Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control

Title: Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
Author: Kathleen Taylor
ISBN: 9780199204786
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2006
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: 1
Number of Pages: 324
Section: Psychology | Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
Publisher Description: The term 'brainwashing' was first recorded in 1950, but it is an expression of a much older concept: the forcible and full-scale alteration of a person's beliefs. Over the past 50 years the term has crept into popular culture, served as a topic for jokes, frightened the public in media headlines, and slandered innumerable people and institutions. It has also been the subject of learned discussion from many angles: history, sociology, psychology, psychotherapy, and marketing. Despite this variety, to date there has been one angle missing: any serious reference to real brains. Descriptions of how opinions can be changed, whether by persuasion, deceit, or force, have been almost entirely psychological.