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Psychology is a field designed to help us understand how individuals think, behave, act, and react in the wide array of situations life presents. Given that people are the foundation of society, this discipline holds immense value. Sadly, psychology is not always applied for noble causes. At times, its principles are twisted for malicious use, resulting in disturbing consequences.
10. APA Psychologists Reverse-Engineer Techniques to Counter Interrogation Methods
The U.S. military has always been concerned about the risk of their soldiers being captured behind enemy lines. To address this, military psychologists developed a program aimed at teaching soldiers how to resist torture. This program is known as SERE, which stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. However, after the 9/11 attacks, top officials within the CIA and the Department of Defense decided it was our turn to gather information—by any means necessary.
Enter military psychologists Mitchell and Jessen, who decided to reverse-engineer the military’s SERE program with the goal of breaking detainees. Their work led to the popularization of techniques such as stress positions, waterboarding, humiliation, and various other methods used to break a detainee's will. Much of their approach was influenced by the research of Dr. Seligman, who introduced the concept of 'learned helplessness.'
Initially, Dr. Seligman conducted experiments on dogs, subjecting them to electric shocks. After enduring this for a period of time, the dogs no longer attempted to escape the pain—even when they had the chance. While Seligman has denied any direct involvement in the military’s 'enhanced interrogation' techniques, his research undeniably inspired those who reverse-engineered SERE.
9. PSYOPS Is Tasked With Manipulating US Senators
Most reasonable people agree that psychological warfare should be directed at your enemies, not your own citizens. However, Lt. General William Caldwell had a different approach. Eager for more funding and support for the war in Afghanistan, this bold general assigned PSYOPS, the army’s psychological warfare division, the task of using their expertise to persuade visiting senators and VIPs to back the war effort.
The Lt. Colonel overseeing the operation felt deeply uncomfortable using his training in a way he believed was not only illegal but also unethical. Despite his objections, he and his team were forced to continue working on psychological profiles of visiting dignitaries, with the general even considering attempting to influence the minds of NATO leaders. Eventually, the Lt. Colonel had enough and blew the whistle, sparking a scandal and an investigation led by General Petraeus. Unfortunately, like many whistle-blowers, Lt. Colonel Holmes—despite his exemplary record—was disciplined for exposing his superior officers.
At least, that’s one interpretation of the events. The specific orders given to Caldwell suggest that no manipulative psychological tactics were used at all. According to one military attorney involved in the investigation, the directive was merely to 'gather publicly available information, analyze it, and share the analysis with visiting politicians.' Perhaps the final analysis contained some bias that aided the general’s agenda to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan, but that doesn’t necessarily cross the line into illegality—though it remains ethically questionable. Regardless, the true details of what occurred are obscured by the complexities of military bureaucracy, leaving us unlikely to ever know the full scope of Caldwell’s persuasive maneuvers.
8. Extensive North Korean Brainwashing
While it’s widely known that North Korea is a brutal regime that operates well beyond reason, its methods of control go far beyond mere military force. To truly dominate a population, you must first control their minds. As a result, North Korea’s leadership has resorted to large-scale brainwashing to maintain power.
Many remember the scenes of weeping citizens on television when Kim Jong Il passed away. Some believed the North Korean government had staged these emotional displays, but a defector who fled to South Korea over a decade ago explained that the grief shown was authentic. In fact, even after many years, watching the same footage brought her back to her time in North Korea, making her feel as though she once again believed in his godlike status. This is brainwashing so potent that even those who know the truth still find it hard to detach from the lies they were taught.
7. The Social Isolation of Bradley Manning
Recent research has shed light on just how essential social interaction is for the proper functioning of the human mind. It turns out that we require human contact almost as much as we need food and water. Extensive studies have demonstrated that prolonged social isolation, even for a few months, can severely impact a person’s mental health and cause profound psychological damage. Bradley Manning, who is known for exposing disturbing actions by the United States in its overseas military operations, became a victim of this isolation. Despite not being convicted of any crime and facing a slow judicial process, the military decided to punish him for his whistleblowing before any trial took place.
For years before his trial, Manning was kept in solitary confinement, only permitted out of his cell for one hour each day to exercise. He wasn’t even given basic necessities like pillows and sheets, and he had no communication with the outside world. To make matters worse, the prison doctors were fully aware that the conditions he was subjected to could cause serious psychological harm. Yet, instead of pushing for humane treatment, they simply medicated him with antidepressants to keep him from losing his sanity before his trial.
6. Sensory Deprivation Experiments
In the 1950s, a time when ethical standards for research were more lax, psychologist Donald Hebb decided to test a personal hypothesis. Hebb believed that complete sensory deprivation would cause the brain to deteriorate and function less effectively. To prove his theory, he offered students $20 a day to participate in his experiment. However, Hebb didn’t foresee how damaging the results of the experiment would be. He initially planned to observe his subjects for several weeks, but no one could endure even a single week of the study.
