Author Topic: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing  (Read 5027 times)

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Offline Awake

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Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« on: October 29, 2011, 11:34:22 PM »
Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing


I had the idea to enlist the help of Fornits to help in attempting to formulate a timeline of important historical people and events that pertain to brainwashing, thought reform, coercive persuasion, mind control and other elements thereof that may help to put chronological perspective on the subject.  In this first phase of development any pertinent subject matter can be submitted from any time period. Eventually, hopefully, the blanks can be filled in, and the timeline can be under continuous revision. Perhaps when the list has been refined to a point, it can be re-posted as a complete project.  


I am not sure how successfully this will turn out, but I have found mind control etc. to be a complicated subject, and with a lot of history to discuss. It is hard to categorize it, and there are many overlapping events and influences. I am hoping this will help overcome those problems. One thing I request is that the presented subject matter be offered in a brief form, like a summary or abstract, with links to facts. If you post subject matter that requires further details, discussion, or controversy, please post them in a separate topic with a link.

So without further adieu,
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Offline Awake

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2011, 11:36:14 PM »
Here is my first submission.

1918- 1921 Ivan Povlov and Artificially Induced Neurosis in Dogs.

 Povlov discovered he could induce what he termed “artificial neurosis” in dogs by overstraining the “excitory” or “inhibitory” processes, or quickly alternating excitation and inhibition from which he drew an analogy with the human manifestations of catatonia and schizophrenia. A famous experiment in 1921 trained dogs to discern between a circle and an elipses for a food reward. Gradually the circles and elipses were changed to be more and more similar.  In time the dogs became confused and neurotic, and eventually lost the ability to determine between obvious elipses and circles. They exhibited excitation, and were no longer calm during experiments. The dogs become “agitated, barkes, salivates, bites at its harness, and generally goes beserk. When placed back in the kennel, it may remain "insane" for months or years.”

http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/pavlov.html
Gale Encyclopedia of Biography, Oxford Companion to the Mind.
http://www.answers.com/topic/ivan-pavlov
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Offline Ursus

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2011, 11:54:26 PM »
:on phone:   I think it is important to emphasize, as you mentioned, that "there are many overlapping events and influences."

Many of these important events, key figures, general cultural trends, etc. get influenced by certain sources and ... influence others, as well as said sources in turn, so it's not always a clearcut linear extrapolation or evolution or progression, etc. etc.

I also think that economic conditions, via incentive as well as palliative pressure, play a far greater role in all this than might be readily apparent in a purely academic or historical consideration.

Just had to put in my two cents 'bout that... Carry on!
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N.O.S.O.B.

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2011, 12:01:08 AM »
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Offline Awake

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2011, 01:25:36 AM »
Yeah, I know this is somewhat of a broad, ambitious project. Like you emphasize, Ursus, the many overlapping influences. And NOSOB, you are speaking of the very broad scope historically and culturally. Certainly there will be a lot of questions as to where it starts and ends. But that was originally the nature of studying mind control, drawing from any and all of the great innovative minds of the day. I think looking at what they were looking at, and placing dates and times can identify some trends.  It’s a start, and is not something available currently.
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Offline Froderik

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2011, 09:34:27 AM »
They deserve the publicity for their work.  ;D
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N.O.S.O.B.

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2011, 01:42:58 PM »
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Offline Awake

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2011, 03:20:44 PM »
1931- 1941 Kurt Lewin, Tamara Dembo: The Relationship Between Frustration and Regression.


Lewin and his student Tamara Dembo devise experiments to study the effects of inducing frustration in order to produce regression as it concerns stages of development in a subject. Regression being defined as opposite to development, and development seen as increase in variety of behavior,  increase in hierarchal organizations, and extension of area activities and interests.


Lewin used the term “action units” to identify how people learn and develop to interact with their environment. Exemplifying this are experiments in task development and interruption. One, in which a subject must perform a series of actions that eventually become habitual, identifies the growth in size of action units, the subject no longer needs to maintain consciousness of each individual step, thus with repetition the subject moves through the task with more continuity and the number of units of action become less until the entire task comprises a single action unit. Upon interrupting the task by altering the sequence of events (i.e. pull the lever instead of push) the subject finds they must consciously fight the urge to push the lever, and distraction of the subjects attention will lead to errors. This can be compared to unconscious motivation.

