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<p>NOTE: This is a report on Government and military techniques, notterrorist!</p>
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<p> B R A I N W A S H I N G
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By <ent type='PERSON'>Lorenzo Saint</ent> Dubois</p>
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<p>The report that follows is a condensation of a study by training experts of
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the important information available on this subject.</p>
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<p> BACKGROUND</p>
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<p>Brainwashing, as a technique, has been used for centuries and is no mystery
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to psychologists. In this sense, brainwashing means involuntary re-education
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of basic beliefs and values. All people are being re-educated continually.
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New information changes one's beliefs.</p>
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<p>Everyone has experienced to some degree the conflict that ensues when new
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information is not consistent with prior belief.</p>
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<p>The experience of the brainwashed individual differs in that the inconsistent
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information is forced upon the individual under controlled conditions after
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the possibility of critical judgment has been removed by a variety of
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methods.</p>
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<p>There is no question that an individual can be broken psychologically by
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captors with knowledge and willingness to persist in techniques aimed at
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deliberately destroying the integration of a personality. Although it is
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probable that everyone reduced to such a confused, disoriented state will
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respond to the introduction of new beliefs, this cannot be stated
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dogmatically.</p>
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<p> HUMAN CONTROL AND REACTION TO CONTROL</p>
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<p>There are progressive steps in exercising control over an individual and
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changing his behaviour and personality integration.</p>
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<p>The following five steps are typical of behaviour changes in any controlled
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individual:</p>
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<p>1. Making the individual aware of control is the first stage in changing his
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behaviour. A small child is made aware of the physical and psychological
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control of his parents and quickly recognizes that an overwhelming force
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must be reckoned with.</p>
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<p> So a controlled adult comes to recognize the overwhelming powers of the
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state and the impersonal, incarcerative machinery in which he is enmeshed.
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The individual recognizes that definite limits have been put upon the ways
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he can respond.</p>
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<p>2. Realization of his complete dependence upon the controlling system is a
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major factor in the controlling of his behaviour.</p>
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<p> The controlled adult is forced to accept the fact that food, tobacco,
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praise and the only social contact that he will get come from the very
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interrogator who exercises control over him.</p>
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<p>3. The awareness of control and recognition of dependence result in causing
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internal conflict and breakdown of previous patterns of behaviour.</p>
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<p> Although this transition can be relatively mild in the case of a child,
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it is almost invariably severe for the adult undergoing brainwashing.
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Only an individual who holds his values lightly can change them easily.</p>
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<p> Since the brainwasher/interrogators aim to have the individuals undergo
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profound emotional change, they force their victims to seek out painfully
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what is desired by the controlling individual. During this period the
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victim is likely to have a mental breakdown characterized by delusions
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and hallucinations.</p>
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<p>4. Discovery that there is an acceptable solution to his problem is the
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first stage of reducing the individuals conflict.</p>
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<p> It is characteristically reported by victims of brainwashing that this
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discovery led to an overwhelming feeling of relief that the horror of
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internal conflict would cease and that perhaps they would not be driven
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insane.</p>
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<p> It is at this point that they are prepared to make major changes in their
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value system. This is an automatic rather than voluntary choice. They have
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lost their ability to be critical.</p>
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<p>5. Reintegration of values and identification with the controlling system is
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the final stage in changing the behaviour of the controlled individual.</p>
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<p> A child who has learned a new, socially desirable behaviour demonstrates
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its importance by attempting to as apt the new behaviour to a variety of
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other situations. Similar states in the brainwashed adult are pitiful.</p>
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<p> His new value-system, his manner of perceiving, organizing, and giving
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meaning to events, is virtually independent of his former value system.
