicesmightnotbeidentical,theyhavethesamekindofvaluesothattheobligation

ofeachisequaledout.Theactofreciprocationendsupproducingasenseofobligationinthesubject,whichtheagentwillthenbeabletouseasapowerfultoolwhentheywanttousepersuasion.Theruleofreciprocityisveryeffectivebecauseithelpstheagentgetthesubjectintotherightframeofmindfortheactofpersuasionby

instillingandoverpoweringthesubjectwithasenseofobligation.Theagentmaybemorelikelytogetthesubjectconvincedtodooractacertainwaybecausethesubjectwillhavethatsenseofobligationhangingoverthem.Anotheraddedbenefitfortheagentinusingreciprocityisthatitisnot

justamoralstandingthatwillputtheobligationonthesubject;itisalsoastandingthatisheldupbysocialcodes.Theagentisnotgoingtoneedtoworryaboutwhetherthesubjecthastherightmoralcodetoreturnthefavor.Ifthesubjectdoesnotfeeltheneedtodoso,theagenthassometoolsavailabletospurthemintoaction.

Asasociety,peopledonotlikeindividualswhoarenegligentinreturningafavororpaymentwhentheyareofferedafreegiftorservice.Iftheagentdoesnotfeellikethesubjectisgoingtoreciprocatetothem,theywillbeabletoturnthemintotheirsocialgroup.Theycandothisbytellingotherfriendsorcoworkersabouthowtheydidafavorforthesubject

butthesubjectneverreturneditwhenitwasneeded.Nowtheagenthasforcedsocialstandardsonthesubjectthroughthetellingofthefavor,makingitevenmorelikelythattheywillbeabletopersuadethesubjectintodoingsomething.Forthemostpart,thesubjectwillbehappytoreciprocatetotheagent

withoutneedinganyoutsideforces.Whenthefavorisgranted,thesubjectwillbegintolookforwaysthattheycanrepaytheagentsothatthescoreisevenandtheydonotseemgreedyorselfish.Theagentwillthenbeabletoprovideaneasysolutiontothesubjectonhowtorepaythisdebt;thesubjectwillfeelgratitudeathavingthiseasysolutionandwill

bemorelikelytogothewaythattheagentwants.

CommitmentandConsistencyThenextweaponofinfluencethatistobediscussedisthatofcommitmentandconsistency.Theagentisgoingtoneedtousebothoftheseiftheywishtopersuadeanyonetochange

totheirpointofview.Whenthingsareconsistent,theyareeasiertounderstandandcanhelpthesubjecttomaketheirdecisionsbetter.Itdoesnotdowellfortheagenttoalwayschangethefactsthattheyareusingortochangeotherinformationthatisneededinordertohelpthesubjectprocesstheinformation.Ratherthanhelpingwiththe

processofpersuading,constantlykeepingawayfromconsistencyisgoingtomaketheagentlooklikealiarandsomeonewhocannotbetrusted,resultinginthefailureofthepersuasionprocess.Consistencyisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofthepersuasionprocess.Thisisbecause:

Consistencyisvaluedhighlyinsociety:peopleliketohavethingsstayacertainwaymostofthetime.Whilethereisalotofvarietyindailylife,peoplefeelsafeknowingthatoverallthingswillstayprettyconsistent.

Itallowsthemtorememberwhathasgoneon,knowwhattoexpect,andbepreparedifanychangesdohappentooccur.Ifconsistencywerenotavailable,thingswouldbeverydifficulttoplanandtherewould

alwaysbeissuesofchaosgoingaround.Ifyouwishtopersuadeasubjectofaparticularthing,thenyoumustmakesurethatyourfactsareconsistentandmakesensetothem.

Consistency

resultsinbenefitingthedailylifeapproachofmostpeople.Haveyouevertriedtoplanadayoutwhensomethingunexpectedcomesup?Itcanmakethingsalmostimpossibletodoandwillendup

feelinglikeadisaster.Peoplelikeconsistencybecauseitallowsthemtoknowwhattoexpectandwhattodo.Theyknowwhenitistimetoeat,whenitistimeforwork,andwhenotherthingswillhappen

throughouttheday.

Consistencyprovidesashortcutthatisveryvaluablethroughthecomplicationspresentinmodernexistence.Lifeisdifficultenoughwithouthaving

toaddinotherthingsthatdonotmakesince.Whenpeopleareabletohaveconsistentlives,itmakesthingsawholeloteasier.

Consistencyisagreattoolbecauseitallowsthesubjecttheabilitytomaketherightdecisionsandtoprocessinformation.Ifthe

agentwantstobesuccessfulintheirendeavorsofpersuadingthesubject,theyneedtomakesurethattheirmessageisconsistent.Thereisnoroomforfalseevidencethatcanshowuplaterandruinthewholeprocess.Keepthefactstruthfulandconciseanditismuchbetterforpersuadingthesubject.

Somethingthattiesinwithconsistencyistheactofcommitment.Inordertoknowthatthesubjectisactuallypersuadedandthattheefforthaspaidoff,itisimportanttohavesomekindofcommitmentinplace.Inadvertising,thiscanmeanthatthesubjectisgoingtopurchasetheproductorinpoliticsitcanmeanthatthesubjectwillvotefora

particularcandidate.Thecommitmentthatismadewillvarydependingonthenatureofthepersuasion.Accordingtotheconceptofconsistency,ifapersoncommits,eitherinwritingororally,theyaremuchmorelikelytohonorthecommitmentthattheyhavemade.Ithasbeenfoundthatthisisevenmoretrueinterms

ofwrittencommitmentssincethesubjectwillbemoreconcretepsychologicallyandthereissomehardproofthattheyagreedtothecommitment.Thismakesalotofsense;manypeoplewillpromiseorallythattheywillfixsomethingordosomething,justtoturnaroundandnotdoit.Sure,somepeoplewilldowhattheysaid,andtheyare

morelikelytodoitifpromisingorallythannotpromisingatall,butoftenitisstilldifficulttogettheresultsthatyouwantinthisway.Inaddition,thereisnowaytobackitupsinceanoralagreementwilljustbecomeahesaidshesaiddisagreementandnoonewillwin.Ontheotherhand,iftheagentisabletoproduceawrittencommitmentfromthe

subject,theyhavetheprooftheyneedthatthethinghasbeendone.Thereasonthatitissoimportantfortheagenttogetthesubjecttoagreetoacommitmentisbecauseoncethesubjecthascommittedtothenewstance,theyhavemoreofatendencytoactinawaythatisfittingtothatcommitment.Afterthat

point,thesubjectwillcontinueonandbegintoengageinself-persuasionforthecause.Theywillprovidethemselvesalongwithotherswithvariousjustificationsandreasonstosupportthecommitmentinordertoavoidanyissueswiththeagent.Iftheagentisabletogetthesubjecttothatpoint,theagentwillhavealotlessworktodealwith.

