 Brainwashing : The Science of Thought Control is a non @-@ fiction book analyzing brainwashing , thought reform and mind control , by neuroscientist and physiologist Kathleen Taylor . It was first published in hardcover on December 16 , 2004 by Oxford University Press . Taylor reviews the history of the term brainwashing , from its usage in 1950 by journalist Edward Hunter to its application to cults , marketing , influence , thought reform , torture and reeducation . She references the book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton and cites his research on indoctrination techniques experienced by prisoners of war during the Korean War . 