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He is no longer capable of thinking or speaking in concepts other than
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those he has adopted. He tends to identify by expressing thanks to his
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captors for helping him see the light.</p>
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<p> Anyone willing to use known principles of control and reactions to
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control and capable of demonstrating the patience needed in raising a
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child can probably achieve successful brainwashing.</p>
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<p> CONTROL TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS</p>
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<p>A description of usual <ent type='NORP'>communist</ent> control techniques follows.</p>
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<p>INTERROGATION</p>
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<p>There are at least two ways in which interrogation is used:</p>
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<p>A. Elicitation, which is designed to get the individual to surrender
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protected information, is a form of interrogation. One major difference
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between elicitation and interrogation used to achieve brainwashing is that
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the mind of the individual must be kept clear to permit coherent,
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undistorted disclosure of protected information.</p>
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<p>B. Elicitation for the purpose of brainwashing consists of questioning,
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argument, indoctrination, threats, cajolery, praise, hostility and a
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variety of other pressures. The aim of this interrogation is to hasten the
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breakdown of the individual's value system and to encourage the substitution
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of a different valuesystem.</p>
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<p>The procurement of protected information is secondary and is used as a
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device to increase pressure upon the individual. The term interrogation in
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this article will refer in general, to this type. The interrogator is the
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individual who conducts this type of interrogation and who controls the
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administration of the other pressures. He is the protagonist against whom
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the victim develops his conflict and upon whom the victim develops a state
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of dependency as he seeks some solution to his conflict.</p>
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<p>PHYSICAL TORTURE & THREATS OF TORTURE</p>
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<p>Two types of physical torture are distinguishable more by their psychological
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effect in inducing conflict than by the degree of painfulness:</p>
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<p>A. The first type is one in which the victim has a passive role in the pain
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inflicted on him (e.g., beatings). His conflict involves the decision of
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whether or not to give in to demands in order to avoid further pain.
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Generally, brutality of this type was not found to achieve the desired
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results. Threats of torture were found more effective, as fear of pain
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causes greater conflict within the individual than does pain itself.</p>
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<p>B. The second type of torture is represented by requiring the individual to
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stand in one spot for several hours or assume some other pain-inducing
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position. Such a requirement often engenders in the individual a
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determination to stick it out. This internal act of resistance provide a
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feeling of moral superiority at first. As time passes and his pain mounts,
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the individual becomes aware that it is his own original determination to
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resist that is causing the continuance of pain.</p>
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<p>A conflict develops within the individual between his moral determination and
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his desire to collapse and discontinue the pain. It is this extra internal
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conflict, in addition to the conflict over whether or not to give in to the
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demands made of him, that tends to make this method of torture more
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effective in the breakdown of the individual personality.</p>
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<p>
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ISOLATION</p>
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<p>Individual differences in reaction to isolation are probably greater than to
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any other method. Some individuals appear to be able to withstand prolonged
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periods of isolation without deleterious effects, while a relatively short
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period of isolation reduces others to the verge of psychosis. Reaction
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varies with the conditions of the isolation cell.</p>
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<p>Some sources have indicated a strong reaction to filth and vermin, although
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they had negligible reactions to the isolation. Others reacted violently to
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isolation in relatively clean cells. The predominant cause of breakdown in
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such situations is a lack of sensory stimulation (i.e., grayness of walls,
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lack of sound, absence of social contact, etc.). Experimental subjects
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exposed to this condition have reported vivid hallucinations and
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overwhelming fears of losing their sanity.</p>
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<p>CONTROL OF COMMUNICATION</p>
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<p>This is one of the most effective methods for creating a sense of
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helplessness and despair. This measure might well be considered the
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cornerstone of the system of control. It consists of strict regulation of
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the mail, reading materials, broadcast materials and social contact
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available to the individual. The need to communicate is so great that when
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the usual channels are blocked, the individual will resort to any open
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channel, almost regardless of the implications of using that particular
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channel.</p>
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<p>Many POWs in <ent type='GPE'>Korea</ent>, whose only act of collaboration was to sign petitions
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and peace appeals, defended their actions on the ground that this was the
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only method of letting the outside world know they were still alive.</p>
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<p>Many stated that their morale and fortitude would have been increased
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immeasurably had leaflets of encouragement been dropped to them. When the
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only contact with the outside world is via the interrogator, the prisoner
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comes to develop extreme dependency on his interrogator and hence loses
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another prop to his morale.</p>
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<p>Another wrinkle in communication control is the informer system. The
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recruitment of informers in POW camps discouraged communication between
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inmates. POWs who feared that every act or thought of resistance would be
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communicated to camp administrators, lost faith in their fellow man and
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were forced to untrusting individualism. Informers are also under several
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stages of brainwashing and elicitation to develop and maintain control over
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the victims.</p>
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<p>INDUCTION OF FATIGUE</p>
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<p>This is a well-known device for breaking will power and critical powers of
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judgment. Deprivation of sleep results in more intense psychological
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debilitation than does any other method of engendering fatigue. They vary
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their methods.</p>
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<p>Conveyor belt interrogation that last 50-60 hours will make almost any
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individual compromise, but there is danger that this will kill the victim.
