When the most common psychological defense mechanism — denial — hardens into an outer shell so impenetrable as to be worn like armor, you have yourself a clinical narcissist. They may not — and probably will never — be diagnosed as members of a group of personality disorders known in psychology as Cluster B; but […]
“Global cabal” is one of several popular conspiracy theories in radical right-wing discourse that refers to a perceived “Jewish conspiracy” behind the international order of institutions like NATO and the UN. There are many euphemisms and alternate names for the same core conspiracy theory alleging the existence of a single group of shadowy people who […]
Chances are you’ve had an encounter with an emotional predator — whether you’re aware of it or not. Most everyone is familiar with the physical abuser: typically the man who beats his wife or female partner. But emotional abuse, and psychological abuse, are also integral components of abuse and are often present with, and precursors […]
Tunnel vision is both an actual physical condition, and a metaphor for a myopic type of thinking. In the former, people who experience tunnel vision have a loss of peripheral vision that results in a constricted, circular field of vision akin to looking through a tunnel. In the cognitive metaphor, tunnel vision refers to a […]
Old Boomers like Donald Trump and Charles Koch just copied their fascist fathers. Donnie inherited racism and eugenics from Old Fred, while Charlie was indoctrinated in the extremist delusions of the John Birch Society and the pseudoscience economics of the Austrian School acolytes. They are men with little imagination, who seek to exalt themselves by […]
Conspiracy theories are not new. Covid-related conspiracies may be new, but conspiracy theories about pandemics and contagious diseases have been around for centuries. Anti-vaccination hysteria goes back decades. The QAnon conspiracy theory may be new (or maybe not really?!), but conspiracy theories themselves are a tale(s) as old as time — or at least time […]
DARVO is an acronym that stands for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.” It refers to the reaction often exhibited by perpetrators of criminal or unethical behavior, especially sexual offenders. One common frame is to allege that the perpetrator is actually the victim in the scenario, because of the other party’s false accusations. The […]
Some of us have been boning up on this topic for about 6 years already, while others are just tuning in now based on the horrors of recent events. It can be overwhelming to come in cold, so here — don’t go it alone! Take this: Putin’s war against the west President Biden “declassified” an […]
Professor Altemeyer has studied authoritarianism and the authoritarian personality since 1966. He first published a refinement of Theodor Adorno’s work on authoritarian personalities, known as the Right-Wing Authoritarian Scale in 1981. In 2006, Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians was slated to be his last work pending retirement — but in 2020 a new work co-authored with […]
Mind control is a type of “psychological technology” used by con artists, cult leaders, and influence peddlers of all stripes to try and modify human behavior, to twist it to one’s own nefarious and usually opaque ends. Also referred to as undue influence techniques, brainwashing, emotional abuse, or thought reform, mind control is a set […]
Ask not what your country can do for you — but how you can save democracy in your country. “No one can do everything; but everyone can do something.” — Gil Scot-Heron Why? This moment is urgent. The GOP is 3 cults in a trenchcoat, all moving rapidly through radicalization and a veer headlong into […]
You may not know it yet but you’ve been drafted into a war. A conflict of cognitive warfare, in which the battlefield is your mind. We are all unwitting participants in an information war that isn’t just plaguing U.S. politics to the point of making our neighbors and allies worry about us — it’s all […]
A technique of torture and compliance, brainwashing is used in many contexts to control victims. From personal relationships and marriage to cults and high demand groups, all the way up to the scale of nation-states, removing or reducing independent thinking and action in a person or population gives the brainwasher enormous power and advantage. The […]
Maskirovka is a war of deception and concealment, in its simplest definition. Historically, Maskirovka is a Russian military doctrine that focuses on a broad spectrum of military deception techniques. The term, which translates roughly to “masking” or “camouflage,” encompasses a wide range of practices aimed at misleading the enemy about one’s capabilities, intentions, and operations. […]