Editing Brainwashing (section)

===American Psychological Association===
{{Main|APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control}}

In 1983, the [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) asked Singer to chair a [[taskforce|task force]] called the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC) to investigate whether brainwashing or coercive persuasion did indeed control cults members. The task force concluded that:<ref>{{cite report|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret|last2=Goldstein|first2=Harold|last3=Langone|first3=Michael|last4=Miller|first4=Jesse S.|last5=Temerlin|first5=Maurice K.|last6=West|first6=Louis J.|author-link1=Margaret Singer|author-link3=Michael Langone|author-link4=Jesse S. Miller|author-link5=Maurice K. Temerlin|author-link6=Louis Jolyon West|title=Report of the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control|url=https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/report-of-the-task-force-on-deceptive-and-indirect-techniques-of-persuasion-and-control/817154|publisher=[[Baylor University]]|date=November 1986|access-date=4 January 2023|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104155621/https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/report-of-the-task-force-on-deceptive-and-indirect-techniques-of-persuasion-and-control/817154|url-status=live}}</ref> {{blockquote|Cults and [[large group awareness training]]s have generated considerable controversy because of their widespread use of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control. These techniques can compromise individual freedom, and their use has resulted in serious harm to thousands of individuals and families.}} On 11 May 1987, the APA's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) rejected the DIMPAC report because the report "lacks the scientific rigor and evenhanded critical approach necessary for APA imprimatur" and concluded that "after much consideration, BSERP does not believe that we have sufficient information available to guide us in taking a position on this issue."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/8393/Apa_english.htm|title=APA Memorandum to Members of the Task Force on DIMPAC|access-date=2008-11-18|author=American Psychological Association Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP)|date=1987-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000311210731/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/8393/Apa_english.htm|archive-date=11 March 2000|quote=BSERP thanks the Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control for its service but is unable to accept the report of the Task Force. In general, the report lacks the scientific rigor and evenhanded critical approach necessary for APA imprimatur.}}</ref>