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It is safer to conduct interrogations of 8-10 hours at night while forcing
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the prisoner to remain awake during the day. Additional interruptions in the
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remaining 2-3 hours of allotted sleep quickly reduce the most resilient
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individual.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Alternate</ent> administration of drug stimulants and depressants hastens the
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process of fatigue and sharpens the psychological reactions of excitement
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and depression. Fatigue, in addition to reducing the will to resist, also
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produces irritation and fear that arise from increased slips of the
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tongue forgetfulness and decreased ability to maintain orderly thought
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processes.</p>
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<p>CONTROL OF FOOD, WATER AND TOBACCO</p>
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<p>The controlled individual is made intensely aware of his dependence upon his
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interrogator for the quality and quantity of his food and tobacco. The
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exercise of this control usually follows a pattern.</p>
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<p>No food and little or no water is permitted the individual for several
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days prior to interrogation. When the prisoner first complains of this to
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the interrogator, the latter expresses surprise at such inhumane treatment.</p>
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<p>He makes a demand of the prisoner, if the latter complies, he receives a
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good meal. If he does not, he gets a diet of unappetizing food containing
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limited vitamins, minerals and calories.</p>
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<p>This diet is supplemented occasionally by the interrogator if the prisoner
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cooperates. Studies of controlled starvation indicate that the whole value system of the subjects underwent a change. Their irritation increased
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as their ability to think clearly decreased. The control of tobacco presented
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an even greater source of conflict for heavy smokers. Because tobacco is not
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necessary to life, being manipulated by his craving for it can in the
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individual a strong sense of guilt.</p>
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<p>CRITICISM AND SELF-CRITICISM</p>
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<p>There are mechanisms of thought control. Self-criticism gains its
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effectiveness from the fact that although it is not a crime for a man to be
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wrong, it is a major crime to be stubborn and to refuse to learn. Many
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individuals feel intensely relieved in being able to share their sense of
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guilt.</p>
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<p>Those individuals however, who have adjusted to handling their guilt
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internally have difficulty adapting to criticism and self-criticism. In
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brainwashing, after a sufficient sense of guilt has been created in the
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individual, sharing and self-criticism permit relief. The price paid for
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this relief, however, is loss of individuality and increased dependency.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>HYPNOSIS</ent> AND DRUGS AS CONTROLS</p>
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<p>There is no reliable evidence of making widespread use of drugs or hypnosis
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in brainwashing or elicitation. The exception to this is the use of common
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stimulants or depressants in inducing fatigue and mood swings.</p>
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<p>Other methods of control, which when used in conjunction with the basic
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processes, hasten the deterioration of prisoners' sense of values and
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resistance are:</p>
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<p>A. Requiring a case history or autobiography of the prisoner provides a mine
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of information for the interrogator in establishing and documenting
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accusations.</p>
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<p>B. Friendliness of the interrogator, when least expected, upsets the
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prisoner's ability to maintain a critical attitude.</p>
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<p>C. Petty demands, such as severely limiting the allotted time for use of
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toilet facilities or requiring the POW to kill hundreds of flies, are
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harassment methods.</p>
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<p>D. Prisoners are often humiliated by refusing them the use of toilet
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facilities during interrogation, until they soil themselves. Often
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prisoners were not permitted to bathe for weeks until they felt
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contemptible.</p>
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<p>E. Conviction as a war criminal appears to be a potent factor in creating
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despair in the individual. One official analysis of the pressures exerted
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by the ChiComs on confessors and non-confessors to participation in
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bacteriological warfare in <ent type='GPE'>Korea</ent> showed that actual trial and conviction
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of war crimes was overwhelmingly associated with breakdown and confession.</p>
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<p>F. Attempted elicitation of protected information at various times during
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the brainwashing process diverted the individual from awareness of the
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deterioration of his value-system.</p>
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<p>The fact that, in most cases, the ChiComs did not want or need such
