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Glossary & References

Alphabetical index of concepts, technical terms, and academic references used in COGSEC documentation. Each term includes a definition, usage context, and links to primary sources.

A

Abstraction

Cognitive process of extracting essential characteristics of a phenomenon while ignoring irrelevant details. Fundamental capability for system modeling.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Agency

Capacity of an individual to act autonomously and make independent choices. Contrasts with Milgram's agentic state where this capacity is suspended.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Agentic State

Milgram's concept describing the psychological state where the individual becomes an instrument of external will, their moral conscience disconnecting from their actions.

Source

Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority. Harper & Row. ISBN: 978-0-06-131983-9. WorldCat | Internet Archive

Alienation

State of separation of the individual from themselves, from others, or from their work. Marxist concept adopted in social psychology.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Anchoring

Cognitive bias where initial information disproportionately influences subsequent judgments. Exploited in preventive briefing.

Source

Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131. DOI: 10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

Anxiety (Social)

Intense and persistent fear of social situations where one might be negatively judged. Can be induced by repeated social control mechanisms.

→ Wikipedia | DSM-5

Attribution Theory

Study of how individuals explain the causes of behaviors and events.

Source

Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. Wiley. ISBN: 978-0-89859-282-8. WorldCat

Asymmetric Information

Situation where one party holds more information than the other in an interaction. Concept formalized by Akerlof (1970) in his analysis of the "lemons" market. In the context of social control, asymmetry is initially in favor of the system but can be reversed through documentation.

Source

Akerlof, G.A. (1970). The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488-500. DOI: 10.2307/1879431 | JSTOR

Attention (Selective)

Ability to focus on certain stimuli while ignoring others. Reduced in HPI/ASD profiles, making noise filtering more difficult.

→ Wikipedia

Auto-stigmatization

Process by which a stigmatized individual internalizes society's negative attitudes and applies them to themselves.

→ Wikipedia

B

Banality of Evil

Hannah Arendt's concept describing how ordinary individuals can participate in destructive systems without personal malevolence, simply through conformity to procedures and absence of critical reflection (thoughtlessness).

Source

Arendt, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. Penguin Classics. ISBN: 978-0-14-303988-4. WorldCat | Internet Archive

Binary Trap (Piège binaire)

Decision structure where an institution faces a choice with no neutral option: every possible response (produce, withhold, alter) generates analyzable signal. There is no "safe" position. Analyzed in COGSEC008.

→ Concept developed in this project

Briefing

Preventive transmission of (often biased) information about an individual before their arrival in a new context. Mechanism documented in COGSEC002.

Burnout

State of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Can result from chronic exposure to social control mechanisms.

→ Wikipedia | WHO ICD-11

C

Central Coherence (Weak)

Cognitive style characterized by attention to details rather than the big picture. Documented in ASD profiles by Happé & Frith (2006).

Source

Happé, F. & Frith, U. (2006). The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders. JADD, 36(1), 5-25. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0

Chunking

Technique of grouping information elements into larger units ("chunks") to increase the effective capacity of working memory.

Source

Miller, G.A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. DOI: 10.1037/h0043158

Cognitive Architecture

Structure and organization of an individual's mental processes. Varies between neurotypical and neuroatypical profiles.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Cognitive Bias

Systematic deviation of judgment from rationality. Over 180 documented biases influence perception and decision-making.

→ Wikipedia | Cognitive Bias Codex

Cognitive Dissonance

State of psychological tension resulting from the coexistence of contradictory cognitions. The individual tends to reduce this dissonance.

Source

Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-8047-0911-8. WorldCat

Cognitive Load

Total amount of mental resources used by working memory. Overload reduces processing and judgment capacities.

Source

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive Load During Problem Solving. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285. DOI: 10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4

Cognitive Security (COGSEC)

Emerging field documenting cognitive and social control mechanisms, vulnerabilities of human cognitive architecture, and possible countermeasures.

→ Cognitive Security — CogSec home

Cargo Cult

Concept from Feynman (1974): reproduction of the form of a practice without understanding its substance. Applied to social control in COGSEC007: operators who reproduce conditioning mechanisms they don't understand.

