Gaslighting

Gaslighting historically referred to extreme psychological manipulation to commit an individual to a psychiatric institution or cause mental illness with the intent to brainwash.[1][2] In contemporary language, gaslighting is a colloquialism describing the subjective experience of having one's reality repeatedly questioned by another.[1][3] Merriam Webster cites deception of one's memory, perception of reality, or mental stability.[4] This term, derived from the 1944 American film Gaslight, entered colloquial English usage in the mid-2010s.[5][6] In a 2022 Washington Post report, it was described as a "trendy buzzword" frequently used to describe ordinary disagreements, rather than those situations that align with the word's historical definition.[3]

Etymology

Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotten in the film Gaslight (1944)

The origin of the term is the 1938 British thriller play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton, which provided the source material for the 1940 British film, Gaslight. The film was then remade in 1944 in America – also as Gaslight – and it is this film which has since become the primary reference point for the term.[6][7][8] Set among London's elite during the Victorian era, it portrays a seemingly genteel husband using lies and manipulation to isolate his heiress wife and persuade her that she is mentally unwell so that he can steal from her.[9] In the story the husband secretly dims and brightens the indoor gas-powered lighting but insists his wife is imagining it, making her think she is going insane.[10] The term "gaslighting" itself is neither in the screenplay nor mentioned in either the films or the play in any context.

The gerund form gaslighting was first used in the 1950s, particularly in the episode of The Burns and Allen Show; in The New York Times, it was first used in a 1995 column by Maureen Dowd.[5] According to the American Psychological Association in 2021, gaslighting "once referred to manipulation so extreme as to induce mental illness or to justify commitment of the gaslighted person to a psychiatric institution".[1] Largely an obscure or esoteric term until gaining traction in the mid-2010s – The Times only used it nine additional times in the following 20 years[5] – it has broadly seeped into the English lexicon since,[5] and is now used more generally. Merriam-Webster defines it as "psychological manipulation" to make someone question their "perception of reality" leading to "dependence on the perpetrator".[4]

The term has received a number of notable recognitions. The American Dialect Society named gaslight the "most useful" new word of 2016.[11] Oxford University Press named gaslighting as a runner-up in its list of the most popular new words of 2018.[12]

In self-help and amateur psychology

Gaslighting is a term used in self-help and amateur psychology to describe a dynamic that can occur in personal relationships (romantic or parental) and in workplace relationships.[13][14] Gaslighting involves two parties; the "gaslighter", who persistently puts forth a false narrative in order to manipulate, and the "gaslighted", who struggles to maintain their individual autonomy.[15][16] Gaslighting is typically effective only when there is an unequal power dynamic or when the gaslighted has shown respect to the gaslighter.[17]

Gaslighting is different from genuine relationship disagreement, which is both common and important in relationships. Gaslighting is distinct in that:

  • one partner is consistently listening and considering the other partner's perspective;
  • one partner is consistently negating the other's perception, insisting that they are wrong, or telling them that their emotional reaction is irrational or dysfunctional.

Gaslighting typically occurs over a long duration and not on a one-off basis.[3] Over time, the listening partner may exhibit symptoms often associated with anxiety disorders, depression, or low self-esteem. Gaslighting is distinct from genuine relationship conflict in that one party manipulates the perceptions of the other.[17]

In psychiatry and psychology

The word gaslighting (referring to the behavior described in the above amateur psychology section) is occasionally used in clinical literature, but is considered a colloquialism by the American Psychological Association.[1][18]

Since the 1970s, the term has been used in psychoanalytic literature to describe a "conscious intent to brainwash".[2]

Barton and Whitehead (1969) described three case reports of gaslighting with the goal of securing a person's involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital, motivated by a desire to get rid of relatives or obtain financial gain: a wife attempting to frame her husband as violent so she could elope with her lover, another wife alleging that her pub-owning husband was an alcoholic in order to leave him and take control of the pub, and a retirement home manager who gave laxatives to a resident before referring her to a psychiatric hospital for slight dementia and incontinence.[19][20] In 1977, at a time when published literature on gaslighting was still "sparse", Lund and Gardiner published a case report on an elderly woman who was repeatedly involuntarily committed for alleged psychosis, by staffers of her retirement home, but whose symptoms always disappeared shortly after admittance without any treatment. After investigation, it was discovered that her 'paranoia' had been the result of gaslighting by staffers of the retirement home, who knew the woman had suffered from paranoid psychosis 15 years prior.[20] The research paper, "Gaslighting: A Marital Syndrome" (1988), includes clinical observations of the impact on wives after their reactions were mislabeled by their husbands and male therapists.[21] Other experts have noted values and techniques of therapists can be harmful as well as helpful to clients (or indirectly to other people in a client's life).[22][23][24]

