Can You Be Brainwashed Into Committing a Crime? The Psychology of Coercion

How would it feel to wake up one day and realize you’ve committed a crime you never imagined yourself capable of? Sounds like something out of a psychological thriller, Right? Well what if I told you that in the right way even the law-abiding person can be manipulated to commit a crime?

This isn’t just an idle theory – it’s a well-documented psychological phenomenon. From cults to criminal organizations there is a long line of cases where ordinary people have been coerced, manipulated, brainwashed into committing crimes. What is the psychology behind this? Is the human mind really that vulnerable to outside influences?

Let’s dive into the fascinating world of psychology and find out what mechanisms are behind the coercion and brainwashing and the evil side of human influence.

The Science of Brainwashing: How Does It Work?

Brainwashing (or coercive persuasion) is the forced change of a person’s beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors through manipulation. For many years, psychologists have studied this process, especially in the contexts of cults, war prisoners, and infamous criminal cases. One of the first studies of brainwashing was conducted by psychiatrist Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, who studied American prisoners of war during the Korean conflict. Dr. Lifton identified the process of thought reform. The thought reform process consists of:

1.  Breaking Down the Self – detaching individuals and robbing them of their identity.
2. Guilt and Fear – psychologically abusing someone to create both confusion and vulnerability.
3. Rebuilding with New beliefs  – through repetition and via reward/ punishment cycles, forcing them to accept new ideologies.

The thought reform process is similar to what occurs in cults, gangs, and, at times, in unhealthy abusive relationships where people manipulate others into performing acts that they would not otherwise accept.

Can Anyone Be Brainwashed?

The answer is more nuanced: not exactly. It is true that the amount of coercion varies, and certain people are more subject to coercion than others. Some psychological factors make a person particularly vulnerable:

1. Psychological Stress and Isolation

Picture yourself isolated from your loved ones, locked in a room with only one source of information. Over time, your sense of reality would start to disappear. This is particularly true in the cognitive case of extreme isolation – like prisoners of war or in extremist groups.

2. Fear and Survival Mechanisms

The human brain is wired to survive. When someone makes you believe your life (or the life of loved ones) is in danger, you will likely follow orders you may not otherwise. This is often seen in instances of kidnapping or people forced to commit crimes because of physical threats.

 3. Mental Conditioning

Ever heard of Pavlov‘s experiments with dogs? Psychologist Ivan Pavlov could condition behavior through the act of repeated stimulation of a behavioral response. Like Pavolv’s dogs, the repetition of an idea and an action/response can affect someone’s thinking – especially if the idea or action/response is rewarded or punished as a consequence.

Read More: Classical Conditioning: A Simple Exploration through Ivan Pavlov

4. Cognitive Dissonance

This is a complicated way of saying humans do not appreciate conflict, particularly within their own mind. If you coerce someone to do a small unethical act – they may give their brain a rationale and before long, the rationale becomes bigger until they consider immoral behavior to be ethical.

Real-Life Cases: When Brainwashing Led to Crime

1. The Patty Hearst Case:

From Heiress to Bank robber: Patty Hearst, granddaughter of media baron William Randolph Hearst, is perhaps the most historically significant case of coercion. She was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a left-wing terrorist organization, in 1974, held for weeks, and ultimately, under psychological pressure, helped her captors during an armed robbery.

Psychologists suggest that Heart’s prolonged isolation, fear, and abuse led to Stockholm syndrome, an abnormal reaction of emotive attachment to your captors. After her experience, Hearst was arrested, and her psychiatric evaluation suggested she was brainwashed. She was pardoned by a subsequent president stating at the time of the attack, she was coerced to act against her will.

2. Charles Manson and His Cult of Killers

In the late 1960s, a charming, psychopathological leader named Charles Manson convinced his followers to commit violent acts, including the murder of actress Sharon Tate. How does someone do that? Manson selected a group of young, impressionable youths, many of whom were lost, weak, or searching for a meaning and purpose in life.

He took them to a desert ranch, gave them drugs, and inundated them with apocalyptic ideology, while cultivating in them the idea that killing innocent people was part of a bigger plan. Psychologists call this indoctrination method charismatic influence wherein a leader employs certain psychological weaknesses of followers to develop allegiance and loyalty.

3. Child Soldiers: Brainwashing on the Battlefield

Perhaps one of the most tragic examples of coercion is the employing of child soldiers in war-torn areas. Organizations like Boko Haram or the Lord’s Resistance Army of Africa have abducted thousands of children and forced them into violent offenses. Children are most vulnerable to brainwashing since their sense of morality is not well established. Being bombarded daily with violence, disciplining them for not obeying, and rewarding aggression by the gangs makes them killers.

The Role of Authority: The Milgram Experiment

In 1961, psychologist Stanley Milgram performed a classic experiment to see just how far individuals would go in following orders. The participants were told to give electric shocks to a subject (actually an actor) whenever he or she answered a question incorrectly. As they increased the voltage, the victim would scream in agony “ Pleading to stop”.

Shockingly, 65% of participants continued administering shocks after they thought they were inflicting severe injury. Why?

Because some lab-coated authority figure instructed them to.

This experiment set out to prove that regular people would commit heinous acts if they’re under authoritarian pressure, provided they think they’re just “following orders.”.

Can You Resist Brainwashing?

Fortunately, not everyone is a victim of coercion. Some of the most important ways to resist are listed below:

1. Critical Thinking: Question ideas and challenge authority at all times, particularly when they call for blind obedience.
2. Emotional Awareness: Knowing your own emotions and vulnerabilities makes it more difficult for others to manipulate them.
3. Strong Social Bonds: Individuals with strong family bonds and friendships are less likely to fall prey to manipulative traps.
4. Exposure to Diverse Points of View: The more eclectic your outlook, the less able someone is likely to be to single out and control your ideas.
5. Red Flag Detection: Be cautious when there’s a situation of being pulled aside, discouraged thinking, or the need for utmost loyalty.

Conclusion

While brainwashing is a bit like something from some science fiction book, the fact remains that psychological coercion is all around us. Everywhere you look, from high-pressure salesmanship to propaganda, human behavior is subject to the forces of external control. But understanding the psychology of coercion can make us better prepared to resist its effects. It really all comes down to awareness—being able to see when you are being influenced and having the presence of mind to question. Next time you hear someone say that an individual has committed a crime out of duress, ask yourself: Was she really acting upon her own free will, or was she yet another victim of the weakness of mind?

FAQs

1.What is Stockholm Syndrome, and how is it related to brainwashing?

Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological response in which hostages or abuse victims develop positive feelings or loyalty toward their captors. It is a form of brainwashing that occurs due to prolonged psychological manipulation, fear, and dependence.

2.What role does authority play in coercion?

The Milgram Experiment (1961) showed that people are likely to obey authority figures even when instructed to perform harmful acts. This demonstrates how individuals can be coerced into unethical behavior simply because they believe they are “just following orders.”

3.Can anyone be brainwashed?

Not everyone is equally susceptible to brainwashing. Certain factors, such as psychological stress, isolation, fear, and repeated exposure to manipulation, make some people more vulnerable. However, strong critical thinking skills, emotional awareness, and social support can help resist coercion.

3.What is brainwashing?

Brainwashing, also known as coercive persuasion, is the process of forcibly changing a person’s beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors through psychological manipulation. It often involves isolation, fear, repetition, and reward/punishment cycles to make an individual accept new ideologies.