Singer, Margaret

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Revision as of 20:22, 2 November 2007

Margaret Thaler Singer (1921 - 2003) was a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, U.S..

Singer's main areas of research included schizophrenia, family therapy, brainwashing and coercive persuasion. Singer performed research at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center Institute of Research, the National Institute of Mental Health, the United States Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received many awards for her work, including the Leo J. Ryan Memorial Award, the Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, and both the Hofheimer Prize and the Stanley R. Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists.

In the 1960s she began to study the nature of cults and mind control and served on the board of the American Family Foundation. She is the author of the book Cults in Our Midst. She gave expert testimony in several cult-related trials, including the 1976 trial of Patty Hearst, who had previously been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and the 1977 hearing for five members of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.

In 1987, as head of the APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control for the American Psychological Association, Dr. Singer oversaw the production of a report that was later rejected by the APA's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology. Thereafter, Singer's expert testimony in four subsequent cases was not accepted. In 1992 she sued the APA for "defamation, frauds, aiding and abetting and conspiracy," but in 1994 she lost.

Articles in The New York Times and the The Los Angeles Times reported complaints by Singer and her family that she had been enduring harassment and death threats due to her "battles" with the cults.

Education

Singer was born in Denver and received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Denver[1].

Career as psychologist

Brainwashing

After obtaining her Ph.D., Singer worked at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, in their department of psychiatry for eight years[2].

Margaret Singer began to study brainwashing in the 1950s at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Institute of Research in Washington, D.C., where she interviewed U.S. soldiers who had been taken prisoner during the Korean War. Singer's research at Walter Reed has been described as "ground-breaking" within her field[3][4]. She moved to Berkeley in 1958.

Schizophrenia

Singer's research also focused heavily on the areas of family therapy and schizophrenia. She conducted research with the National Institute of Mental Health, the United States Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology[5].

Cults

Dr. Singer began studying cults in the late 1960s. She published in the field of cults, mind control ("psychological coercion") and similar areas, and received a number of honors for her work.

She developed theories about how cults recruit and retain members (such as her Theory of Systematic Manipulation of Social and Psychological Influence) and was on the board of the American Family Foundation, the major anti-cult group in the United States. She chaired the APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC) in 1987 for the APA, whose report was rejected.

Professor

Dr. Singer was a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley from 1964 to 1991[6].

In addition to UC Berkeley, she also served as a Faculty Member and/or Lecturer at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Washington School of Psychiatry, The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, the Department of Psychology at The University of California at Los Angeles, the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and other institutions[7][8].

Expert witness

She testified, with variable success, as an expert witness on mind control in numerous trials in the 1980s. She gave evidence at the 1976 trial of Patty Hearst, who had previously been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Singer interviewed more than 3,000 cult members, and assisted in over 200 court cases. She testified at the 1977 hearing for five young members of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church when their parents requested external help for them[9].

An article by J. Gordon Melton examines her court testimonies, noting ways these build on and differ from her professional publications and expands from general assertions of social influence within "cults" to a more robust "Singer hypothesis" which leads directly to a "robot theory" of brainwashing, expanded in the 1978 book Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change. [10]

At one point, Dr. Singer interviewed Charles Manson[11]. Singer played a role in the trial of Kenneth Bianchi, in the "Hillside Strangler" case. Singer concluded that Bianchi had faked symptoms of multiple personality disorder, in order to escape responsibility for the murders of several women in Los Angeles[11]. Later, she guested on PBS Frontline, speaking about the trial, in a special show entitled: "The Mind of a Murderer." Singer asserted that Bianchi was a psychopath, and stated: "He may simply be evil."[11]

Her expert testimony was not accepted in four cases after the report of the APA taskforce on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control, of which she was chair, was rejected by the Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) of the American Psychological Association.

Professional associations

Margaret Singer was a leading researcher in the field of psychosomatic medicine, and was made President of the American Psychosomatic Society in 1974. She was the first female and first psychologist president of the Society[12]

She also served as a board member of the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute Review Board and the American Family Foundation[13].

Dr. Singer served on President Gerald Ford’s Biomedical Research Panel.[7]

Singer was very active in the fields of communication and family therapy and for eight years; a member of the Board of Directors of Family Process.

She was also co-creator of FACTNet[14] and served on their advisory board[15].

In 2001, Dr. Singer appeared on a panel on pseudoscientific therapies organized by Scott O. Lilienfeld of Emory University. The panel discussion was held in San Francisco, California, at the 2001 Conference of the American Psychological Association[11].