SocialProofPersuasionisaformofsocialinteractionandthereforeisgoingtoneedtofollowthesocialruleswhereitisoccurring.Thesubjectisgoingtobeinfluencedbythepeoplewhoarearoundthem;theyaregoingtobemorelikelytowanttodowhatothersaredoingratherthandotheirownthing.The

subjectwillbasetheirbeliefsandactionaccordingtowhatothersaredoingaroundthem,howthesesamepeopleact,andhowtheybelieve.Forexample,ifthesubjectgrowsupinacity,theyaremorelikelytoactlikeotherswhoarefromthatarea;ontheotherhand,thosewhogrowupinacommunitythatisveryreligiousmayspendalotof

theirtimepraying,learning,andhelpingothers.Underthisbeliefthesaying“thepowerofthecrowd,”canbeveryeffective.Thesubjectisgoingtowanttoknowwhatotherpeoplearoundthemaredoingatalltimes.Ithasbecomealmostanobsessioninthiscountrytobeabletodowhatothersaredoingin

ordertofitin,despitethefactthatpeoplewillsayhowtheywanttobedifferentandbeanindividual.Anexamplethatisgivenabouthowpeoplewilldosomethingbecauseothersaredoingitcanbefoundwithaphone-a-thon.Ifthehostsayssomethinglike“Operatorsarewaiting,pleasecallnow,”the

subjectmayfeellikethereareoperatorswhoaresittingaroundwithnothingtodobecausenooneiscallingthem.Thiswillmakethesubjectlesslikelytocallbecausetheyfigureifsomeoneelseisn’tcallingthentheyshouldn’teither.Ifthehostjustchangesupafewwordsandinsteadsays“Ifoperatorsarebusy,pleasecallagain,”therecanbea

verydifferentresult.Thesubjectisnowgoingtoassumethattheoperatorsarebusywiththecallsofmanyotherssubjectssotheorganizationmustbegoodandlegitimate.Thesubjectwillbemuchmorelikelytocallinwhetherornottheygetthroughrightawayorhavetobeputonhold.Thepersuasiontechnique

ofsocialproofisthemosteffectiveinsituationswherethesubjectisuncertainofwhattheywilldoorwhenthereseemtobemanysimilaritiesinthesituations.Inambiguousoruncertainsituationsthathavemultiplechoicesorpossibilitiestobemade,thesubjectwilloftenchoosetoconformtowhatothersaroundthemaredoing.Thisisbecausethe

choicesaresosimilarthatanyofthemwillwork,buttheywillassumethatthechoicetheothersaremakingistheonethatisright.Theotherwaythatsocialproofcanbeusediswhentherearesomesimilaritiesoccurring.Forexample,thesubjectismuchmorelikelytoconformandchangearoundthosewhoaresimilartotheminsome

way.Ifthereissomeonewhoissimilartothesubjectthatisincharge,thesubjectislikelytolistenandfollowthemmorethanifthepersoninchargeisverydifferentfromthesubject.Theagentwillbeabletousetheideaofsocialprooftohelpwiththeirprocessofpersuasion.Thefirstwaytheycandothisis

watchingthewordingthattheyaresaying.Withtheexamplegivenofthegameshow,bothofthequotesweresayingthesamething,butbyswitchingupthewordingtheycameupwithtwodifferentmeanings.Neitherofthemwerealie;theywerejusteffectiveatelicitingadifferentkindofresponse.Iftheagentisabletowatchthewaythattheyword

things,theycanelicittherightresponseoutoftheirsubjectsandconvincethesubjecttofollowthesameideasandbeliefs.Inaddition,theagentwillfindthatthereismoresuccessiftheyareabletogetthosewhoaresimilartothemtoshareintheideas.Thisiswhypoliticianswilltrytocampaigntogroupswith

thesimilarideastothem.Iftheyneedtoreachalargergroup,theywillmodifytheirideasinordertomakethemmoreappealingtothesenewgroups.

LikingTheagentisgoingtoworkveryhardinordertogetthesubjecttolikethem.Thereisaverysimple

reasonorthis;ifthesubjectlikestheagent,theyaremuchmorelikelytosayyestothem.Therearetwomainfactorsthatwillcontributetohowwellthesubjectlikestheagent.Thefirstoneisphysicalattractivenessandthesecondissimilarity.Forthefirstone,iftheagentismoreattractivephysicallytothesubject,

theyaregoingtohavethefeelingofbeingmorepersuasivesincetheyareabletogetwhattheywantmoreeasilywhilealsochangingtheattitudesofothers.Thisattractivenessfactorhasbeenproveneffectiveinsendingfavorablemessagesandimpressionsofothertraitsthattheagentmayhaveincludingintelligence,kindness,andtalent.This

allworkstogethertomakeitmorelikelythatanattractivepersonwillbeabletomoreeasilypersuadethesubject.Thesecondfactor,similarity,isalittlesimpler.Theideastatesthatifthesubjectissimilartotheagent,theyaremuchmorelikelytoanswerintheaffirmativetowhattheagentisasking.This

processisprettynaturalandmostofthetimethesubjectwillnothavetothinkaboutwhetheritistherightthingtodowhentheylikeandaresimilartotheagent.