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intelligence was not known to the prisoner. His attempts to protect
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such information was made at the expense of hastening his own breakdown.</p>
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<p> EXERCISE OF CONTROL
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A SCHEDULE FOR BRAINWASHING</p>
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<p>From the many fragmentary accounts reviewed, the following appears to be the
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most likely description of what occurs during brainwashing. In the period
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immediately following capture, the captors are faced with the problem of
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deciding on best ways of exploitation of the prisoners.</p>
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<p>Therefore, early treatment is similar both for those who are to be exploited
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through elicitation and those who are to undergo brainwashing. Concurrently
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with being interrogated and required to write a detailed personal history,
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the prisoner undergoes a physical and psychological softening-up which
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includes: limited unpalatable food rations, withholding of tobacco, possible
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work details, severely inadequate use of toilet facilities, no use of
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facilities for personal cleanliness, limitation of sleep such as requiring a
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subject to sleep with a bright light in his eyes.</p>
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<p>The interrogation and autobiographical material, the reports of the
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prisoner's behaviour in confinement and tentative personality typing by the
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interrogators, provide the basis upon which exploitation plans are made.</p>
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<p>There is a major difference between preparation for elicitation and for
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brainwashing. Prisoners exploited through elicitation must retain sufficient
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clarity of thought to be able to give coherent, factual accounts.</p>
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<p>In brainwashing, on the other hand, the first thing attacked is clarity of
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thought. To develop a strategy of defence, the controlled individual must
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determine what plans have been made for his exploitation. Perhaps the best
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cues he can get are internal reactions to the pressures he undergoes. The
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most important aspect of the brainwashing process is the interrogation. The
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other pressures are designed primarily to help the interrogator achieve his
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goals. The following states are created systematically within the
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individual. These may vary in order, but all are necessary to the
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brainwashing process:</p>
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<p>1. A feeling of helplessness in attempting to deal with the impersonal
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machinery of control.
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2. An initial reaction of surprise.
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3. A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him.
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4. A developing feeling of dependence upon the interrogator.
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5. A sense of doubt and loss of objectivity.
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6. Feelings of guilt.
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7. A questioning attitude toward his own value-system.
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8. A feeling of potential breakdown i.e., that he might go crazy.
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9. A need to defend his acquired principles.
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10. A final sense of belonging (identification).</p>
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<p>A feeling of helplessness in the face of the impersonal machinery of control
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is carefully engendered within the prisoner. The individual who receives the
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preliminary treatment described above not only begins to feel like an animal
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but also feels that nothing can be done about it. No one pays any personal
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attention to him. His complaints fall on deaf ears. His loss of
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communication, if he has been isolated, creates a feeling that he has been
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forgotten. Everything that happens to him occurs according to an impersonal
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time schedule that has nothing to do with his needs. The voices and
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footsteps of the guards are muted. He notes many contrasts, e.g., his
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greasy, unpalatable food may be served on battered tin dishes by guards
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immaculately dressed in white.</p>
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<p>The first steps in depersonalization of the prisoner have begun. He has no
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idea what to expect. Ample opportunity is allotted for him to ruminate upon
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all the unpleasant or painful things that could happen to him. He approaches
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the main interrogator with mixed feelings of relief and fright.</p>
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<p>Surprise is commonly used in the brainwashing process. The prisoner is rarely
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prepared for the fact that the interrogators are usually friendly and
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considerate at first. They make every effort to demonstrate that they are
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reasonable human beings.</p>
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<p>Often they apologize for bad treatment received by the prisoner and promise
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to improve his lot if he, too, is reasonable. This behaviour is not what he
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has steeled himself for. He lets down some of his defences and tries to take
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a reasonable attitude. The first occasion he balks at satisfying a request
