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

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.