AuthorityOneofthewaysthattheagentwillbesuccessfulinpersuadingthesubjectistobecomeanauthority.

Thereisatendencyinmostpeopletobelievethatsomethinganexpertsaysonasubjectistrue.Thesubjectismorelikelytoenjoylisteningtoanagentthatistrustworthyandknowledgeable;thismeansthatiftheagentcanbringthesetwothingstothetable,thentheyarealreadyonthewaytogettingtheirsubjecttolistenandbelievethem.

Therehavebeenstudiesdonetoshowhowthisauthoritytechniquecanworkinpersuadingthesubjecttolistentowhattheagenthastosay.ThestudydonewasknownastheMilgramstudyandwasactuallyawholeseriesofexperimentsstartedin1961.Theparticipantsconsistedoftwosubjectsandeachwasplacedinto

differentrooms.Thefirstsubjectwasthenattachedtoaharnessthatwaselectricandwhichcouldadministertheshock.Thesecondsubjectwasinstructedbytheagent,whowasdressedupinascientist’scoatandlookedofficial,toaskthefirstsubjectquestionsandthentopunishthemwheneveraquestionwasansweredincorrectly.Thesecond

subjectwasaskedbytheagenttodeliverelectricalshocksthatcamefromapanelthatwasunderthesecondsubject’scontrol.Afterdeliveringashock,thesecondsubjecthadtopickthenexthighestvoltagetousethenexttimeandwouldcontinuetodothisuntilthehighestvoltageof450voltswasreached.

Onethingthatwasnotknowntothesecondsubjectwasthatthefirstsubjectwassimplyanactorwhowasfakingthepain;thisfirstsubjectwasnotactuallybeingharmedintheprocess.Thisexperimentwasconductedinordertoseehowwellthesecondsubjectwouldobeysomeoneinauthority,nottoharmsomeoneonpurpose.Thestatement

thatwentalongwiththisstudywas“Whenanauthoritytellsordinarypeopleitistheirjobtodeliverharm,howmuchsufferingwilleachsubjectbewillingtoinflictonanentirelyinnocentpersoniftheinstructionscomefromabove?”Accordingtothisstudy,mostofthesecondsubjectswerewillingtoprovideasmuchpaintothefirstsubjectaswas

available.Thisledtotheconclusionthatmostsubjectsarewillingtoplacepainuponothersiftheyaretoldtodosobyanauthorityfigureofsomesort.Ofcourse,whenitcomestopersuasion,painisnotsomethingthatisnecessaryatalltimesinordertochangethewaythatpeoplethink.This

studywasjustanillustrationofhowthesubjectisgoingtoreacttotheagentiftheagentisabletoprovetheyaresomesortofauthoritarianperson.Keepingthisinmindcanhelptheagenttoreachtheirownagenda.

ScarcityScarcityisanotherformofpersuasionthatpeople

maybefamiliarwithbutwhichisoftenunderestimated.Whenaproductorideahasalimitedavailability,itismorelikelytobeassignedahighervalue.AccordingtoCialdini“peoplewantmoreofwhattheycannothave.”Whilethismightsoundlikeitisdescribingachildwhoistryingtogetintothecookiejarwhentheyaretoldno,itcanalso

describehowregularadultswillact.Whenthereistheissueofscarcitytoconsider,thecontextisgoingtomatteraswell.Thissimplymeansthatwithinspecificcontexts,theideaofscarcitymightactuallybeanadvantage.Theagentofpersuasionwillbeabletousetheideaofscarcitytotheiradvantage.Theywillneed

tofindawaytomakethesubjectbelievethattheitemisscarcebyexplainingwhythatitemissospecialandwhatitdoesthatnothingelseisabletodo.Theagentisgoingtohavetoworktheirsubjectintherightway.Theagentcanalsochoosetogotheotherway;ratherthanexplainingwhatthecustomerwillgainbytheitemoridea,theycan

explainwhattheywilllosebynothavingtheitem.Forexample,theagentcouldsaysomethinglike“youwilllose$5”ratherthangoingwith“youcouldsave$5”.Thisisjustanotherwaythattheagentwillbeabletomakesomethingsoundlikeitisscarcer.Therearetworeasonswhythisprincipleofscarcityworks.Firstoff,when

itemsorproductsaredifficulttoobtain,theywillusuallygainmorevalue.Themorevalueanitemhasthebetterqualityitwillseemtohave,evenifthisisnottrue.Thesecondthingisthatwhensomethingisnotasavailableasitoncewas,thesubjectwillbegintorealizethattheyaregoingtolosethechanceatacquiringitinthefuture.Oncethisbeginsto

happen,thesubjectwillbegintoassigntheserviceoritemthatisscarceahighervaluesimplysinceitisgoingtobecomehardertoacquire.Theideathatisbehindthisprincipleisthatthesubjectisgoingtowantthethingsthatareoutoftheirreach.Ifsomethingiseasytoget,noonewillwantitasmuchaswhentheitemismore

difficult.Iftheagentisabletoplanttheideathattheirthoughts,beliefs,oritemsarescarceanddifficulttocomeby,theywillhaveamuchhigherchanceofseeingsuccessintheirpersuasionefforts.

PersuasionTechniquesIftheagentwantstobesuccessfulinpersuadingthesubjectintosomething,theyaregoingtohavetocomeupwithsometechniquesthatwillhelpthemout.Everydaythesubjectisgoingtobeconfrontedwithdifferentformsofpersuasion.Foodmakerswillworktogetthesubjecttopurchasethe

newproductsormoreoftheoldwhilestudioswilladvertisetheirlatestblockbusters.Sincepersuasioncanbefoundalmostanywhere,itisgoingtobeabigchallengetotheagenttofindawaytoimpresstheirpointofviewonthesubject.Thetechniquesthatcomewithpersuasionhavebeenobservedandstudiedfor

manyyears,allthewaybacktoancienttimes.Thishasbeendonebecauseinfluenceissousefultoawidevarietyofdifferentpeople.Theformalstudyofthesetechniqueshasgrownstartingintheearly20thcentury.Sincetheultimategoalofusingpersuasionistoconvincethesubjecttotakethepersuasiveargument,

internalizeit,andthenadoptitasanewattitude,thereisalotofvalueindiscoveringwhichtechniquesofpersuasionarethemostsuccessful.Thethreepersuasiontechniquesthatprovidethemostvaluetotheagentandwhichwillbediscussedinthissectionarecreatinganeed,appealingtothesocialneeds,andusingloaded

imagesandwords.

