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How do you know whether or not someone has been brainwashed? How can you tell if they are acting upon their own authentic will or if they are subservient to the will of another?

What characteristics of personality make a person prone or resilient to psychological manipulation?

I am deeply concerned about one of my good friends because people are saying this about them (that they are brainwashed). It is a serious situation. I don't know how to interpret the situation.
 
I think anyone can be brainwashed depending on circumstances.

However, it's hard to gather what's going on with so few details. Are there any more you can share with us while protecting your friend's privacy?
 
It can be very easy to brainwash someone...I myself have been a victim...my friends knew because of my eyes...I think, if you really tried to look, subtle as it might be, you can find something just not right. I don't know the circumstances, but I don't have much advice to give other than if you thinkit so, remove your friend from the situation if you can.

If it's an abusive relationship then most likely brainwashing has occured. Ithappens in all forms of abuse.
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I couldn't be brainwashed. It's simply a lack of mental subservience that protects me.

Those who follow a Right Hand Path are far more likely to bend to another persons whim without scheming for their own advancement.
 
It may be brainwash or may not be. Even i can't tell with surety. It looks like brainwash at first sight. But yes, if circumstances were there, and then you can say it brainwash. You need to find out those things in order to decide this point.
 
Noticing brainwashing is subtle - you can tell by observing their reasoning, emotional reactions, morals. Such a person might have:
  • Reduced capability to think critically - refuses to question certain things or even to talk about
  • Unnatural belief in someone's authority - typically in a leader of a cult, some spiritual guru
  • Dimmed emotional reactions - being too calm, detached from the world
  • Heightened moral awareness, constantly noticing what's "good" and "bad" - also a sign of cult influence. Might try to convert other people

The best defense against brainwash is critical thinking imho
 
I think it's supposed to be to do with how much willpower you have that allows you to be brainwashed/hypnotised etc.

However, with brainwashing, it can also be to do with self-esteem and self-confidence coupled with the number of people saying something against your view and how well you know them (how reliable they are in your opinion).

It takes a lot of factors into account, but any one of them can lead to you being brainwashed, so I guess it's actually quite easy.

Of course, there's also the idea of people changing their beliefs because they prefer what they hear or they're scared of their original idea.

Yes, probably quite easy and very likely that people can be/ have been brain washed at least once in their lives.
 
Dragon said:
How do you know whether or not someone has been brainwashed? How can you tell if they are acting upon their own authentic will or if they are subservient to the will of another?

What characteristics of personality make a person prone or resilient to psychological manipulation?

I am deeply concerned about one of my good friends because people are saying this about them (that they are brainwashed). It is a serious situation. I don't know how to interpret the situation.
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Sometimes I think people who want to be brainwahsed want to be brainwashed, because you are giving up a certain degree of control and common sense whether it is done consciously or subconsciouly. Plus fighting brainwashing takes a lot of analyzing and courage. We are all brainwashed to a certain degree by the government, food we eat, propaganda media, movies, culture, religion....no one is every safe from brainwashing:m102:
 
I assume you may be talking about some sort of cult? One thing to ask yourself is "has this person suffered through some sort of trauma or abuse?" as in abusive parents, spouse or something like that... That could raise the possibility that they are being brainwashed. Has the person recently entered a new environment? That makes people feel less sure of themselves and more succeptible to others' influence.

I am not sure what to do to help but good luck.

(Hypnotism is a little different. It comes from within.)
 
Everyone could be brainwashed, and often times, people are. Serious brainwashing is less common, but a lot of times someone who doesn't know much about a topic can be brainwashed into strong beliefs about that topic anyways. A lot of political, religious, and societal opinions are molded this way.

As for strong brainwashing -- I don't have a lot of experience about it, but if they are totally unwilling to discuss their beliefs, listen to alternative opinions, or accept the opinions of others, I'd say you have something to be concerned about.
 
What are the circumstances under which a person might be brainwashed?

There is no cult, at least to my knowledge. Religion might be and most likely is a factor. The religion is Mormonism.

Entyqua- What was it about your eyes that made it so that your friends could tell? Did they look glassy?

Tamagochi- I'm not sure about the first 2, but the calmness is there to the max. I can't tell about the last one either because noticing what is good and bad is normal for me.

I don't know about self-esteem. It is too complicated. I don't know about abuse at all, but neglect might have occurred.

I really just can't wrap my head around this situation. Their self esteem seems to have gotten higher over time, but in the past it was at a very subtle and paranoid low which may still be creeping beneath the surface.

This is not a case of stereotypical cult brainwashing. It is one individual and one or a few other individuals.

I honestly feel foolish when it comes to situations like these, and I've been really stupid in the past in different scenarios that required the same kind of judgments.
 