Source

Feynman, R.P. (1974). Cargo Cult Science. Engineering and Science, 37(7), 10-13. Caltech Archives

Conditioning

Process by which automatic responses are implanted, bypassing conscious processing. Experimentally demonstrated by Watson & Rayner (1920) with "Little Albert."

Source

Watson, J.B. & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14. DOI: 10.1037/h0069608 | PsycNET

Confirmation Bias

Cognitive tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in ways that confirm pre-existing beliefs. Documented by Wason (1960). Exploited in briefing mechanisms.

Source

Wason, P.C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12(3), 129-140. DOI: 10.1080/17470216008416717 | PubMed

Conformity

Tendency to adjust behavior or beliefs to match group norms. Studied by Asch (1951) and Milgram (1963).

Source

Asch, S.E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. Groups, leadership and men, 177-190. PsycNET

D

Depersonalization

Feeling of detachment from oneself, as if observing oneself from outside. Can result from trauma or prolonged stress.

→ Wikipedia

Degradation Ceremony (Cérémonie de dégradation)

Communicative work through which the public identity of an individual is transformed into something perceived as lower in the local social hierarchy. This is not mere criticism: the previous identity is retroactively replaced. The person has not done something wrong — they are wrong. Always have been. Central mechanism in COGSEC006.

Source

Garfinkel, H. (1956). Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies. American Journal of Sociology, 61(5), 420-424. DOI: 10.1086/222137 | JSTOR

Deviance

Behavior that deviates from social norms. Relative concept depending on cultural and historical context.

Source

Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. Free Press. ISBN: 978-0-684-83635-5. WorldCat

Diffusion of Responsibility

Phenomenon where the presence of other people reduces the feeling of individual responsibility.

→ Wikipedia

Disclosure / Unraveling

In information economics, the principle that in a game where information is verifiable, silence is interpreted as an admission. Milgrom (1981) demonstrated that when verifiable documents exist, not producing them is itself information. The rational observer deduces that the content is unfavorable to the holder. Analyzed in COGSEC008.

Source

Milgrom, P. (1981). Good News and Bad News: Representation Theorems and Applications. Bell Journal of Economics, 12(2), 380-391. DOI: 10.2307/3003562 | JSTOR

Documentation

Process of systematic recording of information. In the COGSEC context, documentation is a fundamental countermeasure to the three walls.

→ Wikipedia

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Cognitive bias where individuals with low competence in a domain overestimate their own abilities. The incompetence prevents them from recognizing their incompetence. Applied to cargo cult operators in COGSEC007.

Source

Kruger, J. & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and Unaware of It. JPSP, 77(6), 1121-1134. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121 | PubMed

Double Bind

Communicational situation involving two contradictory messages at different logical levels, with impossibility of commenting on the contradiction. Theorized by Bateson and the Palo Alto School.

Source

Bateson, G., Jackson, D.D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. (1956). Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1(4), 251-264. DOI: 10.1002/bs.3830010402 | Wiley

E

Epistemology

Branch of philosophy that studies the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Exclusion (Social)

Process by which an individual is marginalized or isolated from a group. Documented by Lemert (1962) as dynamics of exclusion.

Source

Lemert, E.M. (1962). Paranoia and the Dynamics of Exclusion. Sociometry, 25(1), 2-20. DOI: 10.2307/2786028

Executive Functions

Set of higher cognitive processes (planning, inhibition, flexibility) enabling behavior control.

→ Wikipedia

Externalization

Action of transferring information from internal memory to external support (notes, documentation). Countermeasure to Wall 1.

→ Wikipedia

F

Face

Positive social value that an individual claims for themselves in an interaction. Central concept of Goffman.

Source

Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction Ritual. Anchor Books. ISBN: 978-0-394-70631-0. WorldCat

Face-work

Actions undertaken to maintain the consistency of one's social "face." Strategic interruption protects collective "face."

Source

Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction Ritual, p. 12. ISBN: 978-0-394-70631-0.

Forced Transparency (Transparence forcée)

Mechanism by which the existence of a legal right of access to documents transforms the informational dynamics between an individual and an institution. The institution cannot remain neutral: producing documents reveals their content, not producing them reveals concealment. Analyzed in COGSEC008.

