Group psychological abuse refers to groups where methods of psychological abuse are frequently or systematically used on their members. Such abuse would be practices that treat the members as objects one is free to manipulate instead of respecting their autonomy, human rights, identity and dignity. In a group can also play mind games with another person that can make the victim seem like they are accepted but in actuality they are backstabbing the person when his/her back is turned. When the victim requests assistance from the abusing group it is not given.
Psychological abuse refers to practices that, simply stated, treat a person as an object to be manipulated and used, rather than as a subject whose mind, autonomy, identity, and dignity are to be honored.
Some scholars in the wake of Robert Jay Lifton or Margaret Singer have associated group psychological abuse with brainwashing or mind control and with cults. The concepts to have similarities and overlap in some places, but they are not identical.
William V. Chambers, Ph.D. received the John G. Clark Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Cultic Studies from the American Family Foundation, for his work with Michael Langone, Ph.D. in developing the Group Psychological Abuse Scale.
Famous quotes containing the words group and/or abuse:
“Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot—a sense of collective participation, experience with organizational roles, and group support in the enterprise of growing up. Groups also pose for the child some of the most acute problems of social life—of inclusion and exclusion, conformity and independence.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“Playing games with agreed upon rules helps children learn to live by rules, establish the delicate balance between competition and cooperation, between fair play and justice and exploitation and abuse of these for personal gain. It helps them learn to manage the warmth of winning and the hurt of losing; it helps them to believe that there will be another chance to win the next time.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)