Paul: - Look on
the wall behind you.
Bella: The
picture, it's gone again.
Paul: Yes. Where
have you hidden it this time?
Bella: I didn't
take it. Why should I?
Bella:
It's no use to me.
Paul:
Why should you take other things? Pencils, knives...
Bella:
Paul, don't.
Paul:
Bella, where's the picture?
Bella:
I didn't take it. I swear I didn't.
…
Paul: - Why do
you persist in lying to me, Bella?
Bella: - It's the
truth.
Paul: If you're
not lying, there's only one alternative: You're losing your wits.
 |
This is a frame from the 1944 film, Gaslight. |
The preceding dialogue was taken from the 1944 Film,
Gaslight.
In the film, the character Paul hides household objects from his wife Bella.
Paul later accuses Bella of hiding the objects herself. Paul does this to make
Bella question her own sanity. Jewels are hidden somewhere in their house. Paul
makes Bella think she is crazy so he can easily search the house for the
jewels.
The film is responsible for spawning the term: gaslighting. Gaslighting is a colloquial
term for a manipulation tactic in which someone seeks to influence another by
making them question their own sanity. Gaslighting is commonly used by abusive
and/or manipulative people.
According to psychoanalyst Theodore L. Dorpat (1996), gaslighting
works because it causes the target to question his or her own beliefs. Because
the person is not confident in their perspective, he does not challenge the
person who gaslights them P. 91-96. It's anecdotally known that someone
who is gaslighted may not be crazy however gaslighting may drive a person to become insane.
Gaslighting and its Relation to Social Influence, Reality and
Mental Illness
Gaslighting occurs because one individual is able to exert
social influence over another. Social influence has a profound effect on the
perception of reality. A famous experiment by Muzafer Sherif demonstrated this.
Look at the picture below. Which of the two horizontal lines are longer?
Actually, they’re both the same length. Most say the bottom one appears longer. The fins on the right and left of the lines create a frame
of reference that affects how long the two lines appear. Sherif wanted to study
what he called the social frame of reference, the effect that a social
situation has on perception.
In Sherif’s experiment subjects sat in a dark room and
watched a light on the wall. During different intervals of time subjects were
asked how much the light had moved. Sherif found that the subjects tended to
agree about how much the light moved over time. At first, the subject’s answers
were all different but after a while they all gave the same answer. In reality,
the light never moved at all. The subjects in the experiment relied on the
group for information to form an opinion about how much the light moved.
Because of this, the subjects mistakenly believed the light had moved when it
didn’t.
Another experiment created by social psychologist Solomon
Asch showed that social influence can affect a person’s perception of reality
to a remarkable degree. In the experiment a group of eight participants were
asked to look at two pictures and determine which line on one picture matched
the length of one of several lines on another picture. Look at the picture below. The answer seems pretty obvious, right?
Amazingly, one third of the time the subjects of the
experiment selected the wrong line. The reason was seven of the eight participants
were actually actors who were part of the experiment. In the experiment, the
actors would intentionally pick the wrong lines. The subjects did not want to
stand out in the group so they picked the same lines as the actors. The experiment
showed that peer pressure can cause a person to betray their own judgment.
Both these experiments demonstrate principles that explain
how gaslighting works. Social influence may affect the information a person uses
to form a belief or it may pressure a person not to trust his own judgment. The
act of gaslighting involves these same principles. For example, in the Film, Gaslight,
Paul would isolate Bella from others thus becoming her only informational
reference about what was real. Paul would also argue with Bella about what was
real pressuring her not to trust her own judgment.
Gaslighting and the Social Construction of “Reality”
 |
In reality, the U.S. Government is a social construction. It only
has power over citizens because we mutually agree it does. |
Gaslighting is a means of controlling what someone believes
is real. We tend to think of reality as something concrete. As sociologists Peter
Berger and Thomas Luckman (1966) have explained, our concept of reality is
socially constructed P. na. In a society, reality isn’t really permanent or fixed;
it is constructed socially through consensus between individuals. Our concept
of reality isn’t based on what is real, it is based on what people agree is real.
Sometimes the question of what is real can be extremely
political. For example, in Western society, there is debate over whether or not
global warming is real. Global warming is something that we do not easily see
in our everyday lives making it easy to dispute.
