Brainwashing

"Brainwashing" (or "coercive persuasion") is the practical application of the theory that a set of specific psychophysiological conditioning techniques can successfully overcome an individual's free will and modify his/her core personality. (+)

Light years removed from any ethical principles, the practice is based on the systematic use of manipulative and/or oppressive methods designed to critically weaken the designated subject's self-determination and key cognitive abilities (e.g., critical thinking, logical/deductive reasoning, etc.). There are a variety of possible objectives, although in the majority of cases, brainwashing involves either extorting information/sensitive data or indoctrination (in which case victims are compelled to disavow their past values and/or beliefs to instead adopt the dictates of a new ideology).

Historically, the Chinese term xǐnăo (洗腦 literally "wash brain") was used to describe alleged "reeducation" practices - based on Pavlovian principles - employed on dissidents of Mao Zedong's regime to turn them into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system. In 1950, American journalist and propagandist Edward Hunter (along with others) used the English term to explain why some American POWs cooperated with or even defected to the side of their Chinese captors during the Korean War. At any rate, the concept of utilizing specific procedures to control others' minds dates back much further, all the way to antiquity. In the entertainment world, the theme of brainwashing figures prominently in numerous sci-fi plots, especially those of dystopian and "spy-fi" tales.