Editing Margaret Singer

{{Short description|American psychologist and researcher (1921–2003)}}
{{For|the birth control activist |Margaret Sanger}}
{{distinguish|Margaret (singer)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Margaret Singer
| image             = Margaret_Singer_Photograph.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1921|07|29}}
| birth_place       = [[Denver, Colorado]], US
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|2003|11|23|1921|07|29|mf=y}}
| death_place       = [[Berkeley, California]], US
| field             = [[Clinical psychology]]
| workplaces        = {{ubl|[[University of Colorado]]|[[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]]}}
| alma_mater        = [[University of Denver]], BA, MS<br />[[University of Denver]], PhD
| doctoral_students = [[Jesse S. Miller]]
| known_for         = ''[[Cults in Our Midst]]'', ''[[Crazy Therapies]]''
| spouse            = Jerome R. Singer<ref>{{cite web |url=https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jsinger/biography.html |title=Biography |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2007-01-03 |website=berkeley.edu |publisher=University of California |access-date=2019-06-12 |archive-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718041956/http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jsinger/biography.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| children          = 2
}}

'''Margaret Thaler Singer''' (July 29, 1921 – November 23, 2003) was an American [[clinical psychologist]] and researcher with her colleague [[Lyman Wynne]] on family communication.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isps.org/index.php/isps-membership/isps-honorary-members/item/56-lyman-wynne|title=Lyman Wynne|work=isps.org|access-date=October 12, 2015|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305060732/http://www.isps.org/index.php/isps-membership/isps-honorary-members/item/56-lyman-wynne|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was a prominent figure in the study of undue influence in social and religious contexts, and a proponent of the [[brainwashing]] theory of [[Cult|cults]].

Singer's main areas of research included [[schizophrenia]], [[family therapy]], brainwashing and [[coercive persuasion]]. In the 1960s, she began to study the nature of social and religious group influence and [[brainwashing]], and sat as a board member of the [[American Family Foundation]] and as an advisory board member of the [[Cult Awareness Network]]. She was the co-author of the book ''[[Cults in Our Midst]]''.

== Education ==
Singer was born in [[Denver, Colorado]], to Margaret McDonough Thaler and Raymond Willard Thaler.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singer|first=Margaret Thaler|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31170479|title=Cults in our midst|others=Lalich, Janja,, Lifton, Robert Jay, 1926-|year=1994|isbn=0-7879-0051-6|edition=First|location=San Francisco|pages=XIV|oclc=31170479}}</ref> Her mother was a secretary to a federal judge and her father was chief operating engineer at the [[United States Mint#Denver|US Mint]].<ref name="McLellan2003" /> While attending the [[University of Denver]], she played [[cello]] in the Denver Civic Symphony.<ref name="McLellan2003" /> She received her [[Bachelor of Arts]] in speech and a [[Master of Science]] in [[Speech–language pathology|speech pathology]] and [[special education]] from the [[University of Denver]].<ref name="McLellan2003" /> Singer received her [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (PhD) degree in [[clinical psychology]] from the [[University of Denver]] in 1943.<ref name="Lancet">{{cite journal|last1=Oransky|first1=Ivan|title=Margaret Thaler Singer Obituary|journal=The Lancet|date=January 2004|volume=363|issue=9406|page=403|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15460-3|pmid=15124608|s2cid=40822752|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Career ==
After obtaining her PhD in clinical psychology, Singer worked at the [[University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center|University of Colorado]]'s [[Medical School|School of Medicine]]'s department of psychiatry for eight years.<ref name="Lancet" /> In 1953, she started working at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]], where she specialized in studying the returned [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] who had been [[Brainwashing|brainwashed]] by their captors into denouncing the [[United States]] and supporting [[North Korea]] and [[China]].<ref name="McLellan2003" />

In the scientific community, Singer was best known and respected for her studies in [[schizophrenia]] and [[family therapy]].<ref name="arti_Marg">{{Cite web
| title = Margaret Singer, Expert On Cults, Brainwashing
| work = Sun Sentinel
| date = 29 November 2003
| access-date = 2015-02-20
| url = http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-11-29/news/0311280481_1_group-s-revolutionary-ideology-cults-and-brainwashing-margaret-thaler-singer
| archive-date = February 20, 2015
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150220231834/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-11-29/news/0311280481_1_group-s-revolutionary-ideology-cults-and-brainwashing-margaret-thaler-singer
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> She conducted research with the [[National Institute of Mental Health]], the [[United States Air Force]], and the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name="McLellan2003" />  Singer was a guest lecturer of [[psychology]] at [[University of California, Berkeley]], from 1964 to 1991, and she served as a faculty member and lecturer at other [[University of California]] campuses as well as the [[Albert Einstein College of Medicine]], the [[University of Rochester]], and other institutions.<ref name="leading" />

Singer's work on family communication won her a place as one of the pioneers in the developing field of family therapy.<ref>Nichols, M., & Schwartz, R. (2005). Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods (7th Ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.</ref> As noted in one [[obituary]], her collaboration with [[Lyman Wynne]] was particularly important. 