Honors and awards

  • She was reported to have been nominated twice for a Nobel Prize, for her work in schizophrenia.[16]
  • Leo J. Ryan Memorial Award[17], for research on cults, from Citizens Freedom Foundation[7]
  • Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health[18]
  • Hofheimer Prize, American College of Psychiatrists, 1966[19]
  • Stanley R. Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists, Research in Schizophrenia, 1976[20]
  • Achievement Awards - Mental Health Association of the United States[21][22]
  • McAlpine Award for Achievement in Research from the Mental Health Association of the United States[7]
  • American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Award for Cumulative Contributions to Research in Family Therapy[7]
"Margaret Singer Award"

In 2004, the International Cultic Studies Association created the "Margaret Singer Award" in her honor. Philip Elberg, Esq. received the award in 2004 for "his work in advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence"[23]. Arnold Markowitz, M.S.W. received the award in 2006, for "26 Years of Helping Families and Ex-members"[24].

DIMPAC task force

In the early 1980s, some U.S. mental health professionals became well-known figures due to their involvement as expert witnesses in court cases against groups they considered to be cults. In their testimony they presented theories of brainwashing, mind control, or coercive persuasion to support the legal positions of former group members against their former groups.

The American Psychological Association (APA) in 1983 asked Singer, who was one of the leading proponents of coercive persuasion theories, to chair a taskforce to investigate whether brainwashing or "coercive persuasion" did indeed play a role in recruitment by such groups. The task force was titled APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC).

The final report of the Task Force was completed in November of 1986. The APA Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) rejected the report, stating that it lacked scientific rigor and an evenhanded approach, but also stating that it did not have sufficient information to take a position. There is dispute about whether the rejection of the report constituted a rejection of Singer's theories by the APA.

Singer and her professional associate, sociologist Richard Ofshe, subsequently sued the APA, and a group of scholars and lawyers [25] in 1992 for "defamation, frauds, aiding and abetting and conspiracy"[26] and lost in 1994. [27] In a further ruling, James R. Lamden ordered Ofshe and Singer to pay $80,000 in attorneys' fees under California's SLAPP suit law. At that time, Singer and Ofshe declared their intention to sue Michael Flomenhaft, the lawyer that represented them in the case, for malpractice.[28]

Singer was subsequently not accepted by judges as an expert witness in four cases alleging brainwashing and mind control.[29][30][31][32]

After the report was rejected, Singer reworked much of the rejected material into the book Cults in Our Midst: The Hidden Menace in Our Everyday Lives, which she co-authored with Janja Lalich. [33]

Landmark Education legal dispute (1996)

In 1996, Landmark Education sued Singer, for defamation. Singer mentioned Landmark Education in Cults in our Midst; it was unclear whether she labeled Landmark Education as a cult or not. Singer issued a statement pursuant to a settlement agreement stating that she did not intend to call Landmark a cult, nor did she consider it a cult. [34] Singer removed the references to Landmark Education from subsequent editions of the book. She also stated at deposition that she had "no personal, firsthand knowledge of Landmark or its programs."

Amanda Scioscia reported in the Phoenix New Times that Singer never called Landmark a cult, but that she described it as a "a controversial New Age training course." She also stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark[35]

Harassment and death threat complaints

An article in The New York Times described harassment and death threats against Singer, and that this was due to her "battles" involving cults and brainwashing. A biography of Singer published by Thomson Gale states that her "enemies among cults" were responsible for harassing her[36].

According to an obituary in The New York Times, she occasionally found dead animals on her doorstep [37]. Another obituary that appeared in in the The Los Angeles Times, claims that cult "operatives" went through Singer's trash and mail, picketed her lectures, hacked into her computer and released live rats in her house.[38] Statements made by her family to the San Francisco Chronicle, include allegations that one "cultist" worked her way into Singer's office, stole students' term papers and sent notes to Singer's students, and that groups harassed her family as well.[39].

A Time Magazine article described Singer as an outspoken Scientology critic who traveled under an assumed name to avoid harassment. [40].

Death

Margaret Singer died of pneumonia on November 23, 2003 in Berkeley, California, at the Alta Bates Medical Center. She was 82. Dr. Singer was survived by her husband, two children, and five grandchildren[1].

