Biderman's Chart of Coercion
From Enpsychopedia
Biderman's Chart of Coercion: the process of abusive brainwashing
- Isolation: Deprives victim of all social support [necessary for the] ability to resist. Develops an intense concern with self. Makes victim dependent upon interrogator.
- Monopolization of Perception: Fixes attention upon immediate predicament; fosters introspection. Eliminates stimuli competing with those controlled by the captor. Frustrates all actions not consistent with compliance.
- Induced Debility & Exhaustion: Weakens mental and physical ability to resist.
- Threats: Cultivates anxiety and despair.
- Occasional Indulgences: Provides positive motivation for compliance.
- Demonstrating "Omnipotence": Suggests futility of resistance.
- Enforcing Trivial Demands: Develops habit of compliance.
- Degradation: Makes cost of resistance appear more damaging to self-esteem than capitulation. Reduces prisoner [abuse victim] to "animal level" concerns.