deprogramming

n. the process by which people who have adopted profoundly new sets of attitudes, beliefs, and values have their original attitudes, beliefs, and values restored. Deprogramming techniques are typically used on people who have left or been removed from highly coercive social groups, such as religious cults. See also brainwashing.

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Psychology term of the day

January 30th 2025

behavior mapping

a technique of studying the activities of individuals within a space by noting what happens where. The degree of variability of behavior, as well as its association with certain types of environmental features, is a useful starting point to build or test hypotheses about, for example, architectural design. See also architectural programming.