Publications

Books

Author
Contributor
  • Recovery from Cults, Contributor: Preface, as Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph. D., 1995, ISBN 0-393-31321-2
  • Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology, Contributor: "New Age Therapies," as Margaret Thaler Singer and Abraham Nievod, pgs. 176-205. 2004, ISBN 1593850700 , ISBN 978-1593850708
  • The Anatomy of Suicide: Silence of the Heart, by Louis Everstine, With a Foreword by Margaret Thaler Singer, PhD, 1998, ISBN 0398068038 ISBN 978-0398068035
  • Personality Measurements in the Aged, In Birren et at., ed. 1963

Articles

Presentations

Conferences
  • Featured Speaker, 2000: Cults and the New Millennium, "Getting Help Program"
  • Presenter, Biographies of all Psychological Manipulation: The Abuse of Women Conference, "Keynote Address- Psychological Manipulation: How it Works and Why Women are Vulnerable," 1997
Media
  • "Cults: Saying No Under Pressure", American Family Foundation, InService Videotape Network of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Instructivision Inc., Narrated by Charlton Heston
  • "After the Cult: Recovering Together", American Family Foundation
  • ["Mind Manipulation, Cults and Domestic Violence"], Cults, Psychological Manipulation: The Abuse of Women, 1997, Dr. Margaret Singer, Dr. Janja Lalich, Evelyn Ortner