→ Concept developed in this project (based on Milgrom 1981 and Grossman 1981)

G

Gaslighting

Form of psychological manipulation aimed at making the victim doubt their own perception of reality, memory, or judgment.

→ Wikipedia | APA Dictionary

Gifted / High Intellectual Potential (HIP)

Cognitive profile characterized by significantly above-average intellectual abilities (generally IQ ≥ 130), often associated with heightened sensitivity and atypical information processing.

→ Wikipedia

Groupthink

Pathological convergence of group decision-making where critical thinking is replaced by consensus-seeking. Identified by Janis (1982). Amplifier of cargo cult dynamics in COGSEC007.

Source

Janis, I.L. (1982). Groupthink. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 978-0-395-31704-4. WorldCat OCLC 8597619

H

Habituation

Progressive decrease in response to a repeated stimulus. Can make constant control mechanisms invisible.

→ Wikipedia

Heuristic

Mental shortcut allowing quick but potentially biased decisions.

Source

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1. WorldCat

Hypersensitivity

Heightened sensitivity to sensory, emotional, or social stimuli. Common characteristic of HPI and ASD profiles.

→ Wikipedia

I

Information Jamming

Set of techniques reducing the signal-to-noise ratio in an individual's perception: double bind, strategic interruption, narrative splitting, conditioning. Analyzed in COGSEC005 (Wall 2).

Institutional Dossier

Narrative reconstruction of an individual's history by the institution, becoming more "real" than their own version. Concept from Goffman (1961).

Source

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums. Anchor Books, p. 155. ISBN: 978-0-385-00016-1.

Institutional Isomorphism (Isomorphisme institutionnel)

Process by which organizations converge toward the same practices by imitating those perceived as legitimate or successful, regardless of the actual effectiveness of those practices. Mimetic isomorphism copies the form without necessarily understanding the substance. In the COGSEC context: mechanism by which conditioning cycles degrade through institutional copying. Analyzed in COGSEC006.

Sources

  • DiMaggio, P.J. & Powell, W.W. (1983). The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147-160. DOI: 10.2307/2095101 | JSTOR
  • Meyer, J.W. & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363. DOI: 10.1086/226550 | JSTOR

Iron Cage

Max Weber's metaphor describing total rationalization — a bureaucratic system so perfect that no one can escape it, not even its operators.

Source

Weber, M. (1905). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. WorldCat | Internet Archive

K

Kafkaesque

Qualifies an absurd, bureaucratic, and oppressive situation reminiscent of Franz Kafka's universe, where the individual is powerless against an opaque system.

Source

Kafka, F. (1925). Der Prozeß (The Trial). Project Gutenberg | WorldCat

L

Labeling

Process by which an individual is categorized according to a characteristic, which then influences interactions with them.

Source

Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders. Free Press. ISBN: 978-0-684-83635-5.

Learned Helplessness

Psychological state where the individual stops trying to escape an aversive situation, even when escape becomes possible. Demonstrated by Seligman (1967), reformulated in 2016: passivity is the default state, it is control that is learned.

Sources

  • Seligman, M.E.P. (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74(1), 1-9. DOI: 10.1037/h0024514
  • Maier, S.F. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty. Psychological Review, 123(4), 349-367. DOI: 10.1037/rev0000033

Legibility

James C. Scott's concept designating the simplification imposed by states to make populations "readable" and therefore controllable. The map replaces the territory.

Source

Scott, J.C. (1998). Seeing Like a State. Yale University Press. ISBN: 978-0-300-07815-2. DOI: 10.12987/9780300252989 | WorldCat

Locus of Control

Concept designating the degree to which an individual believes they control life events (internal) or attributes them to external factors.

Source

Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1-28. DOI: 10.1037/h0092976

M

Manipulation

Influence exerted on others through indirect or deceptive means to achieve one's own ends.

→ Wikipedia | APA Dictionary

Moral Disengagement

Eight cognitive mechanisms by which ordinary individuals deactivate their internal moral controls to perform harmful acts while maintaining a positive self-image. Identified by Bandura (1999, 2016). Central mechanism in COGSEC007.

Source

Bandura, A. (1999). Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193-209. DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3 | PubMed

Masking (Social Camouflage)

Strategy adopted by neuroatypical individuals to conceal their differences and adapt to neurotypical social expectations. Cognitively and emotionally costly.