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of the interrogator, however, he is in for another surprise. The formerly
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reasonable interrogator unexpectedly turns into a furious maniac. The
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interrogator is likely to slap the prisoner or draw his pistol and threaten
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to shoot him. Usually this storm of emotion ceases as suddenly as it began
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and the interrogator stalks from the room. These surprising changes create
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doubt in the prisoner as to his very ability to perceive another person's
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motivations correctly. His next interrogation probably will be marked by
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impassivity in the interrogator's mien.</p>
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|
<p>A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him is likewise carefully
|
||
|
engendered within the individual. Pleas of the prisoner to learn specifically
|
||
|
of what he is accused and by whom are side-stepped by the interrogator.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Instead, the prisoner is asked to tell why he thinks he is held and what he
|
||
|
feels he is guilty of. If the prisoner fails to come up with anything, he is
|
||
|
accused in terms of broad generalities (e.g, espionage, sabotage, acts of
|
||
|
treason against the people etc.)</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>This usually provokes the prisoner to make some statement about his
|
||
|
activities. If this take the form of a denial, he is usually sent to
|
||
|
isolation on further decreased food rations to think over his crimes.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>This process can be repeated again and again, as soon as the prisoner thinks
|
||
|
of something that might be considered self-incriminating, the interrogator
|
||
|
appears momentarily satisfied. The prisoner is asked to write down his
|
||
|
statement in his own words and sign it. Meanwhile a strong sense of
|
||
|
dependence upon the interrogator is developed. It does not take long for the
|
||
|
prisoner to realize that the interrogator is the source of all punishment,
|
||
|
all gratification, and all communication. The interrogator, meanwhile,
|
||
|
demonstrates his unpredictbility. He is perceived by the prisoner as a
|
||
|
creature of whim.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>At times, the interrogator can be pleased very easily and at other times no
|
||
|
effort on the part of the prisoner will placate him. The prisoner may begin
|
||
|
to channel so much energy into trying to predict the behaviour of the
|
||
|
unpredictable interrogator that he loses track of what is happening
|
||
|
inside himself. After the prisoner has developed the above psychological
|
||
|
and emotional reactions to a sufficient degree, the brainwashing begins in
|
||
|
earnest.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>First, the prisoner's remaining critical faculties must be destroyed. He
|
||
|
undergoes long, fatiguing interrogations while looking at a bright light.
|
||
|
He is called back again and again for interrogations after minimal sleep.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>He may undergo torture that tends to create internal conflict. Drugs may
|
||
|
be used to accentuate his mood swings. He develops depression when the
|
||
|
interrogator is being kind and becomes euphoric when the interrogator is
|
||
|
threatening the direst penalties. Then the cycle is reversed, the
|
||
|
prisoner finds himself in a constant state of anxiety which prevents him
|
||
|
from relaxing even when he is permitted to sleep. Short periods of
|
||
|
isolation now bring on visual and auditory hallucinations.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The prisoner feels himself losing his objectivity. It is in this state that
|
||
|
the prisoner must keep up an endless argument with the interrogator. He
|
||
|
may be faced with the confessions of other individuals who collaborated with
|
||
|
him in his crimes.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The prisoner seriously begins to doubts his own memory. This feeling is
|
||
|
heightened by his inability to recall little things like the names of the
|
||
|
people he knows very well or the date of his birth. The interrogator
|
||
|
patiently sharpens this feeling of doubt by more questioning. This tends to
|
||
|
create a serious state of uncertainty when the individual has lost most of
|
||
|
his critical faculties.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The prisoner must undergo additional internal conflict when strong feelings
|
||
|
of guilt are aroused within him. As any clinical psychologist is aware, it
|
||
|
is not at all difficult to create such feelings. Military servicemen are
|
||
|
particularly vulnerable.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>No one can morally justify killing even in wartime. The usual justification
|
||
|
is on the grounds of necessity or self-defence. The interrogator is careful
|
||
|
to circumvent such justification. He keeps the interrogation directed toward
|
||
|
the prisoner's moral code. Every moral vulnerability is exploited by
|
||
|
incessant questioning along this line until the prisoner begins to question
|
||
|
the very fundamentals of his own value-system.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The prisoner must constantly fight a potential breakdown. He finds that
|
||
|
his mind is going blank for longer and longer periods of time. He can
|
||
|
not think constructively. If he is to maintain any semblance of psychological
|
||
|
integrity, he must bring to an end this state of interminable internal
|
||
|
conflict. He signifies a willingness to write a confession.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>If this were truly the end, no brainwashing would have occurred. The
|
||
|
individual would simply have given in to intolerable pressure. The final
|
||
|
stage of the brainwashing process has just begun. No matter what the prisoner
|
||
|
writes in his confession the interrogator is not satisfied. The interrogator
|
||
|
questions every sentence of the confession. He begins to edit it with the
|
||
|
prisoner. The prisoner is forced to argue against every change. This is the
|
||
|
essence of brainwashing.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Every time that he gives in on a point to the interrogator, he must rewrite
|
||
|
his whole confession. Still the interrogator is not satisfied, in a desperate
|
||
|
attempt to maintain some semblance of integrity and to avoid further
|
||
|
brainwashing, the prisoner must begin to argue that what he has already
|
||
|
confessed to is true. He begins to accept as his own the statements he has
|
||
|
written. He uses many of the interrogator's earlier arguments to buttress
|
||
|
his position. By this process, identification with the interrogator's
|
||
|
value-system becomes complete.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>It is extremely important to recognize that a qualitative change has taken
|
||
|
place within the prisoner. The brainwashed victim does not consciously
|
||
|
change his value-system; rather the change occurs despite his efforts. He is
|
||
|
no more responsible for this change than is an individual who snaps and
|
||
|
becomes psychotic. Like the psychotic, the prisoner is not even aware of the
|
||
|
transition.