The sensory deprivation in this experiment was quite extreme. Participants were outfitted with frosted goggles, headphones playing white noise, and special clothing to limit their sense of touch. Afterward, it was found that these individuals suffered from temporary cognitive dysfunction after only a brief exposure to the lack of sensory input. They also became highly suggestible while deprived. Although Hebb's experiment would likely be deemed unethical today, he had no intention of causing harm and was taken aback by how quickly and dramatically the effects occurred.
A psychologist named Ewen Cameron took an interest in Hebb's work and began developing his own techniques for 'treating' patients. Hebb distanced himself from Cameron's methods, as Cameron conducted his experiments on patients who were essentially prisoners in his hospital. Using sensory deprivation and drugs, Cameron would place these patients in a highly suggestible state, aiming to 'reprogram' them. Unsurprisingly, Cameron was later sued for using methods that Hebb himself described as 'wicked.'
5. Gaslighting Performed By Psychoanalysts
The term 'gaslighting' originates from the 1944 movie Gaslight, which portrayed an abusive husband using psychological manipulation to undermine his wife’s perception of reality. One of his favorite tactics was to dim the gaslights in their home, then deny it when she pointed out the change, making her doubt her own senses. This manipulative technique is used by abusers to make their victims question their own reality, thus gaining greater control over them.
Sadly, there are occasions when those skilled in psychology exploit similar manipulative tactics for sinister purposes. In one chilling account from a psychiatrist, a doctor created a psychotherapeutic cult where he sexually abused some of his patients. Adding to the horror, he was also seeing the husband of one woman, constantly convincing him that his concerns about his wife’s involvement in the group were merely his own distorted perception of reality.
Eventually, the truth came out, and people began to speak up about the doctor’s abuse. His reign of terror was brought to a halt, but not before one of his patients almost took his own life due to the immense psychological damage caused by the manipulation and destruction of his sense of reality.
4. Scientology And The Destruction Of Critical Thinking
Scientologists aren't exactly known for their warmth and kindness, nor are they seen as a group dedicated to improving people's lives. What many don’t realize is the full extent of how Scientology controls its members. It's more than just the threat of losing contact with family or other commonly reported tactics. The true foundation of their control lies in an insidious training program.
The core purpose of this training is to prevent people from critically questioning anything related to Scientology. Trainees are forced to sit across from one another in silence for extended periods, without moving or speaking. They are also made to listen to random passages from Alice in Wonderland—of all things—without laughing or showing any sign of reaction. One of their more notorious techniques is 'bullbaiting,' where a person is subjected to hostile or abusive remarks until they respond. If they react 'incorrectly' at any point, they are failed and must repeat the process until they pass. These methods work together to train individuals to believe whatever they are told, without any skepticism.
3. Sensory Overstimulation For Interrogation Purposes
Another technique favored by those involved in 'enhanced interrogation' is the reverse of sensory deprivation. Psychological research has shown that overwhelming a person with more stimuli than they can handle can be as effective as sensory isolation. The focus of these studies was less about the psychological harm caused by overstimulation and more about the increased suggestibility it created in subjects.
Overstimulation is often characterized by loud, disruptive noises that prevent individuals from thinking or reacting effectively in any given situation. It can also include repetitive rhythms that induce a more hypnotic state. Some forms, like Japanese water torture, don't rely on sound but instead take advantage of the brain's need for varied stimuli to maintain clarity in processing. The US military has used overstimulation tactics at Guantanamo Bay, including playing music at painfully high volumes and using strobe lights to disorient detainees. Sadly, such techniques can lead to severe psychological distress, with many prisoners attempting to end their lives as a result.
2. False Memories Implanted With Hypnosis
Most modern psychologists will dismiss repressed memories as pseudoscience. However, there was a time when the retrieval of 'repressed' memories was commonplace, often causing real harm to innocent people. We’re not necessarily suggesting that the psychologists involved had any ill intentions—they likely believed they were helping their patients. But, as they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
One case involved a mental health professional uncovering allegedly repressed memories that led to first-degree murder charges against an innocent person. This dragged the individual into a prolonged legal battle. Eventually, the police found no evidence to support the accusations, and the man was exonerated. Though he successfully sued, it’s uncertain whether his reputation will ever fully recover. As bizarre as this case may seem, it’s a sobering reality that implanting false memories isn’t all that difficult—and we can all easily be led to believe things that never actually occurred.
1. Interrogation Through Guilt And Induced Regression
Ever since Dr. Seligman’s infamous dog experiments, people have pondered how to exploit his findings to mentally regress individuals and manipulate them into revealing information. The darker side of his work inspired some to believe that, by treating people the way Seligman treated the dogs, they could make the human mind more susceptible to suggestion. Coercive interrogation methods aim to break down the brain’s higher functions—those responsible for planning, reasoning, and self-care—to leave the subject vulnerable.
In fact, certain military documents have even suggested that interrogators can use their dominant position and the regressed state of detainees to manipulate them through guilt. The idea is that, after prolonged periods of torture and questioning by the same person, a detainee may begin to see the interrogator as a parental figure. Once that mental shift occurs, the interrogator can use that emotional attachment to guilt the detainee into revealing what they want to know.