Source

Hull, L., et al. (2017). "Putting on My Best Normal": Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519-2534. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5

Metacognition

Knowledge and regulation of one's own cognitive processes. "Thinking about one's thinking."

→ Wikipedia

Metacommunication

Communication about communication. Higher logical level blocked in double bind.

Source

Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J.H., & Jackson, D.D. (1967). Pragmatics of Human Communication. W.W. Norton. ISBN: 978-0393010091. WorldCat

Moral Career

Goffman's concept describing the identity transformations an individual undergoes during their passage through a total institution.

Source

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums. Anchor Books, pp. 125-169. ISBN: 978-0-385-00016-1. WorldCat

Mortification of Self

Process by which the total institution strips the individual of their prior identity.

Source

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums, pp. 14-35. Anchor Books. ISBN: 978-0-385-00016-1.

N

Narrative Fragmentation

Control technique consisting of authorizing certain narratives while compartmentalizing others, making reconstruction of the whole impossible.

Source

Herman, J.L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery, p. 1. Basic Books. ISBN: 978-0-465-08765-0. WorldCat

Negativity Bias

Tendency to give more weight to negative information than positive. Amplifies the effect of negative briefing.

→ Wikipedia

Neuroplasticity

Brain's capacity to modify itself structurally and functionally in response to experience.

→ Wikipedia

Neurotypical

Individual whose neurological functioning conforms to the statistical norm. Contrasts with neuroatypical (ASD, HPI, ADHD, etc.).

→ Wikipedia

Normalization of Deviance

Process by which deviant behavior becomes normalized within an organization through repetition without visible consequences. Identified by Vaughan (1996) in her analysis of the Challenger disaster. Analyzed in COGSEC007.

Source

Vaughan, D. (1996). The Challenger Launch Decision. University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 978-0-226-85175-4. WorldCat OCLC 34050480

O

Obedience

Submission to authority, particularly studied by Milgram (1963).

Source

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral Study of Obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371-378. DOI: 10.1037/h0040525

Operations Research

Discipline born to optimize military operations (bombings, logistics), reconverted after the war into population and organization management. Same mathematics, different targets.

Sources

  • Blackett, P.M.S. (1962). Studies of War. Oliver & Boyd. Google Books
  • Morse, P.M. & Kimball, G.E. (1951). Methods of Operations Research. MIT Press. Library of Congress

Operant Conditioning

Form of learning where behavior is modified by its consequences (reinforcement or punishment). Formalized by Skinner (1953). In the COGSEC context: the conditioning cycle combines extinction of desired behavior (phases 1-3) with differential reinforcement of a substitute (phase 4).

Source

Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan. Internet Archive | WorldCat OCLC 190683

Ostracism

Social exclusion of an individual by a group. Form of social punishment.

Source

Williams, K.D. (2007). Ostracism. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 425-452. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085641

Outsider

Individual labeled as deviant by a group. Concept from Becker (1963).

Source

Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders. Free Press. ISBN: 978-0-684-83635-5. WorldCat

P

Palo Alto School

Research current in communication and psychotherapy founded in the 1950s, known for double bind theory and systemic approach.

→ Wikipedia

Panopticon

Prison architecture designed by Jeremy Bentham and analyzed by Michel Foucault. The subject knows they could be observed at any time, producing self-discipline. Logic applicable beyond prisons.

Source

Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. WorldCat | Open Library

Paranoia

State of generalized mistrust. Lemert (1962) shows how social exclusion can produce behaviors interpreted as paranoid.

Source

Lemert, E.M. (1962). Paranoia and the Dynamics of Exclusion. Sociometry, 25(1), 2-20. DOI: 10.2307/2786028

Pattern Recognition

Identification of recurring motifs in data or behaviors. Central competence of ASD/HPI profiles.

→ Wikipedia

Primacy Effect

Tendency to better remember and give more importance to information received first. Exploited in briefing.

Source

Asch, S.E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41(3), 258-290. DOI: 10.1037/h0055756

Projection

Defense mechanism consisting of attributing to others one's own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or motivations.

→ Wikipedia

Psychiatrization

Process by which behaviors or individuals are interpreted through a medical/psychiatric lens, often to control or delegitimize them.