|
||
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>DEFENSIVE MEASURES</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>1. Training of Individuals potentially subject to <ent type='NORP'>communist</ent> control.
|
||
|
Training should provide for the trainee a realistic appraisal of what
|
||
|
control pressures the interrogators are likely to exert and what the
|
||
|
usual human reactions are to such pressures. The trainee must learn the
|
||
|
most effective ways of combating his own reactions to such pressures and
|
||
|
he must learn reasonable expectations as to what his behaviour should be.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> Training has two decidedly positive effects; first, it provides the
|
||
|
trainee with ways of combating control; second, it provides the basis for
|
||
|
developing an immeasurable boost in morale. Any positive action that the
|
||
|
individual can take, even if it is only slightly effective, gives him a
|
||
|
sense of control over a situation that is otherwise controlling him.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>2. Training must provide the individual with the means of recognizing
|
||
|
realistic goals for himself.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> A. Delay in yielding may be the only achievement that can be hoped for.
|
||
|
In any particular operation, the agent needs the support of knowing
|
||
|
specifically how long he must hold out to save an operation, protect
|
||
|
his cohorts, or gain some other goal.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> B. The individual should be taught how to achieve the most favourable
|
||
|
treatment and how to behave and make necessary concessions to obtain
|
||
|
minimum penalties.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> C. Individual behavioural responses to the various control pressures
|
||
|
differ markedly. Therefore, each trainee should know his own particular
|
||
|
assets and limitations in resisting specific pressures. He can learn
|
||
|
these only under laboratory conditions simulating the actual pressures
|
||
|
he may have to face.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> D. Training must provide knowledge of the goals and the restrictions
|
||
|
placed upon his interrogator. The trainee should know what controls
|
||
|
are on his interrogator and to what extent he can manipulate the
|
||
|
interrogator.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> For example, the interrogator is not permitted to fail to gain
|
||
|
something from the controlled individual. The knowledge that, after
|
||
|
the victim has proved that he is a tough nut to crack he can
|
||
|
sometimes indicate that he might compromise on some little point to
|
||
|
help the interrogator in return for more favourable treatment, may be
|
||
|
useful indeed. Above all, the potential victim of interrogator control
|
||
|
can gain a great deal of psychological support from the knowledge that
|
||
|
the interrogator is not a completely free agent who can do whatever he
|
||
|
wills with his victim.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> E. The trainee must learn what practical cues might aid him in recognizing
|
||
|
the specific goals of his interrogator. The strategy of defence against
|
||
|
elicitation may differ markedly from the strategy to prevent
|
||
|
brainwashing. To prevent elicitation, the individual may hasten his
|
||
|
own state of mental confusion; whereas, to prevent brainwashing,
|
||
|
maintaining clarity of thought processes is imperative.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> F. The trainee should obtain knowledge about carrots as well as sticks.
|
||
|
They keep certain of their promises and always renege on others, for
|
||
|
example, demonstrable the fact that informers receive no better
|
||
|
treatment than other prisoners should do much to prevent this particular
|
||
|
evil. On the other hand, certain meaningless concessions will often get
|
||
|
a prisoner a good meal.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> G. In particular, it should be emphasized to the trainee that, although
|
||
|
little can be done to control the pressures exerted upon him, he can
|
||
|
learn something about controlling his personal reactions to specific
|
||
|
pressures. The trainee can gain much from learning something about
|
||
|
internal conflict and conflict-producing mechanisms. He should learn
|
||
|
to recognize when someone is trying to arouse guilt feelings and what
|
||
|
behavioural reactions can occur as a response to guilt.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> H. The training must teach some methods that can be utilized in thwarting
|
||
|
particular control techniques:</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>ELICITATION</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>In general, individuals who are the hardest to interrogate for information
|
||
|
are those who have experienced previous interrogations. <ent type='ORG'>Practice</ent> in being
|
||
|
the victim of interrogation is a sound training device.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>TORTURE
|
||
|
|
||
|
The trainee should learn something about the principles of pain and shock.
