Brainwashing
process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"
Brainwashing refers to the idea that an individual can get someone to adopt a particular doctrine or belief using purported methods that manipulate action or thought against a person's will, desire, or knowledge.
The term "brainwashing" was first used in English by Edward Hunter in 1950 to describe how the Chinese government appeared to make people cooperate with them during the Korean War. Theories of brainwashing and of mind control were originally developed to explain how totalitarian regimes appeared to systematically indoctrinate prisoners of war through propaganda and torture techniques. These theories were later expanded and modified by psychologists including Margaret Singer and Philip Zimbardo to explain a wider range of phenomena, especially conversions to some new religious movements (NRMs). The suggestion that NRMs use mind control techniques has resulted in scientific and legal debate; with scholars and legal experts rejecting the concept of brainwashing, finding it to be "without scientific merit".
Brainwashing has nonetheless become a common theme in popular culture especially in war stories, thrillers, and science fiction stories. In casual speech, "brainwashing" and its verb form, "brainwash", are used figuratively to describe the use of propaganda and advertising to sway public opinion.
China and the Korean War
The Chinese term xǐnǎo (traditional Chinese: 洗腦; simplified Chinese: 洗脑 lit. 'wash brain') was originally used by early 20th century Chinese intellectuals to refer to "modernizing" one's way of thinking. The term was later used to describe the coercive persuasion used under the Maoist government in China, which aimed to transform "reactionary" people into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system. The term punned on the Taoist custom of "cleansing/washing the heart/mind" (Chinese: 洗心; pinyin: xǐxīn) before conducting ceremonies or entering holy places.
“Brainwashing” enters the record as process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated". Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Brainwashing, process and group can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q743263. The Library of Congress control number is sh85016371. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1950.
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This entry incorporates text from “Brainwashing” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.