CreateaNeedOnewaythattheagentisgoingtobeabletogetthesubjecttochangetheirwayofthinkingistocreateaneedortheycanappealtoaneedthatalreadyexistedinthesubject.Thistypeofpersuasionwillappealtothesubjectifdonecorrectly;thismeansthat

fortheagenttobesuccessfultheywillneedtoappealtothefundamentalneedsofthesubjectsuchastheirneedforself-actualization,self-esteem,love,food,andshelter.Thereasonthatthismethodisgoingtoworksowellfortheagentisbecausethesubjectisactuallygoingtoneedthesethings.Foodisnotsomethingthattheywillbeabletosurvive

withoutforverylong.Iftheagentisabletopersuadethesubjectthattheirstoreisthebestorbyswitchingtheirbeliefstheywouldbeabletogetmorefoodorshelter,thereisahigherchanceforsuccess.

AppealingtoSocialNeedsNext,theagentcould

appealtothesocialneedsofthesubject.Whilesocialneedsarenotaseffectivetouseastheprimaryneeds,theyarestillanimportanttoolthatcanbeused.Peopleliketobewantedandpartofthecrowd.Theyliketheprestigethatsomeitemsareabletogivethemandtofeelliketheybelonginahighersocialstanding.Theideaofappealingtothe

socialneedsofthesubjectcanbefoundinmosttelevisioncommercialsthatareon;inthesecommercialstheviewerwillbeencouragedtobuyanitemsothattheycanbecomewell-knownorbejustlikeeveryoneelse.Whentheagentappealstothesocialneedsofthesubject,theyareabletoreachanewareathatmightinterestthesubject.

UsingLoadedImagesandWordsWhenitcomestopersuasion,thechoiceofwordsthataremadecanmakeallofthedifference.Therearemanydifferentwaystosaythesamethingbutonewaymightspurthesubjectintoactionwhiletheotherwillnot.Sayingtherightwordstheright

wayisgoingtomakeallofthedifferencewhenitcomestousingpersuasion.Theexampleaboutthephone-a-thonearlierinthischapterisagoodexampleofhowwordscanbeusedtopersuadesubjectstojumpintoaction.Persuasionisapowerfultoolofmindcontrolthatisoftenunderestimatedand

overlooked.Perhapsthisisbecauseitoffersmoreofachoicetothesubjectcomparedtotheotherformsofmindcontrol.Intheotheroptions,thesubjectisforcedintosubmission,sometimesinisolation,bytheagentandendsupnothavingmuchofachoiceinwhatisgoingonintheprocess.Intermsofpersuasion,thefactsarepresentedsothatthe

subjectisabletomakeuptheirownmind,evenifthefactsareplacedinacertainwaytoshowtheminthebestlight.

Chapter6:Deception

Thenexttypeofmindcontrolthatwillbediscussedisdeception.Thismindcontroltechniqueisgoingtohavesomesimilaritiestomanipulationinthefactthatmanipulatorswillusealotofdeceptioninordertogettotheirfinalgoal.

Thischapterwillgointomoredetailsabouthowdeceptionworks,thetechniquesinvolvedinit,andsomeoftheresearchthathasbeenfound.

WhatisDeception?Tostartwithisthedefinitionaboutwhatdeceptionis.Deception,alongwithsubterfuge,mystification,bluff,deceit,andbeguilement,isanactusedbytheagenttopropagatebeliefsinthesubjectaboutthingsthatarefalsehoodsorwhichareonlypartialtruths.Deceptioncaninvolvealot

ofdifferentthingssuchasconcealment,camouflage,distraction,sleightofhand,propaganda,anddissimulation.Theagentwillbeabletocontrolthemindofthesubjectbecausethesubjectisgoingtotrustthem.Thesubjectwillbelievewhattheagentissayingandmightevenbebasingfutureplansandshapingtheirworldbasedonthe

thingsthattheagenthasbeentellingthem.Iftheagentispracticingtheprocessofdeception,thethingstheyhavebeentellingthesubjectwillbefalse.Trustcaneasilyberuinedoncethesubjectfindsout,whichiswhytheagentmustbetalentedattheprocessofdeceptionandgoodatturningthingsaroundiftheywantto

continueonwiththeirsubject.Often,deceptionwillcomeupintermsofrelationshipsanditcanleadtofeelingsofdistrustandbetrayalbetweenthetwopartnerswhoareintherelationship.Thisisbecausedeceptionviolatestherulesofmostrelationshipsandisalsoseentohaveanegative

influenceontheexpectationsthatcomewiththatrelationship.Mostpeopleexpecttobeabletohaveatruthfulconversationwiththeirpartner;iftheyhavelearnedthattheirpartnerisdeceptive,theywouldhavetolearnhowtousemisdirectionanddistractioninordertogetthereliableandtruthfulinformationthatthey

need.Thetrustwouldalsobegonefromtherelationship,makingitdifficulttobuildtherelationshipbackuptowhereithadoncebeen.Thesubjectwouldalwaysbequestioningthethingsthattheagentwastellingthem,wonderingifthestoryweretrueorsomethingmadeup.Becauseofthisnewmistrust,most

relationshipswillendoncethesubjectfindsoutaboutthedeceptionoftheagent.

