APA Torture

Story about the APA interrrogation ethics debate.

Yes, the APA has a policy (or at least has been trying to come up with some coherent policy) on its members participation in interrogation of detainees in the "war on terror". Members do not "engage in, direct, support, facilitate or offer training in torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment".

That doesn't go far enough. Psychologists need to stay out of this kind of activity. They are licensed to help people, not to train the military in interrogation and psychological manipulation. Sure, they can say "well, we don't do it in a degrading way", but well... yeah you do. Unless they've got some kind of cookies and comfy pillows method of which I'm unaware, they're not showing anyone how to extract information in a kind and compassionate manner (unless maybe it's in that kind and compassioante manner of those doctors at the end of A Clockwork Orange).

Easy to find you've slipped into the darkness and not even realize it until it's too late. Just ask Philip Zimbardo; he found out firsthand. People require very little formal training in torture and degradation. They can get quite effective at it virtually on their own. They can not even realize what they're doing to someone because "degradation", "humiliation", etc. can be so subjective and context-sensitive.

Really, you could systematically shred someone's psyche, if you understood them just enough, in such a way that to anyone else, it would just appear as if that person had a massive breakdown due to their own psychological weakness. That "weakness" could be love, loyalty, pride, courage, or any number of other really good or even just neutral motivations. If you can also manage to remove this person from any position where he or she can reliably affect any personal circumstances that are emotionally significant (and maybe make them feel as if they have to rely on YOU if they want to be able to exercise any reliable control over their circumstances), then you've pretty much got them. Not hard to se how a shrink can fall into this kind of pattern, since the people they are trying to help are often voluteering the kind of information it takes to do this kind of thing to someone. No, not everyone wants to use their powers for good.

Psychology is such a lost field in so many ways. I keep hoping it will manage to grow into some kind of respectability and integrity, but instead... bah! Do they even have any love or respect for us poor little monkeys anymore? They've got no business supporting this kind of activity.

Oh, I'm rambly and weird today.