24 Facts About Margaret Singer

Margaret Thaler Singer was an American clinical psychologist and researcher with her colleague Lyman Wynne on family communication.

Margaret Singer was a prominent figure in the study of undue influence in social and religious contexts, and a proponent of the brainwashing theory of cults.

Margaret Singer was the co-author of the book Cults in Our Midst.

Margaret Singer's mother was a secretary to a federal judge and her father was chief operating engineer at the US Mint.

Margaret Singer received her Bachelor of Arts in speech and a Master of Science in speech pathology and special education from the University of Denver.

Margaret Singer received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology from the University of Denver in 1943.

Margaret Singer conducted research with the National Institute of Mental Health, the United States Air Force, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Margaret 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.

Margaret Singer began to study brainwashing in the 1950s at Walter Reed in Washington, DC, where she interviewed United States soldiers who had been taken prisoner during the Korean War.

Margaret Singer developed theories about how cults recruit and retain members and was on the board of many of the major anti-cult groups and organizations in the United States.

Margaret Singer served as a member of the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute review board and the American Family Foundation board.

Margaret Singer testified as a brainwashing expert at the trial of Patty Hearst, presenting her conclusions that Hearst had been brainwashed, but outside the jury's presence.

Margaret Singer described Hearst as "a low-IQ, low-affect zombie" and testified that by using speech patterns, she determined that Hearst was reading statements prepared by her captors.

Margaret Singer's testimony was widely reported, which increased her reputation as a brainwashing expert.

Margaret Singer played a role in the "Hillside Strangler" trial of Kenneth Bianchi.

Margaret 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.

The American Psychological Association in 1983 asked Margaret 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.

Margaret Singer was not accepted by judges as an expert witness in four cases alleging brainwashing and mind control.

Margaret Singer mentioned Landmark Education in Cults in our Midst; it was unclear whether she labeled Landmark Education as a cult or not.

Margaret Singer issued a statement stating that she did not intend to call Landmark a cult, nor did she consider it a cult.

Amanda Scioscia reported in the Phoenix New Times that Margaret Singer never called Landmark a cult, but that she described it as a "controversial new age training course".

Margaret Singer 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.

Margaret Singer died of pneumonia on November 23,2003, in Berkeley, California, at the Alta Bates Medical Center at the age of 82.

Margaret Singer was survived by her husband, two children, and five grandchildren.