→ Wikipedia

Pygmalion Effect

Phenomenon where high expectations of an individual lead to improved performance. Inverse: Golem effect.

Source

Rosenthal, R. & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the Classroom. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN: 978-1-904424-06-2. WorldCat

R

Rationalization

Defense mechanism consisting of justifying a behavior or decision after the fact with apparently logical reasons.

→ Wikipedia

Reactance

Emotional response of resistance to a perceived threat to one's freedom or autonomy.

Source

Brehm, J.W. (1966). A Theory of Psychological Reactance. Academic Press. ISBN: 978-0-12-129840-1.

Reinforcement

In operant conditioning, consequence that increases the probability of a behavior (positive = addition of a pleasant stimulus, negative = removal of an aversive stimulus).

→ Wikipedia

Role Absorption

Process where individuals fully merge with an assigned role until they can no longer distinguish the role from their identity. Documented by Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment) and theorized by Goffman (1959). Analyzed in COGSEC007.

Source

Zimbardo, P.G. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House. ISBN: 978-1-4000-6411-3. WorldCat OCLC 71813017

Resilience

Capacity to adapt and recover from difficult or traumatic situations.

→ Wikipedia

Reverse Engineering

Process of analyzing a system to identify its components, relationships, and create representations at a higher level of abstraction.

Source

Chikofsky, E.J. & Cross, J.H. (1990). Reverse Engineering and Design Recovery: A Taxonomy. IEEE Software, 7(1), 13-17. DOI: 10.1109/52.43044 | IEEE Xplore

Reverse Engineering (Social)

Application of reverse engineering methods to social systems: observation, analysis, modeling, documentation.

→ Concept developed in COGSEC004

S

Schema (Cognitive)

Mental structure organizing knowledge and guiding information processing.

→ Wikipedia

Self-Discipline

Mechanism by which individuals internalize norms and monitor themselves, making external surveillance less necessary. Central concept of Foucault's panopticon.

→ Wikipedia

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Prediction that, by having been stated, causes its own realization. Labeling an individual as "problematic" generates the conditions that confirm the label.

Sources

  • Merton, R.K. (1948). The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. The Antioch Review, 8(2), 193-210.
  • Rosenhan, D.L. (1973). On Being Sane in Insane Places. Science, 179(4070), 250-258. DOI: 10.1126/science.179.4070.250

Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Measure of meaningful information relative to noise. Core concept for understanding Wall 2.

Source

Shannon, C.E. (1948). A mathematical theory of communication. The Bell System Technical Journal, 27(3), 379-423. DOI: 10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x

Social Control

Set of mechanisms by which a society regulates the behavior of its members. Can be formal (laws) or informal (social norms).

→ Wikipedia | Britannica

Social Identity

Part of an individual's self-concept derived from their membership in social groups.

Source

Tajfel, H. & Turner, J.C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 33-47.

Social Proof

Cialdini's concept: tendency to determine appropriate behavior by observing what others do. Produces coordination without instruction. Applied in COGSEC007 to explain how control systems maintain themselves without a coordinator.

Source

Cialdini, R.B. (2009). Influence: Science and Practice. 5th ed. Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-205-60999-4. WorldCat OCLC 227918150

Stigma

Deeply discrediting attribute that reduces the individual from a complete person to a "spoiled identity."

Source

Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 978-0-671-62244-2. WorldCat | Internet Archive

Strategic Interruption

Conversational control technique consisting of systematically cutting off a line of discussion that approaches a forbidden subject.

Source

Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction Ritual, p. 12. Anchor Books. ISBN: 978-0-394-70631-0.

Streisand Effect (Effet Streisand)

Phenomenon where the attempt to hide, remove, or censor information has the unintended consequence of increasing awareness of that information. In the institutional context: each resistance strategy to transparency produces more signal than the hidden content itself. Analyzed in COGSEC008.

Source

Jansen, S.C. & Martin, B. (2015). The Streisand Effect and Censorship Backfire. International Journal of Communication, 9, 656-671. ISSN 1932-8036

Stress

Physiological and psychological response to demands perceived as exceeding the individual's resources. Reduces working memory.

