Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control

Brainwashing
Book cover
AuthorKathleen Taylor
LanguageEnglish
SubjectBrainwashing
GenreSocial psychology
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
16 December 2004
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typeHardcover
Pages336
ISBN0-19-280496-0
OCLC56648968
153.853 22
LC ClassBF633 .T39 2004

Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control is a 2004 popular science book explaining mind control, brainwashing, thought reform and coercive persuasion by neuroscientist and physiologist Kathleen Taylor. It explains the neurological basis for reasoning and cognition in the brain, and proposes that the self is changeable, and describes the physiology of neurological pathways. It reviews case studies including Patty Hearst, the Manson Family, and the mass murder/suicide of members of Peoples Temple at Jonestown, and compares the techniques of influence used by cults to those of totalitarian and communist societies. It lays out a model FACET – Freedom, Agency, Complexity, Ends-not-means, and Thinking – which she believes can be used to negate the influence of brainwashing techniques.