Sensitivity training
Encyclopedia
Sensitivity Training is a form of training that claims to make people more aware of their own prejudices, and more sensitive to others. According to its critics, it involves the use of psychological techniques with groups that its critics, e.g. G. Edward Griffin
, claim are often identical to brainwashing tactics. Critics believe these techniques are unethical.
According to his biographer, Alfred J Marrow, Kurt Lewin
laid the foundations for sensitivity training in a series of workshops he organised in 1946 to carry out a 'change' experiment, in response to a request from the Director of the Connecticut State Interracial Commission. This led to the founding of the National Training Laboratories
in Bethel
, Maine
in 1947. Kurt Lewin, who met Eric Trist
in 1933, influenced the work of the London Tavistock Clinic
, both in its work with soldiers during the second world war and in its later work with the Journal Human Relations jointly founded by a partnership of the Tavistock Institute
and Lewin's group at MIT.
The nature of modern Sensitivity Training appears to be in some dispute. Its modern critics portray its origins and function in negative terms. Others view the approach as benignly beneficial in many of its historical and contemporary implementations.
During World War II, Psychologists like Carl Rogers
in the USA and William Sargant
, John Rawlings Rees
, and Eric Trist
in Britain were used by the military to help soldiers deal with traumatic stress disorders (then known as Shell Shock). This work, which required service to large numbers of patients by a small number of therapists and necessarily emphasized rapidity and effectiveness helped spur the development of group therapy as a treatment technique. Rogers and others evolved their work into new forms including encounter groups designed for persons who were not diagnosably ill but who were recognized to suffer from widespread problems associated with isolation from others common in American society. Other leaders in the development of Encounter Groups, including Will Schutz, centered their work at the Esalen Institute
in Big Sur, California.
Meanwhile, Training Groups or T-Groups were being developed at the National Training Labs, now part of the National Education Association. Over time the techniques of T-Groups and Encounter Groups have merged and divided and splintered into specialized topics, seeking to promote sensitivity to others perceived as different and seemingly losing some of their original focus on self-exploration as a means to understanding and improving relations with others in a more general sense.
G. Edward Griffin
G. Edward Griffin is an American film producer, author, and political lecturer. He is perhaps best known as the author of The Creature from Jekyll Island , a critique of much modern economic theory and practice, specifically the Federal Reserve System.Starting as a child actor, he became a radio...
, claim are often identical to brainwashing tactics. Critics believe these techniques are unethical.
According to his biographer, Alfred J Marrow, Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology....
laid the foundations for sensitivity training in a series of workshops he organised in 1946 to carry out a 'change' experiment, in response to a request from the Director of the Connecticut State Interracial Commission. This led to the founding of the National Training Laboratories
National Training Laboratories
Kurt Lewin founded the National Training Laboratories, known as NTL, an American non-profit behavioral psychology center, in 1947. NTL became a major influence in modern corporate training programs, and in particular developed the T-Group methodology that remains in place today...
in Bethel
Bethel
Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in 1947. Kurt Lewin, who met Eric Trist
Eric Trist
Eric Trist was a British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development . He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London.-Biography:...
in 1933, influenced the work of the London Tavistock Clinic
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
, both in its work with soldiers during the second world war and in its later work with the Journal Human Relations jointly founded by a partnership of the Tavistock Institute
Tavistock Institute
The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a British charity concerned with group behaviour and organisational behaviour. It was launched in 1946, when it separated from the Tavistock Clinic.-History of the Tavistock:...
and Lewin's group at MIT.
The nature of modern Sensitivity Training appears to be in some dispute. Its modern critics portray its origins and function in negative terms. Others view the approach as benignly beneficial in many of its historical and contemporary implementations.
During World War II, Psychologists like Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology...
in the USA and William Sargant
William Sargant
William Walters Sargant was a controversial British psychiatrist who is remembered for the evangelical zeal with which he promoted treatments such as psychosurgery, deep sleep treatment, electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy.Sargant studied medicine at St John's College, Cambridge,...
, John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees OBE MD RAMC was a wartime and civilian psychiatrist and became a brigadier in the British Army. He was a member of the group of key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1934...
, and Eric Trist
Eric Trist
Eric Trist was a British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development . He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London.-Biography:...
in Britain were used by the military to help soldiers deal with traumatic stress disorders (then known as Shell Shock). This work, which required service to large numbers of patients by a small number of therapists and necessarily emphasized rapidity and effectiveness helped spur the development of group therapy as a treatment technique. Rogers and others evolved their work into new forms including encounter groups designed for persons who were not diagnosably ill but who were recognized to suffer from widespread problems associated with isolation from others common in American society. Other leaders in the development of Encounter Groups, including Will Schutz, centered their work at the Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
in Big Sur, California.
Meanwhile, Training Groups or T-Groups were being developed at the National Training Labs, now part of the National Education Association. Over time the techniques of T-Groups and Encounter Groups have merged and divided and splintered into specialized topics, seeking to promote sensitivity to others perceived as different and seemingly losing some of their original focus on self-exploration as a means to understanding and improving relations with others in a more general sense.
Coverage
Documentaries describing, and often critical of the concept, have been produced by- G. Edward GriffinG. Edward GriffinG. Edward Griffin is an American film producer, author, and political lecturer. He is perhaps best known as the author of The Creature from Jekyll Island , a critique of much modern economic theory and practice, specifically the Federal Reserve System.Starting as a child actor, he became a radio...
: Seduction of a Generation (1969) - http://www.cosmolearning.com/documentaries/seduction-of-a-generation-sensitivity-training-as-brainwashing-1969/ - Penn & Teller, Bullshit! Sensitivity Training (2008) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1272785/