Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

The concept of regression appears to be a consistent theme in much of the
research conducted on long-term detention and interrogation, a considerable
portion of which involved the experiences of U.S. military personnel held prisoner
during the Korean conflict. The psychologist Martin Orne, writing in 1961, noted
that:
[C]onditions of interrogation are sometimes conducive to
a regression on the part of the source. The interrogator can
exercise complete control of the source’s physical being
— his primitive needs such as elimination, eating, and
sleeping, and even bodily postures. He is also in a position
to reward or punish any predetermined activity on the part
of the captive. This tends to create a situation where the
individual feels unable to observe any control over himself.
This extreme loss of control is handled in a variety of ways,
one of which is regression to a childlike state of dependence
on and identification with the aggressor…some prisoners
adopt a cooperative role because of the need to reassure
themselves that they retain some control over their behavior
in the coercive situation. Complying “voluntarily” for such
cases is less threatening, and may be regarded by them as less
shameful, than losing control completely over their actions. 92
Assuming for a moment that this regression dynamic accurately describes the
underlying process that leads a once-resistant source toward compliance, 93 the
use of interrogation techniques to bring about regression still raises a number of
key questions:
1. What precise means are required to obtain this end
2. What are the overarching management and operational requirements for
orchestrating such a process
3. Is the length of time required for the regression to occur reasonable
enough to render it a useful method of obtaining time-sensitive
intelligence
4. What are the long-term effects of the regression experience
5. Are individuals subjected to this condition profoundly changed
6. Is their emotional and psychological stability significantly harmed such
that treatment is required to address — and reverse — the condition
7. What are the legal and moral issues involved
92
Martin T. Orne, “The Potential Uses of Hypnosis in Interrogation,” in The Manipulation of
Human Behavior, ed. Albert D. Biderman and Herbert Zimmer (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
1961), 206. Hereafter referred to as The Manipulation of Human Behavior.
93
Two additional important points with respect to regression warrant further comment. First, a
given individual’s response to circumstances designed specifically to cause regression cannot be
reliably predicted in advance. Second, regression in general receives far less professional acceptance
as a psychological concept today than was true in the 1950–1960 timeframe.
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