Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism | University of North Carolina Press ~ Robert Jay Lifton

Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism

A Study of 'brainwashing' in China

Robert Jay Lifton

Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 01/2012
Pages: 524
Subject: History | University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78E+12
eBook ISBN: 9780807882887

DESCRIPTION

Informed by Erik Erikson's concept of the formation of ego identity, this book, which first appreared in 1961, is an analysis of the experiences of fifteen Chinese citizens and twenty-five Westerners who underwent "brainwashing" by the Communist Chinese government. Robert Lifton constructs these case histories through personal interviews and outlines a thematic pattern of death and rebirth, accompanied by feelings of guilt, that characterizes the process of "thought reform." In a new preface, Lifton addresses the implications of his model for the study of American religious cults.

RELATED TITLES