In a related experiment Lewin and Dembo interrupted children playing with “highly desireable toys” and substituted “less desireable toys”, moreover the desireable toys were kept in view of the children. The result was frustration, regression in the quality of the children’s play, or the action units diminish in size. This is was purportedly because the children were still “psychologically involved in the interrupted activity of playing with the desirable toys.”


Probably the most interesting experiment was conducted by Dembo (1931) in which she directs her subjects to solve a problem which is in fact impossible to solve. When they become thoroughly frustrated and request to leave the experimenter excercises authority and asserts they can solve the problem if they just try. (the relationship between experimenter and subject is compared with Milgram’s  obedience studies and Zimbardo’s prison experiment.)  Provided that a barrier prevent the subject from leaving the experiment, Dembo observed that the mounting tension destroys “the boundaries which ordinarily distinguish self from other, reality from unreality, and one intention system of activity from another.” In this situation a different kind of regression occurs which Dembo termed “primitization of the lifespace” leading subjects to “act in irrational ways, exploding in anger or performing behavior which does not really lead to the goal.” This was considered influential in realizing the power of arousing emotion to transform a person and their perception of the situation they are in, their “lifespace”, and would be reflected in Lewin’s other work on personality formation, group dynamics, and sensitivity training.

http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/lewin.htm

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... KpxKDQ2b7g

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Kurt_Lewin.aspx
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Offline Xelebes

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2011, 04:48:26 PM »
NOSOB - That list brings up a good question of what is going on in the Tampa-Orlando Region.  I can only think that the region became a hotbed of CIA activity during the Cuban Revolution and that powerful or up-coming political families moved to the front lines to stake their claim.  Looks to be a major reason.  Amway, Seed, Straight, Scientology - if there was a place that guaranteed safety, it would have been under the shadow of the CIA.

We know Utah is a hotbed of very similar byproducts (MSM, TBS, cults) - namely out of religion, marginalisation, isolation and limited opportunities for basic industries (agriculture.)  Is there also an element of this in central Florida?
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Offline Froderik

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2011, 05:33:18 PM »
Yeah Utah is a WASTELAND..
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N.O.S.O.B.

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2011, 09:44:21 AM »
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N.O.S.O.B.

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2011, 09:55:55 AM »
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Offline Froderik

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2011, 10:44:33 AM »
Quote from: "N.O.S.O.B."
When I met my group I got that we feeling—
Soon's we gathered 'round. I lost that me feeling.
The moment the leader spoke, my tension cleared
—All insecurity broke when he appeared.
Consensus is consensed in every day's meeting,
Aggression Is aggressed in every member's greeting—
There'll be no autocracy on anyone's part.
'Cause that we feeling is here in our heart. (National Training Laboratories. 1949)

http://www.psicopolis.com/Kurt/groupdynamics.htm

Lot's of history here

Creepy.. T-group is short for therapy group, i take it?
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Offline Ursus

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2011, 11:30:47 AM »
Quote from: "Froderik"
Quote from: "N.O.S.O.B."
When I met my group I got that we feeling—
Soon's we gathered 'round. I lost that me feeling.
The moment the leader spoke, my tension cleared
—All insecurity broke when he appeared.
Consensus is consensed in every day's meeting,
Aggression Is aggressed in every member's greeting—
There'll be no autocracy on anyone's part.
'Cause that we feeling is here in our heart. (National Training Laboratories. 1949)

http://www.psicopolis.com/Kurt/groupdynamics.htm

Lot's of history here
Creepy.. T-group is short for therapy group, i take it?
No. I believe it's short for "training group," as in RE-EDUCATION (yep, that's what National Training Laboratories called it).

As the decades passed, however, and more psych-oriented trainers got involved, I s'pose one could say that T-groups frequently devolved into "therapy groups."

NTL often called their reeducation efforts "therapy for normals," hence confusing the issue...
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N.O.S.O.B.

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Re: Experimental Timeline Project: Brainwashing
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2011, 12:09:05 PM »
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