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Margaret Thaler Singer. (Obituary)(Biography), The Lancet, 31-JAN-04, Ivan Oransky.
    Singer played cello in the Denver Civic Symphony as she earned her bachelor's degree in speech, master's degree in speech pathology, and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Denver, graduating in 1943.
  2. ↑ "Brainwashing Expert Dies of Pneumonia," Los Angeles Times, Dennis McLellan
  3. ↑ Psych Sleuth, Margaret Singer has made history delving into the psychology of brainwashing, San Francisco Chronicle, May 26, 2002, Kevin Fagan
  4. ↑ Margaret Singer, 82; Expert on Brainwashing, Cults Testified at 1976 Trial of Patricia Hearst, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2003, Dennis McLellan
  5. ↑ Margaret Singer, 82; Expert on Brainwashing, Cults Testified at 1976 Trial of Patricia Hearst, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2003, Dennis McLellan
  6. ↑ "Brainwashing Expert Dies of Pneumonia," Los Angeles Times, Dennis McLellan.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 The Barden Letter, RE: Truth and Responsibility in Mental Health Practices Act, R. Christopher Barden, Ph. D., J.D., LP, to The Honorable Henry Hyde, Chairman, Judiciary Committee, United States House of Representatives, January 5, 1995
  8. ↑ The New York Times, December 7, 2003, Anahad O'Connor
  9. ↑ Margaret Singer—expert on brainwashing, San Francisco Chronicle, November 25, 2003.
  10. ↑ Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory by J. Gordon Melton on CESNUR web page. Accessed April 1, 2001.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 In Memoriam: Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer, The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, Spring/Summer 2004 Volume 3., Number 1., by Scott O. Lilienfield, Emory University
  12. ↑ "Presidential Address Singer, 'Psychosomatic Medicine', Vol. 36, No. 1
  13. ↑ Margaret Singer—expert on brainwashing, San Francisco Chronicle, November 25, 2003
  14. ↑ FACTNet.org
  15. ↑ Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D., Descriptive page, FACTnet.
  16. ↑ Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2005. Entry updated: October 18, 2005.
    AWARDS Hofheimer Prize for Research, 1966, and Stanley R. Dean Award for Research, 1976, both from American College of Psychiatrists; two- time nominee, Nobel Prize; received awards from American Psychiatric Association, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Association, and Mental Health Association of the United States.
  17. ↑ Bio, 1999 Conference: Cults, Psychological Manipulation & Society, Minneapolis, MN, May 14-19, 1999
  18. ↑ Bio, 1999 Conference: Cults, Psychological Manipulation & Society, Minneapolis, MN, May 14-19, 1999
  19. ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday November 25, 2003
  20. ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday November 25, 2003
  21. ↑ Margaret Singer—expert on brainwashing, San Francisco Chronicle, November 25, 2003
  22. ↑ "Brainwashing Expert Dies of Pneumonia," Los Angeles Times, Dennis McLellan.
  23. ↑ Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, July 14-16, 2005.
  24. ↑ Margaret Singer Award – 26 Years of Helping Families and Ex-members: Lessons from the JBFCS Cult Hot-Line and Clinic, Arnold Markowitz, M.S.W., 2006 Conference, Denver, Colorado. International Cultic Studies Association.
  25. ↑ Experts on Cultism Sue Academic Associations. The Cult Observer, Vol. 9 No. 8,1992
  26. ↑ Dr. Margaret Singer and Dr. Richard Ofshe Sue Associations, The Cult Observer, Vol. 9 No. 8, 1992
  27. ↑ Case No. 730012-8, Margaret Singer, et al., Plaintiff v. American Psychological Association, et. Al., Defendants
    "This case, which involves claims of defamation, frauds, aiding and abetting and conspiracy, clearly constitutes a dispute over the application of the First Amendment to a public debate over matters both academic and professional. The disputant may fairly be described as the opposing camps in a longstanding debate over certain theories in the field of psychology. The speech of which the plaintiff's complain, which occurred in the context of prior litigation and allegedly involved the "fraudulent" addition of the names of certain defendants to documents filed in said prior litigation, would clearly have been protected as comment on a public issue whether or not the statements were made in the contest of legal briefs. The court need not consider whether the privilege of Civil Code 47 (b) extends to an alleged interloper in a legal proceeding. Plaintiffs have not presented sufficient evidence to establish any reasonable probability of success on any cause of action. In particular Plaintiffs cannot establish deceit with reference to representations made to other parties in the underlying lawsuit. Thus Defendants' Special Motions to Strike each of the causes at action asserted against them, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 425.16 is granted."
  28. ↑ Allen. Charlotte, Brainwashed! Scholars of Cults Accuse Each Other of Bad Faith, December 1998. Available online
  29. ↑ District of Columbia Court of Appeal, case 853 F.2d 948, Kropinski v. World Plan Executive Council.
    "Kropinski failed to provide any evidence that Dr. Singer’s particular theory, namely that techniques of thought reform may be effective in the absence of physical threats or coercion, has a significant following in the scientific community, let alone general acceptance.
  30. ↑ Robin George v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California, District Court of California Appeals, August 1989, case cited in Lewis, James R. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements, pp.194, ISBN 0-19-514986-6
  31. ↑ Boyle,Robin A., Women, the Law, and Cults: Three Avenues of Legal Recourse—New Rape Laws, Violence Against Women Act, and Antistalking Laws, Cultic Studies Journal, 15, 1-32. (1999) in reference to United States v. Fishman, United States District Court of California, CR–88-0616; DLG CR 90 0357 DLG
  32. ↑ Jane Green and Patrick Ryan v. Maharishi Yogi, US District Court, Washington, DC, 13 March 1991, Case #87-0015 OG
  33. ↑ Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., Chula Vista, California, Library Journal, 1995, Reed Business Information, Inc.
    In 1992, Singer (emeritus adjunct, psychology, Univ. of California at Berkeley) unsuccessfully sued the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association, alleging conspiracy to discredit her research and destroy her reputation. That suit and this book hinge on whether Singer's theory of "coercive persuasion" (i.e., nonphysical coercion) is demonstrably valid. Fully a third of this book is a replay of Singer's previous studies and arguments, with the remainder applying her questioned paradigm to cult-associated tragedies.
  34. ↑ Dr. Margaret Singer, statement, Landmark Education, website, files
  35. ↑ Amanda Scioscia, 2000, Phoenix New Times, Drive-thru Deliverance Singer said she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She said this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them—never have," she said. Singer, who was in her 70s at the time, said she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book."Singer said, however, that she would not recommend the group to anyone.
  36. ↑ Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2005. Entry updated: 10/18/2005.
    Singer's work earned her numerous enemies among cults, whose members were known to leave dead rats on her doorstep, threatening letters in her mailbox, and hack into her computer. Undeterred, Singer continued her work right up to the time of her death, her most recent projects involving con artists and the frauds they perpetrate on senior citizens such as herself.
  37. ↑ The New York Times, December 7, 2003, Anahad O'Connor
    Dr. Singer's battles made her a target for harassment and death threats. At times, she found dead animals on her doorstep.
  38. ↑ Margaret Singer, 82; Expert on Brainwashing, Cults Testified at 1976 Trial of Patricia Hearst, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2003, Dennis McLellan
    But not everyone agreed with her views on the subject, and Singer paid a price for her work. Cult "operatives" dug through her trash, went through her mail, picketed her lectures and sent her death threats. They also hacked into her computer countless times, once released dozens of live rats in her house, and frequently left dead rats on her doorstep with threatening notes.
  39. ↑ Margaret Singer has made history delving into the psychology of brainwashing, San Francisco Chronicle, May 26, 2002.
    Once a cultist talked her way into working in Singer's campus office, then stole a sheaf of term papers and sent bizarre notes to the students. "One of those groups went through my mom's mail and knew everything about us - my girlfriend's name, where we went, what we bought, all kinds of stuff," says her son Sam Singer, a publicist in San Francisco. "We all put up with a lot, but nobody more than her.
  40. ↑ The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power, Time Magazine, Richard Behar, 1991.
    Psychologist Margaret Singer, 69, an outspoken Scientology critic and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, now travels regularly under an assumed name to avoid harassment


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