TypesofDeceptionDeceptionisaformofcommunicationthatreliesonomissionsandliesinordertoconvincethesubjectoftheworldthatbestfitstheagent.Sincethereiscommunicationinvolved,therewillalsobe

severaldifferenttypesofdeceptionthatcouldbeoccurring.AccordingtotheInterpersonalDeceptionTheory,thereare5differenttypesofdeceptionthatarefound.Someofthesehavebeenshownintheotherformsofmindcontrol,showingthattherecanbesomeoverlapping.Thefivemainformsofdeceptioninclude:

Lies:thisiswhentheagentmakesupinformationorgivesinformationthatiscompletelydifferentfromwhatisthetruth.Theywillpresentthisinformationtothesubjectasfactandthesubjectwillseeitasthetruth.This

canbedangeroussincethesubjectwillnotrealizethattheyarebeingfedfalseinformation;ifthesubjectknewtheinformationwasfalse,theywouldnotlikelybetalkingtotheagentandnodeceptionwouldoccur.

Equivocations:thisiswhentheagentwillmakecontradictory,ambiguous,orindirectstatements.Thisisdonetoleadthesubjecttogetconfusedandtonotunderstandwhatisgoingon.Itcanalsohelp

theagenttosavefaceifthesubjectcomesbacklaterandtriestoblamethemforthefalseinformation.

Concealments:thisisoneofthemostcommontypesofdeceptionthatareused.

Concealmentsarewhentheagentomitsinformationthatisrelevantorimportanttothecontext,intentionally,ortheyengageinanybehaviorthatwouldhideinformationthatisrelevanttothesubjectforthat

particularcontext.Theagentwillnothavedirectlyliedtothesubject,buttheywillhavemadesurethattheimportantinformationthatisneedednevermakesittothesubject.

Exaggeration:thisiswhentheagentwilloverstateafactorstretchthetruthalittlebitinordertoturnthestorythewaythattheywouldlike.Whiletheagentmaynotbedirectlylyingtothesubject,theyaregoingto

makethesituationseemlikeabiggerdealthanitreallyisortheymaychangethetruthalittlebitsothatthesubjectwilldowhattheywant.

Understatements:anunderstatement

istheexactoppositeoftheexaggerationtoolinthattheagentisgoingtodownplayorminimizeaspectsofthetruth.Theywilltellthesubjectthataneventisnotthatbigofdealwheninfactitcouldbethethingthat

determinesifthesubjectgetstograduateorgetsthatbigpromotion.Theagentwillbeabletogobacklaterandsayhowtheydidnotrealizehowbigofadealitwas,leavingthemtolookgoodandthesubjecttolook

almostpettyiftheycomplain.

Thesearejustafewofthetypesofdeceptionthatmightbefound.Theagentofdeceptionisgoingtouseanymethodthatisattheirdisposalinordertogettotheirfinalgoal,muchlikewhatoccursintheotherformsofmindcontrol.Iftheyareabletoreachtheirgoalusinganothermethod

againstthesubject,thentheyaregoingtodoitsothelistaboveisinnowayexclusive.Theagentofdeceptioncanbereallydangerousbecausethesubjectwillnotbeabletotellwhatthetruthisandwhatanactofdeceptionis;theagentisgoingtobesoskilledatwhattheydothatitwillbealmostimpossibletodeterminewhatisthetruthandwhatisnot.

MotivesforDeceptionResearchershavedeterminedthattherearethreemainmotivesthatarepresentindeceptionsfoundincloserelationships.Thesewouldincludepartnerfocusedmotives,self-focusedmotives,andrelationshipfocusedmotives.

Let’slookatthepartnerfocusedmotivesfirst.Inthiskindofmotive,theagentisgoingtousedeceptioninordertoavoidcausingharmtothesubject,ortheirpartner.Theymayalsousethedeceptioninordertoprotectthesubject'srelationshipwithanoutsidethirdparty,toavoidhavingthesubject

worryaboutsomething,ortokeeptheself-esteemofthesubjectintact.Often,thiskindofmotivationfordeceptionwillbeviewedasrelationallybeneficialaswellassociallypolite.Thiskindofdeceptionisnotasbadassomeoftheothers.Iftheagenthearsaboutsomethingbadthatthesubject’sbestfriendsaidaboutthem,theagent

maychoosetokeepittothemselves.Whilethisisaformofdeception,ithelpsthesubjectkeepthatfriendshipwhilepreventingthesubjectfromfeelingbadforthemselves.Thisistheformofdeceptionthatisfoundthemostfrequentlyinrelationshipsandmightalsonotcausethatmuchdamageiffoundout.Mostcoupleswouldchooseto

utilizethisformofdeceptioninordertoprotecttheirpartner.Nextistheself-focusedmotiveofdeception.Thisoneisnotconsideredtobeasnobleasthefirstoneandisthereforemorelookeddownuponthantheothermethods.Insteadofworryingaboutthesubjectandhowtheyarefeeling,theagentisgoingtojust

thinkabouthowtheyfeelandabouttheirownself-image.Inthismotive,theagentisusingthedeceptioninordertoprotectorenhancetheirownself-image.Thisformofdeceptionisusedinordertoshieldtheagentfromcriticism,embarrassment,oranger.Whenthisdeceptionisusedintherelationship,itisusuallyperceivedtobea

moreseriousissueandtransgressionthanwhatisfoundwiththepartner-focuseddeception.Thisisbecausetheagentischoosingtoactinaselfishwayratherthanworkingtoprotecttherelationshiportheotherpartner.Finally,therelationshipfocusedmotiveofdeception.Thisdeceptionwillbeusedbytheagentin

thehopeoflimitinganyharmthatmightcometotherelationshipsimplybyavoidingrelationaltraumaandconflict.Dependingonthesituation,thisformofdeceptionwillsometimeshelptherelationshipandatothertimesitmightbethecauseofharmingtherelationshipbecauseitisgoingtomakethingsmorecomplicated.Forexample,ifyouchoosetohidehow

youarefeelingaboutsupperbecauseyoudonotwanttogetinafight,thismighthelptherelationship.Ontheotherhand,ifyouhadanaffairandchoosetokeepthisinformationtoyourself,itisonlygoingtomakethingsmorecomplicatedintheend.Regardlessoftheintentionofdeceptioninthe

relationship,itisnotrecommended.Theagentiswithholdinginformationthatmightbeimportanttothesubject;oncethesubjectfindsoutaboutit,theywillstarttolosetrustintheagentandwonderwhatelsetheagentishidingfromthem.Thesubjectisnotgoingtobetooconcernedforthereasonbehindthedeception,theywilljustbe

upsetthatsomethinghasbeenkeptfromthemandtherelationshipwillbegintohaveacrack.Itisoftenbesttostickwiththepolicyofhonestyintherelationshipandsurroundyourselfwithpeoplewhodonotpracticedeceptioninyoursocialgroup.

