Thought reform (Brainwashing)

A system involving the subjection of an individual to conditions of physical and even psychic duress in order to persuade him to alter his viewpoint or convictions, or otherwise to convert him to a desired viewpoint or action. Thought reform consists of two basic elements: confession, or the exposure and renunciation of past and present "evil"; and re-education, namely the remaking of the individual in the desired new image. These elements are closely related and overlapping, since they both bring into play a series of pressures and appeals (intellectual, emotional, and physical) aimed at social control and individual change. The death and rebirth of the personality arouses a sense of participation as the deprivations of the initial part of the process are replaced by the joy of encouragement and acceptance into a "reformed" group.

Extreme forms of brainwashing involve total breakdown of the victim's will and power to resist, so that personal autonomy and identity are surrendered, followed by a period of mental and emotional blankness when a totally different personality may be grafted on through imprinting of behaviour patterns. Such a process is referred to as [depersonalization]

. However, some forms of psychotherapy or even group pressure in everyday life may be considered less extreme forms of the same phenomenon. Logic and reason are bypassed, suggestions being accepted by the subconscious either following deliberate confusion or by constant repetition (advertising or political slogans, for example).