Singer began to study [[brainwashing]] in the 1950s at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center|Walter Reed]] in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, DC]], where she interviewed United States soldiers who had been taken prisoner during the [[Korean War]].<ref name="McLellan2003">{{Cite web
| title = Margaret Singer, 82; Expert on Brainwashing, Cults Testified at 1976 Trial of Patricia Hearst
| author = McLellan, Dennis
| work = Los Angeles Times Articles
| date = 28 November 2003
| access-date = 2015-02-20
| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-28-me-singer28-story.html
}}</ref><ref name="sfga_PSYC">{{Cite web
| title = PSYCH SLEUTH / Margaret Singer has made history delving into the psychology of brainwashing
| author = Fagan, Kevin
| work = SFGate
| date = 26 May 2002
| access-date = 2015-02-20
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PSYCH-SLEUTH-Margaret-Singer-has-made-history-3306807.php
}}</ref> Beginning in the late 1960s, she expanded her studies in the field of [[cult]]s and published a number of articles on [[Brainwashing|mind control]] ("psychological coercion") and similar areas. She developed theories about how cults recruit and retain members (such as her Theory of Systematic Manipulation of Social and Psychological Influence) and was on the board of many of the major [[Anti-cult movement|anti-cult]] groups and organizations in the United States. At one point, Singer interviewed [[Charles Manson]].<ref name="Lilienfield">{{cite journal|last1=Lilienfeld|first1=Scott O.|title=In Memoriam: Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer|journal=The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice|date=23 November 2003|volume=3|issue=1}}</ref>

By the 1970s, Singer was a leading researcher in the field of [[psychosomatic medicine]], and became the first female and first psychologist President of the American Psychosomatic Society in 1974.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret Thaler|title=Presidential Address|journal=Psychosomatic Medicine|date=February 1974|volume=36|issue=1|pages=1–17|doi=10.1097/00006842-197401000-00001|pmid=4810834}}</ref> She also served as a member of the [[Kaiser Permanente|Kaiser Foundation Research Institute]] review board and the [[American Family Foundation]] board.<ref name="sfgate.com">{{Cite web
| title = Margaret Singer -- expert on brainwashing
| author = Rubenstein, Steve
| work = SFGate
| date = 25 November 2003
| access-date = 2015-02-20
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Margaret-Singer-expert-on-brainwashing-2547767.php
}}</ref>

Singer testified as a brainwashing [[Expert witness|expert]] at the trial of [[Patty Hearst]], presenting her conclusions that Hearst had been brainwashed, but outside the [[jury]]'s presence.<ref name="McLellan2003" /> Singer described Hearst as "a low-[[Intelligence quotient|IQ]], low-affect [[zombie]]" and testified that by using speech patterns, she determined that Hearst was reading statements prepared by her captors.<ref name="McLellan2003" /> [[Prosecutor|Prosecutors]] argued that Singer's testimony should not be presented to the jury because brainwashing had never before been accepted as a field of expertise upon which expert testimony could be presented.<ref name="McLellan2003" /> The judge decided in favor of the prosecution, and Hearst was convicted.<ref name="McLellan2003" /> Singer's testimony was widely reported, which increased her reputation as a brainwashing expert.<ref name="McLellan2003" />

Singer played a role in the "[[Hillside Strangler]]" trial of [[Kenneth Bianchi]]. Singer concluded that Bianchi had faked symptoms of [[multiple personality disorder]], in order to escape responsibility for the murders of several women in [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="Lilienfield" /> Later, she spoke about the trial on ''[[PBS Frontline]]'' in a special show entitled: "The Mind of a Murderer." Singer asserted that Bianchi was a [[psychopath]], and stated: "He may simply be evil."<ref name="Lilienfield" />

Her expert testimony was no longer accepted after the report of the [[APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control]], of which she was chair, was rejected by the Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) of the [[American Psychological Association]].<ref>J. Gordon Melton, "Anti-cultists in the United States: An historical perspective," in ''New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response'', edited b Bryan R. Wilson and Jamie Cresswell, 213–33. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. p. 227.</ref> Melton has written that afterward, courts began to shift toward accepting the position held by the great majority of scholars studying [[new religious movement]]s, moving away from the minority perspective of Singer and others sympathetic to her brainwashing claims.<ref name="Gallagher">{{cite book|editor1-last=Gallagher|editor1-first=Eugene V.|editor2-last=Ashcraft|editor2-first=William Michael|title=Introduction to new and alternative religions in America|date=30 October 2006|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn.|isbn=978-0275987121|page=137}}</ref> According to Melton, this had significant consequences later on, since it meant that brainwashing could no longer be used as a defense for the practice of [[deprogramming]].<ref name="Gallagher" />

== DIMPAC task force controversy and aftermath ==
{{Main|APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control}}

In the early 1980s, some American mental health professionals became well-known figures due to their involvement as [[Expert witness|expert witnesses]] in court cases against groups they considered to be [[Cult|cults]]. In their testimonies they presented theories of [[brainwashing]], mind control, or [[coercive persuasion]] to support the legal positions of former group members against their former groups.

