Gaslight Effect

"I know your abilities better."

“That's all you're going to do.”

Everyone has heard of such a story once. You just think of being affectionate who thinks of me, but manipulating the opponent for my own convenience is a different dimension. This is a linguistic violence that suppresses me. Such violence is in a form that is not well visible on the surface. It can be appeared in all the relationships such as couple, master's relationship, employer-employee relationship.

"Gaslight Effect" means a pathologically psychological phenomenon created by a perpetrator who intends to manipulate a partner consciously or unconsciously and a victim who accepts his or her point of view. This term was used by the US therapist Robin Stern. It was noticed in the movie "Gaslight" in 1944, starring Ingrid Bergman. In the movie, the heroin Paula is treated as a psychotic by the strategy of her husband, Gregory, who intentionally approaches her property. Gregory lights a gas lamp in the attic to find a gem that he thinks it is hidden in the house. Every time Paula experiences the darkening of the gas light in her room, she talks to her husband and calls for anxiety. However, Gregory continues to ignore her words and says that Paula is wrong. As this situation repeats, she eventually thinks she is crazy-that’s what her husband says.

As such, Gaslight effects can be seen as a sort of psychological violence in that they follow their control, stay under their influence, and interfere with their normal thinking process. At first, the victim, who feels strange and presents a question, gradually believes that he or she is thinking wrongly because his/her judgment becomes blurred. People who use this effect a lie or show a dignified attitude so that it is not uncommon for a victim to apologize or to question himself or herself. The perpetrator will decide how to think and act, while giving the excuse for the victims. Eventually the perpetrator implicitly enforces the victim to accept it.

However, it is difficult to see only effects that are performed by perpetrators. It is true that there are problems with both the perpetrator and the victim since this is a psychological interaction occur between the victim and the perpetrator. In other words, it should be seen as a result of the psychological dynamics between the perpetrator trying to satisfy his or her needs through the victim, the victim who concedes it to the perpetrator and gives him the authority to control him.

In order to prevent the effects from occurring, it is necessary to clearly grasp the mutual role in relation to the interaction between the two people. Next, the process of exploring deeply about their emotions and desires and acknowledging this should be carried out in parallel. Do not force what you want or ask for to change unconditionally. A mutual relationship will never be made forever.

Stern said she should do this if you do not fall into the trap of effects. First, you need to know exactly what is going on between you and the present. Second, you need to know who you are, what you feel and what you have. Third, keep in mind that if he or she loves me and you love yourself and I want to see my personality grow to the fullest. If, on the other hand, you want to change as he or she wants, you have to doubt that the effects may be working.

In summary, the gaslight effect seems to think of me, but it controls all my personality, thought, action and produces effect to ignore. The perpetrator can be anyone, such as a friend, family, lover, company person, and even me. Knowing such psychological effects, we need to be aware of these psychological effects and try hard to avoid any damage to others unconsciously.