DetectingDeceptionIfthesubjectisinterested

inavoidingdeceptionintheirlifeinordertoavoidthemindgamesthatcomewithit,itisoftenagoodideatolearnhowtodetectwhendeceptionisgoingon.Often,itisdifficultforthesubjecttodeterminethatdeceptionisoccurringunlesstheagentslipsupandeithertellsaliethatisobviousorblatantortheycontradictsomethingthatthesubjectalreadyknows

tobetrue.Whileitmaybedifficultfortheagenttodeceivethesubjectforalongperiod,itissomethingthatwillcommonlyoccurineverydaylifebetweenpeoplewhoknoweachother.Detectingwhendeceptionoccursisoftendifficultbecausetherearenotreallyanyindicatorsthatarecompletelyreliabletotellwhendeceptionhappens.

Deception,though,iscapableofplacingalargeloadonthecognitivefunctioningoftheagentsincetheyaregoingtohavetofigureouthowtorecallallofthestatementsthattheyhavemadetothesubjectsothatthestoryremainsbelievableandconsistent.Oneslipupandthesubjectwillbeabletotellthatsomethingisnot

right.Becauseofthestrainofkeepingthestorystraight,theagentismuchmorelikelytoleakoutinformationtotipoffthesubjecteitherthroughnonverbalorverbalcues.Researchersbelievethatdetectingdeceptionisaprocessthatiscognitive,fluid,andcomplexandwhichwilloftenvarydependingonthemessage

thatisbeingexchanged.AccordingtotheInterpersonalDeceptionTheory,deceptionisaniterativeanddynamicprocessofinfluencebetweentheagent,whoworkstomanipulatetheinformationhowtheywantitsothatitisdifferentfromthetruth,andthesubject,whowillthenattempttofigureoutifthemessageisvalidornot.

Theagent’sactionsaregoingtobeinterrelatedtotheactionsthatthesubjecttakesaftertheyreceivethemessage.Duringthisexchange,theagentisgoingtorevealthenonverbalandverbalinformationthatwillcuethesubjectintothedeceit.Atsomepoints,thesubjectmaybeabletotellthattheagenthasbeenlyingtothem.

Itisnotalwayspossibletotellwhentheagentisbeingdeceptive.AccordingtoAlertVrij,anoteddeceptionscholar,therearenotanynonverbalbehaviorsthatareassociatedwithdeceptionuniquely.Whiletherearesomenonverbalbehaviorsthatcanbecorrelatedwiththeactofdeception,thesecuescanalsooccurwhen

otherbehaviorsarepresentsoitisdifficulttodetermineiftheagentisusingdeceptionunlesstheydoanoutrightlie.Anotherscholarofdeception,MarkFrank,proposesanotherideaofdeceptionthatincludeshowitcanbedetectedatthesubject’scognitivelevel.Whendeceptionoccurs,itrequiresa

consciousbehaviorthatisdeliberateonthepartoftheagentsothelisteningtowordsandpayingattentiontothebodylanguagethatisgoingonarebothcriticalwhentryingtodeterminingifsomeoneisdeceivingyou.Ifsomeoneoffersupaquestionandtheagentisnotwillingtoansweritdirectly,insteadusingsomeformofdisturbance,

hasapoorstructureoflogic,repeatswordsalot,anduseslesstimetalkingforthatparticularquestion,theyaremostlikelylying.Basically,therearenotmanysignsthatcanbeconsideredwhentryingtofigureoutwhendeceptionisoccurring.Thereareafewnonverbalsignsthatmightbepresentwhen

someoneisdeceiving,buttheymightalsohavesomeotherissuesuchasnervousnessorbeingshy.

MainComponentsofDeceptionWhileitmaybedifficulttodeterminewhichfactorsshowwhendeceptionisoccurring,therearesomecomponentsthataretypicalofdeception.Oftenthesubjectwillnotrealizethatthesecomponentshaveoccurredunlesstheagenthastoldanoutrightlieorbeencaughtinthe

actofdeceiving.Thesearecomponentsthatwillberecognizedlateroniftheagentisusingtheprocessofdeceptionintherightway.Thethreemaincomponentsofdeceptionincludecamouflage,disguise,andsimulation.

CamouflageThefirstcomponentofdeceptioniscamouflage.

Thisiswhentheagentisworkingtohidethetruthinanotherwaysothatthesubjectwillnotrealizethattheyaremissingtheinformation.Oftenthistechniquewillbeusedwhentheagentuseshalf-truthswhentheyaretellinginformation.Thesubjectwillnotrealizethatthecamouflaginghasoccurreduntillaterwhenthesetruthsarerevealedin

someway.Theagentwillbeskilledincamouflagingthetruthsothatitisreallydifficultforthesubjecttofindoutaboutthedeceptionbychance.

DisguiseDisguiseisanothercomponentthatcanbefoundintheprocessofdeception.Whenthisoccurs,theagentis

workingtocreateanimpressionofbeingsomethingorsomebodyelse.Thisiswhentheagentishidingsomethingaboutthemselvesfromthesubjectsuchastheirrealname,whattheydoforajob,whotheyhavebeenwith,andwhattheyareuptowhentheygoout.Thisgoesfurtherthanjustchangingtheoutfitthatsomeonewearsinaplayor

amovie;whendisguiseisusedintheprocessofdeception,theagentistryingtochangetheirwholepersonainordertotrickanddeceivethesubject.Thereareseveralexamplesthatcanillustratetheuseofdisguiseintheprocessofdeception.Thefirstisinrelationstotheagentdisguisingthemselves,