|
||
|
There is a maximum to the amount of pain that can actually be felt. Any
|
||
|
amount of pain can be tolerated for a limited period of time. In addition,
|
||
|
the trainee can be fortified by the knowledge that there are legal
|
||
|
limitations upon the amount of torture that can be inflicted by jailors.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>ISOLATION</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The psychological effects of isolation can probably be thwarted best by
|
||
|
mental gymnastics and systematic efforts on the part of the isolate to
|
||
|
obtain stimulation for his neural end
|
||
|
organs. Controls on Food and Tobacco. Food given will always be enough to
|
||
|
maintain survival, sometimes the victim gets unexpected opportunities
|
||
|
to supplement his diet with special minerals, vitamins and other nutrients
|
||
|
(e.g., iron from the rust of prison bars).</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>In some instances, experience has shown that individuals could exploit
|
||
|
refusal to eat. Such refusal usually resulted in the transfer of the
|
||
|
individual to a hospital where he received vitamin injections and
|
||
|
nutritious food. Evidently attempts of this kind to commit suicide arouse
|
||
|
the greatest concern in officials.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>If deprivation of tobacco is the control being exerted. The victim can gain
|
||
|
moral satisfaction from giving up tobacco. He can't lose since he is not
|
||
|
likely to get any anyway.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>FATIGUE</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The trainee should learn reactions to fatigue and how to overcome them
|
||
|
insofar as possible. For example, mild physical exercise clears the head in
|
||
|
a fatigue state.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>WRITING PERSONAL ACCOUNTS AND SELF-CRITICISM</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Experience has indicated that one of the most effective ways of combating
|
||
|
these pressures is to enter into the spirit with an overabundance of
|
||
|
enthusiasm.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Endless written accounts of inconsequential material have virtually
|
||
|
smothered some eager interrogators. In the same spirit, sober, detailed
|
||
|
self-criticisms of the most minute sins has sometimes brought good results.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Guidance as to the priority of positions he should defend. Perfectly
|
||
|
compatible responsibilities in the normal execution of an individual's
|
||
|
duties may become mutually incompatible in this situation.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Take the example of a senior grade military officer, he has the knowledge
|
||
|
of sensitive strategic intelligence which it is his duty to protect. He
|
||
|
has the responsibility of maintaining the physical fitness of his men and
|
||
|
serving as a model example for their behaviour. The officer may go to the
|
||
|
camp commandant to protest the treatment of the POW's and the commandant
|
||
|
assures him that treatment could be improved if he will swap something for
|
||
|
it. Thus to satisfy one responsibility he must compromise another.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The officer, in short, is in a constant state of internal conflict. But if
|
||
|
the officer is given the relative priority of his different responsibilities,
|
||
|
he is supported by the knowledge that he won't be held accountable for any
|
||
|
other behaviour if he does his utmost to carry out his highest priority
|
||
|
responsibility.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>There is considerable evidence that many individuals tried to evaluate the
|
||
|
priority of their responsibilities on their own, but were in conflict over
|
||
|
whether others would subsequently accept their evaluations. More than one
|
||
|
individual was probably brainwashed while he was trying to protect himself
|
||
|
against elicitation.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>CONCLUSIONS</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>The application of known psychological principles can lead to an
|
||
|
understanding of brainwashing.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>1. There is nothing mysterious about personality changes resulting from the
|
||
|
brainwashing process.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>2. Brainwashing is a complex process. Principles of motivation, perception,
|
||
|
learning, and physiological deprivation are needed to account for the
|
||
|
results achieved in brainwashing.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>3. Brainwashing is an involuntary re-education of the fundamental beliefs of
|
||
|
the individual. To attack the problem successfully, the brainwashing
|
||
|
process must be differentiated clearly from general education methods for
|
||
|
thought-control or mass indoctrination, and elicitation.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>4. It appears possible for the individual, through training, to develop
|
||
|
limited defensive techniques against brainwashing. Such defensive
|
||
|
measures are likely to be most effective if directed toward thwarting
|
||
|
individual emotional reactions to brainwashing techniques rather than to
|
||
|
ward thwarting the techniques themselves.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF CONTROL OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>1. There are two major methods of altering or controlling human behaviour
|
||
|
and the <ent type='NORP'>Soviets</ent> where interested in both.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> The first is psychological; the second, pharmacological. The two may be
|
||
|
used as individual methods or for mutual reinforcement.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> For long-term control of large numbers of people, the former method is
|
||
|
more promising than the latter. In dealing with individuals, the U.S.
