Gaslighting in Education: Manipulation Undermines Students’ Confidence

Quick Summary

• A team of psychologists has developed a new theoretical framework to explain gaslighting, a form of manipulative abuse that distorts victims’ perception and self-trust.
• The study highlights how gaslighters use surprising situations to exploit the natural learning process called Prediction Error Minimization (PEM).
• PEM occurs when individuals adjust their expectations after experiencing discrepancies between their predictions and reality. Gaslighters manipulate this process, teaching victims to doubt themselves repeatedly.
• According to co-author Willis klein, “gaslighters create teaching moments” where they frame victims’ doubts as irrationality, leading them to feel epistemically incompetent or unstable over time.
• the researchers emphasize that gaslighting can happen to anyone who places trust in the wrong person, not necessarily due to specific vulnerabilities on the victim’s part.
• This framework aims to deepen understanding of gaslighting mechanisms and possibly help victims regain confidence in their perceptions through future research.

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Indian Opinion Analysis
The introduction of this new theoretical model for understanding gaslighting holds valuable relevance globally but also within India’s unique social structure. Gaslighting is prevalent across personal relationships and hierarchical settings like workplaces and families in Indian society due to cultural norms often promoting obedience over individual assertion.

While no India-specific data was referenced in the study, its findings underscore how deeply psychological manipulation can disrupt one’s sense of reality-an issue compounded by systemic pressures such as gender roles or rigid family dynamics prevalent locally. Recognizing trust misuse as a global vulnerability irrespective of personal traits could pave the way for tailored interventions-whether legal frameworks or awareness campaigns-to better equip Indian citizens against such tactics.

This research contributes toward building scientific knowledge capable of addressing interpersonal abuse effectively-a necessity given escalating concerns about mental health across all socio-economic brackets in India.

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