In his 1996 book, Gaslighting, the Double Whammy, Interrogation and Other Methods of Covert Control in Psychotherapy and Analysis, Theo L. Dorpat, M.D. recommends non-directive and egalitarian attitudes and methods on the part of clinicians,[23]: 225  and "treating patients as active collaborators and equal partners".[23]: 246  He writes, "Therapists may contribute to the victim's distress through mislabeling the [victim's] reactions.... The gaslighting behaviors of the spouse provide a recipe for the so-called 'nervous breakdown' for some [victims, and] suicide in some of the worst situations."[23] Dorpat also cautions clinicians about the unintentional abuse of patients when using interrogation and other methods of covert control in Psychotherapy and Analysis, as these methods can subtly coerce patients rather than respect and genuinely help them.[23]: 31–46 

This increased global awareness of the dangers of gaslighting has not been met with enthusiasm by all psychologists, some of whom have issued warnings that overuse of the term could weaken its meaning and minimize the serious health effects of such abuse.[12]

Motivations

Gaslighting is a way to control the moment, stop conflict, ease anxiety, and feel in control. However, it often deflects responsibility and tears down the other person.[17] Some may gaslight their partners by denying events, including personal violence.[25]

Learned behavior

Gaslighting is a learned trait. A gaslighter is a student of social learning. They witness it, experience it themselves, or stumble upon it, and see that it works, both for self-regulation and coregulation.[17] Studies have shown that gaslighting is more prevalent in couples where one or both partners have maladaptive personality traits[26] such as traits associated with short-term mental illness (e.g., depression), substance-induced illness (e.g., alcoholism), mood disorders (e.g., bipolar disorder), anxiety disorders (e.g., PTSD), personality disorder (e.g., BPD, NPD, etc.), neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., ADHD), or combination of the above (i.e., co-occurrence) and are prone to and adept at convincing others to doubt their own perceptions.[27]

Habilitation

It can be difficult to extricate oneself from a gaslighting power dynamic:

  • Those who gaslight must attain greater emotional awareness and self-regulation,[17] or;
  • Those being gaslighted must learn that they do not need others to validate their reality, and they need to gain self-reliance and confidence in defining their own reality.[28][17]

Broader use

The word "gaslighting" is often used incorrectly to refer to conflicts and disagreements.[3][18][29] According to Robin Stern, PhD, co-founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, "Gaslighting is often used in an accusatory way when somebody may just be insistent on something, or somebody may be trying to influence you. That's not what gaslighting is."[18]

Some mental health experts have expressed concern that the broader use of the term is diluting its usefulness and may make it more difficult to identify the specific type of abuse described in the original definition.[12][3][29]

In medicine

"Medical gaslighting" is an informal term[30] that refers to patients having their real symptoms dismissed or downplayed by medical professionals, leading to incorrect diagnoses. Women and racial minorities are more likely to be affected by the phenomenon.[31][32][33]

In politics

Gaslighting is more likely to be effective when the gaslighter has a position of power.[34]

In the 2008 book State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind, the authors contend that the prevalence of gaslighting in American politics began with the age of modern communications:

To say gaslighting was started by... any extant group is not simply wrong, it also misses an important point. Gaslighting comes directly from blending modern communications, marketing, and advertising techniques with long-standing methods of propaganda. They were simply waiting to be discovered by those with sufficient ambition and psychological makeup to use them.[35]

The term has been used to describe the behavior of politicians and media personalities on both the left and the right sides of the political spectrum.[35] Some examples include:

  • "Gaslighting" has been used to describe Russia's global relations. While Russian operatives were active in Crimea in 2017, Russian officials continually denied their presence and manipulated the distrust of political groups in their favor.[36]
  • American journalists used the word "gaslighting" to describe the actions of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election and his term as president.[37]
  • Columnist Maureen Dowd described the Bill Clinton administration's use of the technique in subjecting Newt Gingrich to small indignities intended to provoke him to make public complaints that "came across as hysterical" in 1995.[38]
  • "Gaslighting" has been used to describe state implemented psychological harassment techniques used in East Germany during the 1970s and 80s. The techniques were used as part of the Stasi's (the state security service's) decomposition methods, which were designed to paralyze the ability of hostile-negative (politically incorrect or rebellious) people to operate without unjustifiably imprisoning them, which would have resulted in international condemnation.[39]

One of the earliest uses of the term in television was in a 1952 episode of The Burns and Allen Show titled "Gracie Buying Boat for George".[40]

The word is used in a 1962 episode of Car 54 Where Are You? titled "What Happened to Thursday?".[40]

In the 1974 The Six Million Dollar Man second-season episode, "The Seven Million Dollar Man", Steve Austin accuses Oscar Goldman, Rudy Wells and nurse Carla Peterson of gaslighting him after all three try to convince him that an incident he saw did not happen.[41]

In 1994, the character Roz Doyle uses the phrase in "Fortysomething", an episode of the American television sitcom Frasier.[42]

In a 2000 interview, the writers of the song "Gaslighting Abbie" (Steely Dan album Two Against Nature) explain that the lyrics were inspired by a term they heard in New York City, "gaslighting", which they believed was derived from the 1944 film Gaslight. "It is about a certain kind of mind [manipulation] or messing with somebody's head".[43]

During the period 2014–2016, BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers aired a two-year long storyline about Helen who was subjected to slow-burning coercive control by her bullying, manipulative husband, Rob.[44] The show shocked listeners, sparking a national discussion about domestic abuse.[45]

In the 2016 film The Girl on the Train, Rachel has severe depression and alcoholism. The storyline evolves around Rachel's blackouts as her husband consistently tells her that she has done terrible things that she did not actually do.[46]

In 2017, the phrase was used to describe Harvey Weinstein's extraordinary measures (see Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases § Weinstein's response) to discredit the women he sexually preyed upon, the journalists investigating their stories, and the public.[47]

In 2018, NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives had a months-long storyline about retaliation and Gabi's systematic efforts to have her best friend Abigail committed into a mental health care facility. In the end, Gabi gleefully confessed to Abigail what she had done to her and why.[48]

In 2019, CNN's nightly news commentary, Anderson Cooper 360°, aired 24 episodes about the lies being told by politicians in the news. The segments were named "Keeping Them Honest: We'll Leave The Gaslight On For You, Part __".[17]

In 2020, country music group The Chicks released a song titled "Gaslighter" about a manipulative husband.[49]

In 2022, the Starz miniseries Gaslit starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn uses the term as its title to describe the themes of deception and abuse of power underlying the Watergate Scandal which ultimately brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon.

In 2022, Merriam-Webster named "gaslighting" as its Word of the Year due to the vast increase in channels and technologies used to mislead and the word becoming common for the perception of deception.[50]

The Gospel of Afranius, a "Nature"-praised atheistic Russian work that came out in English in 2022, proposes politically motivated gaslighting as the origin of the foundational Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus.[51]

See also

  • Confidence trick: using trust to defraud
  • Deception/lying: to limit relationship harm
  • Hypnopedia
  • Insecure attachment: desperate to hold onto relationships
  • Manipulation: exploiting for personal gain
  • Martha Mitchell effect: labeling real experiences as delusional
  • Mind games: struggle for relationship superiority
  • Naivete: favors moral idealism over pragmatism
  • Political spin: political propaganda tactic
  • Psychotherapy issues: unintended treatment problems
  • Reality distortion field: Steve Jobs' particular ability to convince others of virtually anything
  • Superiority complex: defense for feeling inferior

