Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China

Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China by Lifton, Robert Jay. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780807842539.

Informed by Erik Erikson’s concept of the formation of ego identity, this book, which first appreared in 1961, is an analysis of the experiences of fifteen Chinese citizens and twenty-five Westerners who underwent “brainwashing” by the Communist Chinese government. Robert Lifton constructs these case histories through personal interviews and outlines a thematic pattern of death and rebirth, accompanied by feelings of guilt, that characterizes the process of “thought reform.” In a new preface, Lifton addresses the implications of his model for the study of American religious cults.