Brainwashing (the popular name for the phenomenon) or "thought reform" (a more formal designation) consisted of techniques and methods used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such techniques originated earlier: in the Soviet Union to prepare prisoners for show trials; as well as even earlier in the Inquisition. These techniques had multiple goals that went far beyond the simple control of subjects in the prison camps of North Korea. They aimed to produce confessions, to convince the accused that they had indeed perpetrated anti-social acts, to make them feel guilty of these "crimes" against the state, to make them desirous of a fundamental change in outlook toward the institutions of the new communist society, and, finally, to actually accomplish these desired changes in the recipients of the brainwashing/thought-reform. To that end, "brainwashers" used techniques that broke down the psychic integrity of the individual with regard to information processing, with regard to information retained in the mind, and with regard to values. To accomplish the goals of the exercise, many techniques came into play, including dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them in filth, sleep deprivation, psychological harassment, inculcation of guilt, group social pressure, etc. The ultimate goal that drove these extreme efforts consisted of the transformation of an individual with a "feudal" or capitalist mindset into a "right thinking" member of the new social system.
The methods of thought control proved extremely useful at gaining prisoner compliance. Key elements in their success included tight control of the information available to the individual and tight control over the behavior of the individual. When close control of information broke down, former prisoners fairly quickly regained an "objective" original picture of the world and of the societies from which they had come. Furthermore, prisoners subject to thought control often simply behaved in ways that pleased their captors, without changing their fundamental beliefs. So the fear of brainwashed sleeper agents, such as that dramatized in the novel or in the films of The Manchurian Candidate, never materialized.
Terrible though the process frequently seemed to individuals imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party, these attempts at extreme coercive persuasion ended with a reassuring result: they showed that the human mind has enormous ability to adapt to stress and also a powerful homeostatic capacity. John Clifford, S.J. gives an account of one man's resistance to brainwashing in In the Presence of My Enemies.
