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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting
Gaslighting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents
1 Etymology
2 Clinical examples
2.1 Introjection
2.2 Resisting
3 In the media
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Etymology
The 1938 stage play Gas Light, known as Angel Street in the United States, and the film adaptations released in
1940 and 1944 motivated the origin of the term because of the systematic psychological manipulation used by
the main character on a victim. The plot concerns a husband who attempts to convince his wife and others that
she is insane by manipulating small elements of their environment, and subsequently insisting that she is
mistaken, remembering things incorrectly, or delusional when she points out these changes. The original title
stems from the dimming of the gas lights in the house that happened when the husband was using the gas lights
in the attic while searching for hidden treasure. The wife accurately notices the dimming lights and discusses the
phenomenon, but the husband insists she just imagined a change in the level of illumination.
The term "gaslighting" has been used colloquially since the 1960s[5] to describe efforts to manipulate someone's
sense of reality. In a 1980 book on child sexual abuse, Florence Rush summarized George Cukor's 1944 film
version of Gas Light, and writes, "even today the word [gaslighting] is used to describe an attempt to destroy
another's perception of reality."[6]
Clinical examples
Sociopaths frequently use gaslighting tactics. Sociopaths consistently transgress social mores, break laws, and
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Introjection
In an influential 1981 article Some Clinical Consequences of Introjection: Gaslighting, Calef and Weinshel
argue that gaslighting involves the projection and introjection of psychic conflicts from the perpetrator to the
victim: "this imposition is based on a very special kind of 'transfer'... of painful and potentially painful mental
conflicts."[11]
The authors explore a variety of reasons why the victims may have "a tendency to incorporate and assimilate
what others externalize and project onto them," and conclude that gaslighting may be "a very complex highly
structured configuration which encompasses contributions from many elements of the psychic apparatus."[11]
Dorpat (1994) describes this as an example of projective identification.[2]
Resisting
With respect to women in particular, Hilde Lindemann argued emphatically that in such cases, the victim's
ability to resist the manipulation depends on "her ability to trust her own judgments."[12] Establishment of
"counterstories" may help the victim reacquire "ordinary levels of free agency."[12]
In the media
British film-maker Adam Curtis has suggested that "nonlinear" or "asymmetric" war (as described by Vladislav
Surkov, political advisor to Vladimir Putin) is a form of gaslighting intended for political control.[13]
A 2016 domestic abuse story line in the British radio soap opera The Archers is considered to involve classic
gaslighting.[14]
See also
Asch conformity experiments
Denial#Denial of fact
Denial and deception
Martha Mitchell effect
Mind control
Mind games
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Zersetzung
References
1. "Oxford Dictionary definition of 'gaslighting' ".
Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press.
Retrieved 20 April 2016.
2. Dorpat, T.L. (1994). "On the double whammy and
gaslighting". Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy 11 (1):
9196. (subscription required (help)).
3. Dorpat, Theodore L. (1996). Gaslighting, the Double
Whammy, Interrogation, and Other Methods of Covert
Control in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Jason
Aronson. ISBN 978-1-56821-828-1. Retrieved
2014-01-06.
4. Jacobson, Neil S.; Gottman, John M. (1998-03-10).
When Men Batter Women: New Insights into Ending
Abusive Relationships. Simon and Schuster.
pp. 129132. ISBN 978-0-684-81447-6. Retrieved
2014-01-06.
5. "gaslight". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.).
Oxford University Press. September
2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership
(http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/libraries/)
required.) 1969 S. C. Plog Changing Perspectives in
Further reading
Calef, V.; Weinshel, E.M. (January 1981). "Some Clinical Consequences of Introjection: Gaslighting".
Psychoanal Q 50 (1): 4466. ISSN 0033-2828. OCLC 865290402. PMID 7465707. (subscription required)
Portnow, Kathryn (1996). Dialogues of Doubt: The Psychology of Self-Doubt and Emotional Gaslighting
in Adult Women and Men. Harvard Graduate School of Education. OCLC 36674740. (thesis/dissertation)
(offline resource)
Santoro, Victor (1994-06-30). Gaslighting: How to Drive Your Enemies Crazy. Loompanics Unlimited.
ISBN 978-1-55950-113-2. OCLC 35172282. (offline resource)
Stern, Robin (2007-05-01). The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation
Others Use to Control Your Life. Random House Digital. ISBN 978-0-7679-2445-0. Retrieved
2014-01-06. (limited preview available online)
External links
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