A person or group may deny or confirm a belief, like global
warming, because they will benefit from it. What people say they think and what
they actually think doesn’t always align. Sometimes reality isn’t observed it’s
decided.
 |
What people believe and what they say they believe doesn't
always align. In reality, there are many reason why someone might say
they believe something. Here is a table of possible reasons. |
The question of whether global warming is real has an
enormous impact on how we behave as a society and as a species. In my opinion,
to control what is real socially is basically a form of power. What people
determine is real has enormous impact on what they think and how they behave. For
example, arguing that global warming isn’t real allows large corporations to
profit from exploiting natural resources and polluting the environment.
Shared reality determines the rules by which social
interaction takes place. For example, at a library you know you should not talk
loudly because it is part of the mutual reality you share with other people
there. Shared reality or as sociologist Erving Goffman (1959) calls it, the
“definition of the situation,” determines what appropriate behavior is P.3.
When someone gaslights another person they alter the mutual
reality the two people share. For example, in the film, Gaslight, when Paul
convinces Bella she is imagining things Paul establishes a social reality in
which Bella is insane when actually she isn’t. Because of this, he can do
virtually whatever he wants to Bella. If Bella complains about how Paul treats
her Paul can just tell her she is imagining things. Paul is truly evil.
Gaslighted or Crazy?
The implications gaslighting has for people diagnosed with
mental illness are truly frightening. In the film, Gaslight, a detective
saves Bella just before Paul attempts to have her put in a mental institution
indefinitely. It’s possible that there are people who aren’t as lucky. There
may be people who are considered mentally ill but are actually victims of
gaslighting.
How can we tell the difference between someone who is
genuinely delusional and someone who is being gaslighted? The frightening
reality is we can’t. Gaslighting causes a person to question his or her own
sanity. Consequently, they may adopt the social role of a mentally ill person
and behave and act like they are mentally ill. In effect, for all intents and
purposes, they become a mentally ill person.
Conventional minds believe that the boundary between sanity
and insanity is clearly demarcated. Really this isn’t true at all. Considering
someone mentally ill or not is largely determined by the social context.
Someone is considered mentally ill or not depending on the situation they are
in. For example, if a completely normal person were admitted to a mental
hospital as a patient they would probably complain about the conditions of the
hospital, the food, the doctors, being forcibly injected with drugs and how
they generally had no rights. However, in a mental hospital this behavior is
exhibited by all the patients and is seen by the staff as a symptom of their
mental illness.
Have You Been Gaslighted?
Gaslighting is a severe form of psychological abuse. Undermining
a person’s sense of reality to control them is very harmful to the person. It
damages the integrity of the person’s mind.
In my opinion, gaslighting likely occurs a lot more often than
conventional thinking might lead one to believe. Gaslighting is usually covert
and, therefore, likely often goes unreported or even unnoticed. It’s possible
you or someone you know is being gaslighted on an ongoing basis right now.
It is not uncommon for someone to be gaslighted by someone
close to them like a family member or significant other. Gaslighting occurs in
relationships where one party is able to exert more social influence over the
other. Power differentials like this occur in relationships such as between
parent and child or supervisor and employee.
People with psychiatric diagnoses are particularly
vulnerable to being gaslighted. A psychiatric diagnosis can be used to
manipulate a person. The abuser/manipulater will cite the person’s supposed
mental health issues as a way of undermining their beliefs and perspective.
Solutions to Gaslighting
In conclusion, if you have a mental illness diagnosis you
may not be mentally ill but being gaslighted by other people. Don’t let
yourself be a victim of gaslighting. Follow these guidelines:
Maintain healthy relationships with others. Only have
relationships that are mutually satisfactory. Have healthy boundaries with
people in your life and don’t let someone isolate you from other people.
Get the facts. Document everything. Take notes meticulously.
You would be surprised how much taking notes can aid in situations in which
“reality” is in question.
Finally, the best defense against gaslighting is independent
thinking. Don’t be swayed by social influence. Practice good critical thinking
skills. Take in as much information as you can, analyze it, and use it to make
your own judgments. Be skeptical of everything, even this post.
References
Berger, P., & Luckman, T. (1966). The Social
Construction of Reality. Anchor Books.
Cukor, G. (1944). Gaslight. United States:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Dorpat, T. (1996). Gaslighthing, the Double Whammy,
Interrogation and Other Methods of Covert Control in Psychotherapy and Analysis.
Lanham: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Goffman, E. (2008). The presentation of self in everyday
life. New York: Anchor Books [u.a.].