usuallyasanotherperson,sothattheyarenotrecognizable.Theagentmaydothisinordertogetbackintoacrowdofpeoplethatdoesnotlikethem,changetheirpersonalitiestomakesomeonelikethem,orforanotherreasontofurthertheirgoals.Insomecases,theworddisguisecanrefertotheagentdisguisingthetruenatureofaproposalin

thehopesofhidinganeffectormotivationthatisunpopularwiththatproposal.Oftenthisformofdisguiseisfoundinpropagandaorpoliticalspin.Disguisecanbeharmfulbecauseitishidingthetruenatureofwhatisgoingon.Iftheagentishidingwhotheyarefromthesubject,itcanbereally

difficultforthesubjecttodeterminewhotheyreallyare.Wheninformationiswithheldfromthesubject,itcloudsthewaythattheyareabletothinksincetheydonothavetherightinformationtomakelogicalchoices.Whilethesubjectmaythinkthattheyaremakinglogicalchoicesoftheirownfreewill,theagenthastakenawaykeyinformationthatmay

changethesubject’smind.

SimulationThethirdcomponentofdeceptionisknownassimulation.Thisconsistsofshowingthesubjectinformationwhichisfalse.Therearethreetechniquesthatcanbeusedinsimulationincludingdistraction,fabrication,andmimicry.

Inmimicry,orthecopyingofanothermodel,theagentwillbeunconsciouslydepictingsomethingthatissimilartothemselves.Theymayhaveanideathatissimilartosomeoneelse’sandinsteadofgivingcredit,theywillsaythatitisalltheirs.Thisformofsimulationcanoftenoccurthroughauditory,visual,andothermeans.

Fabricationisanothertoolthattheagentmayusewhenusingdeception.Whatthismeansisthattheagentwilltakesomethingthatisfoundinrealityandchangeitsothatitisdifferent.Theymaytellastorythatdidnothappenoraddinembellishmentsthatmakeitsoundbetterorworsethanitreallywas.Whilethecoreofthestory

maybetrue,yestheydidgetabadgradeonatest,itisgoingtohavesomeextrathingsputinsuchastheteachergavethemabadgradeonpurpose.Therealityisthattheagentdidn’tstudyandthatiswhytheygotthebadgradeinthefirstplace.Finally,distractionisanotherformofsimulationindeception.Thisiswhen

theagenttriestogetthesubjecttofocustheirattentiononsomethingotherthanthetruth;usuallybybaitingorofferingsomethingthatmightbemoretemptingthanthetruththatisbeingconcealed.Forexample,ifthehusbandischeatingandthinksthewifeisstartingtofindout,hemaybringhomeadiamondringtodistractherfromthe

issueforashortwhile.Theissuewiththistechniqueisthatitoftendoesnotlastlongandtheagentmustfindanotherwaytodeceivethesubjectinordertokeeptheprocessgoing.

ResearchonDeceptionDeceptionhasbecomeamajorpartofeverydaylife.Whethertheagentmeanstocauseharmornot,therearemanyinstanceswheredeceptionwillcreepintorelationshipsofallsorts.Theagentmaydeceivetheirbossinordertogetmoretimetofinishaproject;aspousemaydeceivetheirpartnerin

ordertonothurttheirfeelings.Whilemanycasesarenottocauseharm,theyarestillpresentinsociety.Becauseofthisprevalence,therehasbeenresearchdonetotryanddeterminewhyitoccursandwhomaybemorelikelytoperformtheacts.

SocialResearchSociallytherehasbeen

someresearchdonetoseetheeffectsofdeceptiononsociety.Thereareseveralmethodologiesfoundinsocialresearch,suchasinpsychology,whichdealdirectlywithdeception.Inthesemethodologies,theresearchersaregoingtointentionallymisinformormisleadtheirparticipantsintermsofwhatisreallygoingonintheexperiment.Thiskeepsthe

subjectsunawareastowhatisgoingonandwillhelptodeliverbetterresults.Astudythatwasdonein1963byStanleyMilgramshowshowdeceptionwillworkonpeople.Theagentstoldthesubjectsthattheywouldbehelpingoutinastudythatdealtwithlearningandmemory;inrealitythisstudywas

lookingathowwillingthesubjectsweretoobeyingcommandsofsomeonewhoisincharge,evenwhenthatobeyingmeantthattheywouldhavetoinflictpainupononeoftheothersubjects.Whilethepersonwhowasreceivingthepainwasjustanactoranddidnotreallygetharmedintheexperiment,itwasfoundthatthesubjectswouldinflictthe

highestavailablepainontheactoriftoldtodosobytheauthority.Attheendofthisstudy,thesubjectsweretoldwhatthestudy’struenaturewasandpeopleweregivenassistanceinordertoinsuretheyleftinastateofwell-being.Theuseofdeceptioninthisrolehasraisedalotofissueswithresearchethics.Currentlyitisbeing

regulatedbytheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationandotherprofessionalbodiestoensurethatthesubjectsarebeingtreatedfairlyandarenotreceivingundoharmintheprocess.

PsychologicalResearchPsychologicalresearchisthebranchthatwilluse

deceptionthemostbecausethisisnecessarytodeterminetheresultsthatwouldactuallyhappen.Therationalebehinddoingthisdeceptionstatesthathumansareverysensitivetothewaythattheymightappeartoothers,aswellastothemselves,andtheself-consciousnessthattheyfeelmaydistortorinterferewiththewaythesubjectwouldbehavein

normalcircumstancesoutsideofdoingtheresearchwheretheywouldnotfeelscrutinized.Thedeceptionismeanttomakethesubjectsfeelmoreateasesothattheagentisabletogetmoreaccurateresults.Forexample,theagentmightbeinterestedtofindoutwhatconditionsmightmakeastudentcheatona

test.Iftheagentasksthestudentoutright,itisnotverylikelythatthesubjectswouldadmittocheatingandtherewouldbenowayfortheagenttofigureoutwhoistellingthetruthandwhoisnot.Inthiscase,theagentwouldhavetousedistractioninordertogetanaccurateideaofhowoftencheatingoccurs.Theagentmightinsteadsaythestudyistofindouthow