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "APA Dictionary of Psychology". APA.org. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Shengold, Leonard L. (1979). "Child Abuse and Deprivation: Soul Murder". Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. 27 (3): 542. doi:10.1177/000306517902700302. Weinshel, in a series of unpublished papers, designates a conscious intent to brainwash as "gaslighting."
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Haupt, Angela (15 April 2022). "How to recognize gaslighting and respond to it". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Definition of gaslight (Entry 2 of 2)". Merriam Webster.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Yagoda, Ben (12 January 2017). "How Old Is 'Gaslighting'?". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Gaslight". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Etymology: from the title of George Cukor's 1944 film Gaslight
  7. ↑ Hoberman, J (21 August 2019). "Why 'Gaslight' Hasn't Lost Its Glow". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019. The verb "to gaslight," voted by the American Dialect Society in 2016 as the word most useful/likely to succeed, and defined as "to psychologically manipulate a person into questioning their own sanity," derives from MGM's 1944 movie, directed by George Cukor.
  8. ↑ Wilkinson, Alissa (21 January 2017). "What is gaslighting? The 1944 film Gaslight is the best explainer". Vox. Retrieved 21 January 2017. to understand gaslighting is to go to the source. George Cukor's Gaslight. The term "gaslighting" comes from the movie.
  9. ↑ Thomas, Laura (2018). "Gaslight and gaslighting". The Lancet. Psychiatry. 5 (2): 117–118. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30024-5. PMID 29413137. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  10. ↑ Sweet, Paige L. "How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality". Scientific American. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Metcalf, Allan. "2016 Word of the Year" (PDF). American Dialect Society. Retrieved 6 January 2017. most useful word of the year
  12. 1 2 3 "Word of the Year 2018: Shortlist". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  13. ↑ Portnow, Kathryn E. (1996). Dialogues of doubt: the psychology of self-doubt and emotional gaslighting in adult women and men (EdD). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education. OCLC 36674740. ProQuest 619244657.
  14. ↑ "Gaslighting at Work—and What to Do About It". Harvard Business Review. 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  15. ↑ DiGiulio, Sarah. "What is gaslighting? And how do you know if it's happening to you?". NBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  16. ↑ Sarkis, Stephanie (2018). Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People – and Break Free. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0738284668. OCLC 1023486127.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stern PhD, Robin (19 December 2018). "I've counseled hundreds of victims of gaslighting. Here's how to spot if you're being gaslighted. Gaslighting, explained". Vox. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 Holland, Brenna (2 September 2021). "For Those Who Experience Gaslighting, the Widespread Misuse of the Word Is Damaging". Well + Good. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. ↑ Barton, Russell; Whitehead, J. A. (21 June 1969). "The gas-light phenomenon". The Lancet. 293 (7608): 1258–1260. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(69)92133-3. ISSN 0140-6736.
  20. 1 2 Lund, C.A.; Gardiner, A.Q. (1977). "The Gaslight Phenomenon: An Institutional Variant". British Journal of Psychiatry. 131 (5): 533–34. doi:10.1192/bjp.131.5.533. PMID 588872. S2CID 33671694. closed access
  21. ↑ Gass PhD, Gertrude Zemon; Nichols EdD, William C. (18 March 1988). "Gaslighting: A marital syndrome". Contemp Family Therapy. 8: 3–16. doi:10.1007/BF00922429. S2CID 145019324.
  22. ↑ Barlow, D. H. (January 2010). "Special section on negative effects from psychological treatments". American Psychologist. 65 (1): 13–49. doi:10.1037/a0015643. PMID 20063906.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Dorpat, Theodore L. (1996). Gaslighting, the Double Whammy, Interrogation, and Other Methods of Covert Control in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-1-56821-828-1. OCLC 34548677. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  24. ↑ Basseches, Michael (April 1997). "A developmental perspective on psychotherapy process, psychotherapists' expertise, and 'meaning-making conflict' within therapeutic relationships: part II". Journal of Adult Development. 4 (2): 85–106. doi:10.1007/BF02510083. S2CID 143991100. Basseches coined the term "theoretical abuse" as a parallel to "sexual abuse" in psychotherapy.