→ Wikipedia | APA

Structural Violence

Forms of violence integrated into social structures (inequalities, discrimination) rather than exercised by identifiable individuals.

Source

Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, Peace, and Peace Research. Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), 167-191. DOI: 10.1177/002234336900600301

Surveillance Capitalism

Shoshana Zuboff's term designating the extraction of human behavior as raw material, transformed into prediction products sold on behavioral futures markets.

Source

Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. PublicAffairs. ISBN: 978-1-61039-569-4. WorldCat | Open Library

Symbolic Violence

Bourdieu's concept describing domination exercised with the unconscious complicity of the dominated, who have internalized the dominant's categories of perception.

Source

Bourdieu, P. (1979). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. WorldCat | Internet Archive | Open Library

Systemizing

Tendency to analyze and build rule-based systems. Characteristic of ASD profiles according to Baron-Cohen (2009).

Source

Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). Autism: The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156(1), 68-80. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04467.x | PubMed

T

Thoughtlessness

Absence of critical thought, conformity to procedures without reflection on their consequences. Arendt's concept linked to the banality of evil.

Source

Arendt, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem. Penguin Classics. ISBN: 978-0-14-303988-4.

Total Institution

Place of residence and work where individuals cut off from the outside world lead a formally administered life. Examples: prisons, psychiatric hospitals, barracks.

Source

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Anchor Books. ISBN: 978-0-385-00016-1. WorldCat | Internet Archive

Trauma

Psychological injury resulting from an extremely stressful or threatening event.

Source

Herman, J.L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books. ISBN: 978-0-465-08765-0. WorldCat

Triple Wall

Cognitive neutralization architecture composed of three synergistic mechanisms: working memory reduction (Wall 1 - RAM), information jamming (Wall 2 - Noise), learned helplessness (Wall 3 - Fear). Documented in COGSEC005.

→ Concept developed in this project

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

Neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication and restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior. ASD profiles often exhibit high systemizing abilities and increased attention to detail.

→ Wikipedia | DSM-5

U

Unanticipated Consequences

Unforeseen effects of intentional actions. Formalized by Merton (1936). In the COGSEC context: ejecting an analyst produces an expert on the system that ejected them.

Source

Merton, R.K. (1936). The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action. American Sociological Review, 1(6), 894-904. DOI: 10.2307/2084615 | JSTOR

V

Verifiability

Characteristic of a statement that can be tested and confirmed or refuted by evidence.

→ Wikipedia | Stanford Encyclopedia

Visibility

In the COGSEC context: the effectiveness of control mechanisms relies on their invisibility. Making visible = documenting = neutralizing.

→ Concept developed in this project

Voluntary Autopsy (Autopsie volontaire)

Mechanism by which a simple request for access to one's own institutional files forces the institution into a binary choice: produce documents that reveal its own failures, or alter documents — which constitutes an additional failure. The system is not attacked from outside; it is invited to open itself. Analyzed in COGSEC008.

→ Concept developed in this project

W

Working Memory

Cognitive capacity to simultaneously maintain and manipulate information over a short period. The mental "workbench." Limited to 7±2 elements (Miller, 1956) or 4 chunks (Cowan, 2001). Vulnerable to stress, forming Wall 1.

Sources

  • Miller, G.A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. DOI: 10.1037/h0043158 | PubMed
  • Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87-114. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X01003922

Complete References

Reference Works

Bibliography — Books

  • Arendt, H. (1963). Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. Penguin Classics. ISBN: 978-0-14-303988-4. WorldCat | Internet Archive | Open Library
  • Attwood, T. (2006). The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN: 978-1-84310-495-7. WorldCat | Open Library
  • Bandura, A. (2016). Moral Disengagement. Worth Publishers. ISBN: 978-1-4641-6006-1. WorldCat OCLC 934754858
  • Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. Free Press. ISBN: 978-0-684-83635-5. WorldCat | Internet Archive | Open Library
  • Bourdieu, P. (1979). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University Press. ISBN: 978-0-674-21277-0. WorldCat | Internet Archive
  • Cialdini, R.B. (2009). Influence: Science and Practice. 5th ed. Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-205-60999-4. WorldCat OCLC 227918150
  • Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-8047-0911-8. WorldCat
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