intuitivethesubjectis;thesubjectmightevenbetoldduringtheprocessthattheymayhavetheopportunitytolookatsomeoneelse’sanswersbeforetheygivetheirown.Attheendofthisresearchthatinvolvesdeception,itisrequiredthattheagenttellsthesubjectwhatthetruenatureofthestudyisandwhythedeceptionwasnecessary.Also,most

agentswillalsoprovideaquicksummaryoftheresultsthatoccurredbetweenalloftheparticipantswhentheresearchisalldone.Althoughdeceptionisusedalotinthesekindsofresearchstudies,theyareboundbytheethicalguidelinessetoutbytheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,thereare

somedebatesaboutwhetherdeceptionissomethingthatshouldbepermittedatall.Somebelievethatallowingdeceptionisnotnecessaryanditiscausingharmtothesubjectswhoareparticipating.Othersbelievethattheresultswouldbeskewedifthesubjectsknewtheexactnatureofthestudyaheadoftime.Oftenthebiggest

issuewithusingdeceptioninastudyisnottheactualdeceptionitself.Rather,itistheunpleasanttreatmentthatisusedinastudyofthissort,aswellastheimplicationsofwhatisgoingtohappeninthestudythatisunpleasant.Thisisusuallytheunderlyingreasonwhysomeareagainstusingthesekindsofstudiesandwhyitisconsideredtobe

unethicalinnature.Anotherargumentagainsttheethicsofusingdeceptioninthesekindsofstudiesisthatthesubjecthasalreadygiventheirinformedconsenttoparticipateinthestudy.Theyhavebeenreadtherulesandregulationsthatgoalongwiththestudyandfeelliketheyareinformedenoughaboutthe

endresultsthatarewantedinordertosignawaiverinordertobegin.Itisarguedthatiftheagentisdeceivingthesubjectandleavingoutimportantinformationaboutthestudy,regardlessofifitisinthebestinterestofthestudy,thenthesubjectreallyisnotinformedtostartwith.Becauseofthis,thesubjectshouldnotbeparticipatinginthestudy

sincetheydidnotexplicitlygiveconsenttotheactualstudybeingconducted.Regardlessoftheargumentsthatareoutthereonthistopic,therehavebeensomeinterestingfindingswhenthesubjectsaredeceivedaboutthenatureofthestudy.Forexample,inregardstothestudymentionedaboveaboutcheating;ifthe

subjectshadbeentoldaboutthetruenatureofthestudyitisnotlikelythatmostofthemwouldhavecheated.Thiswouldbebecausenoneofthemwouldwanttobeseenasdishonestorfalsetoothersaroundthem.Thedeceptionallowedtheresearcherstoseewhatwouldhappeninarealworldapplication.In

addition,ifthesubjectsofthememorytestmentionedearlierintheguidebookknewthetruenatureaboutthatstudy,theywouldnothavebeenaslikelytolistentotheauthorityfigureandadministertheresultsthattheydid.Despitetheobjectionsthathavebeenformedaboutusingdeceptionin

research,theuseofdeceptionhasprovidedresearcherswithalotofinterestingresults.Theseresultsmaynothavebeenpossiblewithouttheuseofdeceptionsincethesubjectmayhavereactedinadifferentwaytothestudy.

PhilosophyPsychologymaybethemainreasonthatdeception

isusedinresearch,butthereisalsoalotofdeceptionthathasshownupinmodernphilosophy.Infact,deceptionisaveryregularoccurrenceinphilosophy.Forexample,inthemeditationsofDescartesthatwerepublishedin1641,thenotionofDeusdeceptorwasintroduced;thisnotionwassomethingthatwasabletodeceivetheego,

whenitwasthinkinglogically,aboutwhatwasgoingoninreality.Thisnotionwentontobeusedaspartofhishyperbolicdoubt;thisiswherethesubjectthenbeginstodoubteverythingthatisavailabletodoubtbecausetheyhavebeendeceivedinthepast.Often,skepticalargumentswillusethisDeusdeceptorastheirmainstayinordertoput

intodoubtorquestiontheknowledgeofrealitythatonepersonholds.Themainpartoftheargumentstatesthateverythingthesubjectknowsmaybewrongsinceitiseasytodeceivethesubject.Thisisjustoneofthecasesofdeceptionfoundinphilosophy.Manyworkshavebeenwrittenonthistopictryingtoexplain

exactlywhatitis,howitaffectsthesubject,andwaysthatthesubjectmaybeabletoavoidcomingincontactwithit.Therehasalsobeenalotofresearchdonetryingtodeterminewhendeceptionmaybefineandwhenitcanbeharmful.Thisisupforconsiderabledebate;somepeoplebelievethatalldeceptionisbadwhileothersseedeceptionin

ordertosavesomeone’sfeelingsasfineinsomecasessuchasahusbandwithholdingthefactthatsomeonesaidsomethingmeanabouttheirwife.

ConclusionThisguidebooktooksometimetoexplorethedifferenttypesofmindcontrolthatarepresentintheworldtodayaswellassomeofthemethodsandtechniquesthatgoalongwitheachkind.Eachofthemindcontroltechniquesworkinadifferentway.Brainwashingworksto

convincethesubjecttochangetheirwholeidentitywiththeuseofisolation,shaming,andeventuallyofferingawaytofeelbetterthatconformstothenewdesiredidentity.Hypnosisallowsthesubjecttoenteranewalteredstateofmindwheretheywillbemorelikelytobeperceptiveandopentonewideas.Ontheotherhand,

manipulationanddeceptionwillalterthecurrentthoughtprocessofthesubjectusingsubterfugeasaprimarytactic,whilepersuasioninvolvesinfluencingaperson'sbeliefs,attitudes,intentions,motivationsorbehaviors.Exceptforbrainwashinganddeception,mindcontrolisatoolthatcanbe

usedinapositivewaytoachieveone'sgoalsorobjectives.Italldependsonthetypeofmindcontrolthatisinvolvedandtheintentoftheindividualwhowantstoapplyit.Italsodependsonwhetherthetargetorsubjectofmindcontrolwillbenefitfromit.

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