  25. ↑ Jacobson, Neil S.; Gottman, John M. (1998). When Men Batter Women: New Insights into Ending Abusive Relationships. Simon and Schuster. pp. 129–132. ISBN 978-0-684-81447-6. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Miano, Paola; Bellomare, Martina; Genova, Vincenzo Giuseppe (2 September 2021). "Personality correlates of gaslighting behaviours in young adults". Journal of Sexual Aggression. 27 (3): 285–298. doi:10.1080/13552600.2020.1850893. ISSN 1355-2600. S2CID 234287319.
  27. ↑ Stout, Martha (14 March 2006). The Sociopath Next Door. Random House Digital. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-7679-1582-3. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  28. ↑ Nelson, Hilde L. (March 2001). Damaged identities, narrative repair. Cornell University Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-8014-8740-8. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  29. 1 2 Ellen, Barbara (6 July 2019). "In accusing all creeps of gaslighting, we dishonour the real victims". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  30. ↑ Vargas, Theresa (2 April 2022). "Women are sharing their 'medical gaslighting' stories. Now what?". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  31. ↑ Newman-Toker, David E.; Moy, Ernest; Valente, Ernest; Coffey, Rosanna; Hines, Anika L. (June 2014). "Missed diagnosis of stroke in the emergency department: a cross-sectional analysis of a large population-based sample". Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany). 1 (2): 155–166. doi:10.1515/dx-2013-0038. ISSN 2194-8011. PMC 5361750. PMID 28344918.
  32. ↑ Hamberg, Katarina; Risberg, Gunilla; Johansson, Eva E.; Westman, Göran (September 2002). "Gender bias in physicians' management of neck pain: a study of the answers in a Swedish national examination". Journal of Women's Health & Gender-Based Medicine. 11 (7): 653–666. doi:10.1089/152460902760360595. ISSN 1524-6094. PMID 12396897.
  33. ↑ Bleicken, Benjamin; Hahner, Stefanie; Ventz, Manfred; Quinkler, Marcus (June 2010). "Delayed diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency is common: a cross-sectional study in 216 patients". The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 339 (6): 525–531. doi:10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3181db6b7a. ISSN 1538-2990. PMID 20400889.
  34. ↑ Simon, George (8 November 2011). "Gaslighting as a Manipulation Tactic: What It Is, Who Does It, And Why". CounsellingResource.com: Psychology, Therapy & Mental Health Resources. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  35. 1 2 Welch, Bryant (2008). State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312373061. OCLC 181601311.
  36. ↑ Ghitis, Frida. "Donald Trump is 'gaslighting' all of us". CNN. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  37. ↑
  38. ↑ Dowd, Maureen (26 November 1995). "Opinion | Liberties;The Gaslight Strategy". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  39. ↑ Carol Anne Constabile-Heming & Valentina Glajar & Alison Lewis (2021). "Citizen informants, glitches in the system, and the limits of collaboration: Eastern experiences in the cold war era". In Andreas Marklund & Laura Skouvig (ed.). Histories of Surveillance from Antiquity to the Digital Era: The Eyes and Ears of Power. Routledge.
  40. 1 2 Chetwynd, Josh (2017). Totally Scripted: Idioms, Words, and Quotes From Hollywood to Broadway That Have Changed the English Language. Lyons Press.
  41. ↑ The Six Million Dollar Man. Season 2, Episode 5 'The Seven Million Dollar Man' URL: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0702124/
  42. ↑ "'Frasier': Fortysomething". 1994.
  43. ↑ Sakamoto, John (29 February 2000). "The Steely Dan Q&A". The Steely Dan Reader. Retrieved 28 February 2015. Sakamoto: What does the title of the first track, 'Gaslighting Abbie,' mean? Fagen: ..the term 'to gaslight' comes from the film Gaslight... So it's really a certain kind of mind fucking, or messing with somebody's head by... Becker: That's sort of the rich old tradition of gaslighting which we were invoking.
  44. ↑ Haider, Arwa. "A cultural history of gaslighting". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  45. ↑ Watts, Jay (5 April 2016). "The Archers domestic abuse is classic 'gaslighting' – very real, little understood". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  46. ↑ Yahr, Emily (10 October 2016). "'The Girl on the Train': Let's discuss that twisted ending". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  47. ↑
  48. ↑ "'Days of Our Lives': Will Gabi Hernandez Face Any Consequences for Her Actions?". 17 November 2018.
  49. ↑ Crone, Madeline (6 March 2020). "Behind the Song: Dixie Chicks, "Gaslighter"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  50. ↑ "Word of the Year 2022". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  51. ↑ Mina, Mikhail (30 April 1998). "In retrospect by Mikhail Mina". Nature. 392 (6679): 884. Bibcode:1998Natur.392..884M. doi:10.1038/31855. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 35300944.
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