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Dragon said:
How do you know whether or not someone has been brainwashed? How can you tell if they are acting upon their own authentic will or if they are subservient to the will of another?
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from my experience it's just there's no reasoning behind their beliefs about things...
and an abrupt change in behaviour

most of what i've seen myself is just being brainwashed around a certain topic though... they're their normal selves in the rest of the parts in their lives.

What characteristics of personality make a person prone or resilient to psychological manipulation?
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i have to agree with lack of critical thinking
at the same time, you probably need to have some sort of bad experiences so that you develop a slight cynicism towards people. it creates a reason to become very critical/analytical in decisions you have to make --since you know what is at stake

out of all the people i know, maybe only 1 or 2 might not be susceptible to brainwashing. they have a strong sense of themselves, values, beliefs...
 
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Dragon said:
What are the circumstances under which a person might be brainwashed?

There is no cult, at least to my knowledge. Religion might be and most likely is a factor. The religion is Mormonism.

Entyqua- What was it about your eyes that made it so that your friends could tell? Did they look glassy?

Tamagochi- I'm not sure about the first 2, but the calmness is there to the max. I can't tell about the last one either because noticing what is good and bad is normal for me.

I don't know about self-esteem. It is too complicated. I don't know about abuse at all, but neglect might have occurred.

I really just can't wrap my head around this situation. Their self esteem seems to have gotten higher over time, but in the past it was at a very subtle and paranoid low which may still be creeping beneath the surface.

This is not a case of stereotypical cult brainwashing. It is one individual and one or a few other individuals.

I honestly feel like a retard when it comes to situations like these, and I've been really stupid in the past in different scenarios that required the same kind of judgments.
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I wasn't able to deal with the problem I was involved in
Was just too exhausted (extreme school burn out)

But if I were to go back,
I would ask the people who I thought might have been brainwashed
-What are they saying to you
-and Who is saying them
-and then to give them other options/ideas that might counter what they've been taught. It's all up to them after this point. They make the decision

and to say it in the nicest way...
not judgemental or in a worried way... so that they believe whatever choice they make is a good one (and that they don't feel bad/embarrassed about acting on what they've taught)
 
I haven't been brainwashed. [If there is to be any washing of brains, it shall be done by me... :m197:...:m035:]

I think that, at some point, once a person has had something repeatedly beaten enough into his/her head [not physically speaking, of course], some self-will is given up, whether it is out of helplessness or fear or something else. Generally, uncertainty in the "victim" allows for easy brainwashing to begin. I think other posts in here covered the other common characteristics of a brainwashed person in much more detail than I can.
 
I'm actually taking a class on Propaganda and Persuasion right now. The truth is that nobody can be brainwashed against their will. They have to be predisposed to the ideas being expressed and usually they need to have a need that can be met by suspending their skepticism. Take a white supremacy group for example. For a person to allow themselves to be brainwashed by their propaganda they first have to have some predisposition to the ideas, such as a latent prejudice or fear of people of different skin colors, and a need that can be satisfied by the group, such as the feeling of family or brotherhood that such groups tend to promise.

Not to Godwin the thread, but the Nazi's were masters of brainwashing the masses, but they could not have done so if the masses had not already been suspicious of the Jews and had they not been seeking a Savior from the ravages of the Great Depression.

Edit: There is two exceptions though. The first is rumor, which people will gladly repeat with little evidence to support it simply because people get a sense of joy from thinking they know something they are not suppose to know. The second is repetition. If something is repeated often enough without refutation, then people will eventually come to accept it. The pledge of allegiance is often cited as a form of brainwashing.
 
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Satya said:
I'm actually taking a class on Propaganda and Persuasion right now. The truth is that nobody can be brainwashed against their will. They have to be predisposed to the ideas being expressed and usually they need to have a need that can be met by suspending their skepticism. Take a white supremacy group for example. For a person to allow themselves to be brainwashed by their propaganda they first have to have some predisposition to the ideas, such as a latent prejudice or fear of people of different skin colors, and a need that can be satisfied by the group, such as the feeling of family or brotherhood that such groups tend to promise.

Not to Godwin the thread, but the Nazi's were masters of brainwashing the masses, but they could not have done so if the masses had not already been suspicious of the Jews and had they not been seeking a Savior from the ravages of the Great Depression.

Edit: There is two exceptions though. The first is rumor, which people will gladly repeat with little evidence to support it simply because people get a sense of joy from thinking they know something they are not suppose to know. The second is repetition. If something is repeated often enough without refutation, then people will eventually come to accept it. The pledge of allegiance is often cited as a form of brainwashing.
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Well, I can definitely see why my friend would accept these beliefs and lifestyle given their predisposition. It does meet needs for them. But even then I'd still consider it brainwashing to some extent and be worried. It is not like there is anything I can do though. It is too late.
 
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