The [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) in 1983 asked Singer, who was one of the leading proponents of coercive persuasion theories, to chair a taskforce to investigate whether brainwashing or "coercive persuasion" did indeed play a role in recruitment by such groups. The task force was called the [[APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control]] (DIMPAC). The task force completed its final report in November 1986. In May 1987 the APA Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) rejected the DIMPAC final report, stating that the report "lack[ed] the scientific rigor and evenhanded critical approach necessary for APA [[imprimatur]]," and also stating that the BSERP did "not believe that we have sufficient information available to guide us in taking a position on this issue."<ref>{{Cite web |title=CESNUR - APA Memo of 1987 with Enclosures |url=https://www.cesnur.org/testi/APA.htm |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=www.cesnur.org}}</ref>

Singer and her associate, sociologist [[Richard Ofshe]], subsequently sued the APA, and a group of scholars and lawyers, in 1992 for "[[defamation]], [[Fraud|frauds]], aiding and abetting and [[conspiracy]],"<ref>''Dr. Margaret Singer and Dr. Richard Ofshe Sue Associations'', The Cult Observer, Vol. 9 No. 8, 1992</ref> and lost in 1994.<ref>Case No. 730012-8, Margaret Singer, et al., Plaintiff v. American Psychological Association, et. Al., Defendants <br />"This case, which involves claims of defamation, frauds, aiding and abetting and conspiracy, clearly constitutes a dispute over the application of the First Amendment to a public debate over matters both academic and professional."</ref> In a further ruling, James R. Lambden ordered Ofshe and Singer to pay 80,000 [[United States dollar|USD]] in attorneys' fees under [[California]]'s [[SLAPP]]-suit law. At that time, Singer and Ofshe declared their intention to sue Michael Flomenhaft, the lawyer that represented them in the case, for [[Legal malpractice|malpractice]].<ref>Allen. Charlotte, ''Brainwashed! Scholars of Cults Accuse Each Other of Bad Faith'', December 1998. [http://linguafranca.mirror.theinfo.org/9812/allen.html Available online]</ref>

Singer was subsequently not accepted by judges as an expert witness in four cases alleging brainwashing and mind control.<ref>District of Columbia Court of Appeal, case 853 F.2d 948, Kropinski v. World Plan Executive Council.<br />"Kropinski failed to provide any evidence that  Singer’s particular theory, namely that techniques of thought reform may be effective in the absence of physical threats or coercion, has a significant following in the scientific community, let alone general acceptance.</ref><ref>''Robin George v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California'', District Court of California Appeals, August 1989, case cited in Lewis, James R. ''The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements'', pp.194, {{ISBN|0-19-514986-6}}</ref><ref>Boyle, Robin A., ''Women, the Law, and Cults: Three Avenues of Legal Recourse—New Rape Laws, Violence Against Women Act, and Antistalking Laws'', Cultic Studies Journal, 15, 1–32.  (1999) in reference to ''United States v. Fishman'', United States District Court of California, CR–88-0616; DLG CR 90 0357 DLG</ref><ref>''Jane Green and Patrick Ryan v. Maharishi Yogi'', US District Court, Washington, DC, March 13, 1991, Case #87-0015 OG</ref> After the report was rejected, Singer reworked much of the rejected material into the book ''[[Cults in Our Midst (book)|Cults in Our Midst: The Hidden Menace in Our Everyday Lives]]'', which she co-authored with [[Janja Lalich]].<ref>Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., [[Chula Vista, California]], [[Library Journal]], 1995, [[Reed Business Information]], Inc. <br />In 1992, Singer (emeritus adjunct, psychology, Univ. of California at Berkeley) unsuccessfully sued the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association, alleging conspiracy to discredit her research and destroy her reputation.</ref>

==Landmark Education legal dispute (1996)==
In 1996, [[Landmark Education]] sued Singer for [[defamation]].{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} Singer mentioned Landmark Education in ''[[Cults in Our Midst|Cults in our Midst]]''; it was unclear whether she labeled Landmark Education as a [[cult]] or not. Singer issued a statement stating that she did not intend to call Landmark a cult, nor did she consider it a cult.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret|title=STATEMENT BY MARGARET SINGER|access-date=31 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703170118/http://www.landmarkeducation.com/uploaded_files/694/msing.pdf|archive-date=July 3, 2008 |url=http://www.landmarkeducation.com/uploaded_files/694/msing.pdf}}</ref>

