Pride-and-ego down

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Pride-and-ego down refers to humiliation techniques used by captors in interrogating prisoners to encourage cooperation, usually consisting of "attacking the source's sense of personal worth" and in an "attempt to redeem his pride, the source will usually involuntarily provide pertinent information in attempting to vindicate himself." [1]

It has been used mostly in the context of United States military techniques which have been cited in the 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse.

1 The Two Types
2 Examples
3 Criticism
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] The Two Types

A person's pride, ego, or sense of self-worth is lowered by acts he commits, or by acts committed upon him.

[edit] Examples

Sexual Abuse

Mild-to-extreme sexual violation. For example, having a homosexual act forced on the subject -- either by the interrogator, other (willing or unwilling) subjects, or a third party brought in for that purpose.

A subject is put in a position where he is tempted into sexual acts which he would not have otherwise chosen. Sometimes this will be recorded, and later used to blackmail the subject.

Attractive members of the opposite sex are brought in to look at and ridicule the naked subject.

Conformity

As the subject conforms to the smallest of the interrogator's demands, those instances are used against him to convince him he's already lost his integrity, and therefore it doesn't matter whether he conforms "a little bit more." Incrementally each conformity sets the stage for the next, until the subject does give away all his integrity.

"Ratting"

The subject is induced to report on fellow subjects, who may otherwise have been friends, comrades, or even family members. Again, this is done incrementally, starting small with each successive instance being larger than the previous. Usually threats to expose his deceit are what induces further compliance. Eventually the subject loses his self-respect.

Similar to this is the subject being induced to participate in the interrogation and abuse of other subjects. The participation could range from merely encouraging another subject to comply, to actively physically abusing a subject, to conducting parts of an interrogation on his own while the actual interrogator watches. Eventually the line between "us" and "them" is blurred for the primary subject, and again he loses his self-respect.

Hygiene

A subject will be prevented from bathing and attending to other hygienic needs. This affects the subject's feelings about himself, as well as provides another opportunity for humiliation from others.
In extreme cases the subject is forced to suffer human waste or other highly objectionable material in his environment, on his body, or even to be ingested.

[edit] Criticism

Sometimes the guilt and other effects of this "ego-destruction" last for years, or even the rest of a person's life. Thus it can be out of proportion to the value of what is gained through the interrogation.

The subject is not the only person who suffers loss. The character of those who conduct such interrogations is also jeopardized.

Some of these tactics are considered human rights violations.