brainwashing prisoners of war

10 common practices in brainswashing prisoners of war

1. forced to question beliefs they had never questioned before, undermining certainty

2. behaviours shaped by use of rewards

3. led to believe that no one at home cared about them; feelings of loss of control and helplessness

4. degrading conditions and public humiliations

5. induced/forced to participate in own indocrination process by writing statements and organising camp activities

6. removal of leaders to disrupt leadership structure and group cohesion

7. gradual escalation of requests, often prefaced large requests with small requests

8. induced anxiety, guilt, fear, and insecurity

9. unpredictability of captors’ behaviour, confused expectations and assumptions

10. lack of friendship and approval

mechanisms - forced to question beliefs never previously questioned

• enhance authority of jailors, by making them feel less knowledgable

• create confusion and uncertainty so as to disrupt thinking about requests

• social proof (when coming from fellow soldiers)

forced to question beliefs never previously questioned

• presented with information about immoral practices of their country / information about injustices in their society

  • sometimes from fellow soldiers

• soldiers were ill-prepared to counter-argue these assertions

behaviours were shaped by use of rewards

• Provided participants with rewards such as improved living conditions for cooperation.

• Promised freedom for good behaviour.

mechanisms - behaviours were shaped by use of rewards

• reciprocity for rewards

• conditioning effects

• liking for guards who treated them well

• consistency if rewards insufficient justification

led to believe no one at home cared about them, feelings of loss of control and helplessness

• withheld mail and eliminated ability to communicate with the outside world-told that they had been forgotten

• religious expressions forbidden

mechanisms - led to believe no one at home cared about them, feelings of loss of control and helplessness

• Eliminated competing sources of social influence

  • (Social Impact Theory)

• Prison environment becomes the social proof

Degrading conditions and public humiliations

• often denied prisoners basic needs such as food, water, and personal hygiene

• forced to adhere to trivial rules and engage in public confessions of their flaws and misdeeds

mechanisms - Degrading conditions and public humiliations

• decreased prestige of prisoners and established control of the jailors so that jailors were of higher authority

• decreased liking and authority of fellow prisoners so as to eliminate their effectiveness as competing sources of influence

• aversive experiences could disrupt thinking and thus prevent prisoners from effectively counter-arguing

• by following rules and admitting to misdeeds, commitment/consistency processes may cause participants to recognize authority of guards and begin to question their beliefs

Induced/forced to participate in own indoctrination process by writing statements and organizing camp activities

• Induced/forced to participate in own indoctrination process by writing statements and organizing camp activities.

• often required to write statements criticizing their own country or supporting their jailors’ country

• sometimes required to help organize indoctrination sessions

mechanisms - Induced/forced to participate in own indoctrination process by writing statements and organizing camp activities

• commitment and consistency

Removal of leaders to disrupt leadership structure and group cohesion

soldiers often separated from their officers and groups were split up if a leader emerged

mechanisms - Removal of leaders to disrupt leadership structure and group cohesion

Eliminate competing sources of influence and authority

Gradual escalation of requests: often prefaced large requests with small requests

soldiers often initially asked to perform minor forms of cooperation (e.g., admit to minor misdeeds on the part of their country) and then later more extreme requests

mechanisms - Gradual escalation of requests: often prefaced large requests with small requests

commitment and consistency

Induced anxiety, guilt, fear, and insecurity

often tortured prisoners and sometimes led them to believe they would be killed

mechanisms - Induced anxiety, guilt, fear, and insecurity

• established authority of guards

• disruptive emotions may have reduced the ability of prisoners to think and counter-argue

Unpredictability of captors’ behaviour, confused expectations and assumptions

• often unexpectedly withdrew promised rewards or sometimes gave unexpected benefits

• sometimes punished without warning or withdrew promised punishments

mechanisms - Unpredictability of captors’ behaviour, confused expectations and assumptions

• arbitrary actions reinforced the authority of the guards

• unpredictability creates confusion that prevents careful thought

Lack of friendship and approval

• Social isolation to produce feelings of loneliness

• Interrogations often lasted days with the interrogator actually living with the prisoner and treating him with kindness

mechanisms - Lack of friendship and approval

• liking

• reciprocity

• elimination of competing sources of influence