Amanda Scioscia reported in the ''[[Phoenix New Times]]'' that Singer never called Landmark a cult, but that she described it as a "controversial [[New Age|new age]] training course". She also stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used [[coercive persuasion]] for fear of legal [[recrimination]] from Landmark.<ref name=PNT_2000-10-19>{{cite news|last1=Scioscia|first1=Amanda|title=Drive-thru Deliverance|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2000-10-19/news/feature_print.html|publisher=Phoenix Times|date=19 October 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016160332/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2000-10-19/news/feature_print.html|archive-date=October 16, 2006 }}</ref>

== Harassment and death threat complaints ==
Singer faced [[harassment]], including [[Death threat|death threats]] and dead animals placed on her doorstep, from groups that disagreed with her views on [[Cult|cults]].<ref name="McLellan2003"/><ref name="leading"/> According to [[Richard Behar]]'s article in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, Singer was an outspoken critic of [[Scientology]] and was known to travel under an assumed name to avoid harassment.<ref name="Behar1991">{{cite magazine|last1=Behar |first1=Richard |title=Scientology: 'Religion' a Thriving Cult of Greed, Power |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-9,00.html |access-date=20 February 2015 |magazine=Time |date=6 May 1991 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225132542/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C972865-9%2C00.html |archive-date=February 25, 2007 }}</ref>

Her criticism of cults and their [[brainwashing]] tactics resulted in harassment of Singer's family and students as well, including breaking into Singer's office, stealing students' term papers and sending notes to Singer's students.<ref name="sfga_PSYC"/> According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', other examples included cult operatives going through Singer's trash and mail, picketing her lectures, hacking into her computer, and releasing live [[rat]]s in her house.<ref name="McLellan2003"/><ref name="Behar1991"/>

==Honors and awards==
*Hofheimer Prize, [[American College of Psychiatrists]], 1966<ref name="McLellan2003" />
*Stanley R. Dean Award, [[American College of Psychiatrists]], Research in Schizophrenia, 1976<ref name="McLellan2003" />
*Achievement Awards, Mental Health Association of the United States<ref name="sfgate.com"/>

== Personal life ==
Singer was married to Jerome&nbsp;R. Singer, a physicist and professor at [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref name="McLellan2003" /> The couple had two children.<ref name="McLellan2003" />

===Death===
Margaret Singer died of [[pneumonia]] on November 23, 2003, in [[Berkeley, California]], at the [[Alta Bates Medical Center]] at the age of 82. Singer was survived by her husband, two children, and five grandchildren.<ref name="Lancet" /><ref name="leading">{{Cite web
| title = Margaret Singer, a Leading Brainwashing Expert, Dies at 82
| author = O'Connor, Anahad
| work = [[The New York Times]]
| date = 7 December 2003
| access-date = 2015-02-20
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/us/margaret-singer-a-leading-brainwashing-expert-dies-at-82.html
}}</ref>

==Books==
*{{cite book|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret Thaler|last2=Lalich|first2=Janja|title="Crazy" Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work?|date=27 September 1996|publisher=Jossey-Bass|location=San Francisco, Calif.|isbn=978-0-7879-0278-0|title-link=Crazy Therapies}}
*{{cite book|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret Thaler|last2=Lalich|first2=Janja|title=Cults in Our Midst|date=1 March 1995|publisher=Jossey-Bass|location=San Francisco, Calif.|isbn=978-0-7879-0051-9|title-link=Cults in Our Midst}}
*{{cite book|last1=Singer|first1=Margaret Thaler|last2=Nievod|first2=Abraham|editor1-last=Lilienfeld|editor1-first=Scott O.|editor2-last=Lynn|editor2-first=Steven Jay|editor3-last=Lohr|editor3-first=Jeffrey M.|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology|date=2003|publisher=Guilford Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59385-070-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sciencepseudosci0000unse/page/176 176–204]|edition=Pbk.|url=https://archive.org/details/sciencepseudosci0000unse/page/176}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{wikisource|Category:Margaret Singer|Margaret Singer}}
{{wikiquote}}

{{Opposition to NRMs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Margaret}}
[[Category:20th-century American psychologists]]
[[Category:American women psychologists]]
[[Category:Mind control theorists]]
[[Category:Researchers of new religious movements and cults]]
[[Category:Anti-cult movement]]
[[Category:Critics of the Unification Church]]
[[Category:Critics of Scientology]]
[[Category:University of Denver alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]]
[[Category:People from Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:American clinical psychologists]]