 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 <unk> by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton and cites his research on indoctrination techniques experienced by prisoners of war during the Korean War . 
