New Research on “Gaslighting”

From “Understanding Gaslighting: The patterns and powers that can undermine someone’s sense of reality” by Paige L. Sweet, Scientific American, October 2022

Have you heard of the term “gaslighting”? It was coined from the 1938 play “Gas Light” by Patrick Hamilton, which also had two 1940s movie adaptations. In the story, a husband attempts to drive his wife insane by, among other things, dimming the gas lights in their house and claiming she is imagining it.

A recent article in the Scientific American outlines research into gaslighting undertaken by Paige L. Sweet (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan).

Sweet conducted 122 interviews over six months and identified patterns that make up gaslighting abuse. She found that gaslighting is all about inequalities of gender, sexuality, class, ability and race.

Based on Sweet’s sample she found four central relationships or contexts in which gaslighting appears:

1. Domestic violence
2. Intimate partners who are not otherwise abusive
3. Parents and other family members
4. And institutional gaslighting, primarily in the workplace.

These forms of gaslighting rely on different dynamics – for example, domestic violence situations often involve verbal abuse, whereas workplace gaslighting often concerns racial discrimination. However, they all involve power imbalances.

Sweet suggests that instead of asking “Why did this person do that, and what should the victim do in response?”, we should be asking “Who is establishing power and authority, and how?”

Sweet found that gaslighting is a harmful type of psychological abuse that preys on people’s social vulnerabilities. One of the clearest patterns to emerge from Sweet’s research is that the effects of gaslighting are worse for people who lack social networks and structural protections.

If you find yourself caught up in a gaslighting situation, reach out and get help. Your GP is a good first port of call. You can also access help through Beyond Blue and the Black Dog Institute and Lifeline: 13 11 14.

• Topics:

• Mental Health & Wellbeing