|
||
|
experience suggests the pharmacological approach (plus psychological
|
||
|
techniques) would be the only effective method. Neither method would be
|
||
|
very effective for individuals on a long term basis.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>2. <ent type='NORP'>Soviet</ent> research on the pharmacological agents producing behavioural
|
||
|
effects has consistently lagged about five years behind <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> research.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> They have been interested in such research and are now pursuing research
|
||
|
on such chemicals as LSD-25, amphetamines, tranquillizers, hypnotics and
|
||
|
similar materials. There is no present evidence that anyone has any
|
||
|
singular, new, potent drugs to force a course of action on an individual.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> They are aware of the tremendous drive produced by drug addiction and
|
||
|
perhaps could couple this with psychological direction to achieve
|
||
|
control of an individual.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>3. The psychological aspects of behaviour control would include not only
|
||
|
conditioning by repetition and training, but such things as hypnosis,
|
||
|
deprivation, isolation, manipulation of guilt feelings, subtle or covert
|
||
|
threats, social pressure and so on.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>Some of the newer trends in the <ent type='GPE'>USSR</ent> where as follows:</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>A. The adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach integrating biological,
|
||
|
social and physicalmathematical research in attempts better to
|
||
|
understand, and eventually, to control human behaviour in a manner
|
||
|
consonant with national plans.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>B. The outstanding feature, in addition to the inter-disciplinary approach,
|
||
|
is a new concern for mathematical approaches to an understanding of
|
||
|
behaviour.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> Particularly notable are attempts to use modern information theory,
|
||
|
automata theory and feedback concepts in interpreting the mechanisms by
|
||
|
which the second signal system, i.e., speech and associated phenomena,
|
||
|
affect human behaviour.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> Implied by this second signal system, using information inputs as
|
||
|
causative agents rather than chemical agents, electrodes or other more
|
||
|
exotic techniques applicable, perhaps, to individuals rather than groups.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p>C. This new trend, observed in the early <ent type='NORP'>Soviet</ent> post-<ent type='PERSON'>Stalin</ent> period,
|
||
|
continues. By 1960 the word cybernetics was used by the <ent type='NORP'>Soviets</ent> to
|
||
|
designate this new trend.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> This science is considered by some as the key to understanding the human
|
||
|
brain and the product of its functioning - Psychic activity and
|
||
|
personality - To the development of means for controlling it and to ways
|
||
|
for moulding the character of <ent type='ORG'>the New Communist</ent> Man.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> As one <ent type='NORP'>Soviet</ent> author put it: <ent type='ORG'>Cybernetics</ent> can be used in moulding of a
|
||
|
child's character, the inculcation of knowledge and techniques, the
|
||
|
amassing of experience, the establishment of social behaviour patterns,
|
||
|
all functions which can be summarized as 'control' of the growth process
|
||
|
of the individual. Students of particular disciplines in the <ent type='GPE'>USSR</ent>, such
|
||
|
as psychologist and social scientists, also support the general
|
||
|
cybernetic trend.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Research indicates that the <ent type='NORP'>Soviets</ent> had attempted to develop a technology
|
||
|
for controlling the development of behavioural patterns among the
|
||
|
citizens of the <ent type='GPE'>USSR</ent> in accordance with politically determined
|
||
|
requirements of the system. Furthermore, the same technology can be
|
||
|
applied to more sophisticated approaches to the coding of information for
|
||
|
transmittal to population targets in the battle for the minds of men.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<p> Some of the more esoteric techniques such as ESP or, as the <ent type='NORP'>Soviets</ent> call
|
||
|
it, biological radio-communication, and psychogenic agents such as LSD,
|
||
|
are receiving some overt attention with, possibly, applications in mind
|
||
|
for individual behaviour control under clandestine conditions.</p>
|
||
|
|
||
|
</xml>
|