Poster #11

Perceptions of Psychological Tactics Used in Interpersonal Relationships

By: Angela Hormiz. Co-authored by Dr. Patti Timmons Fritz

Abstract:

Despite frequent reference to gaslighting in popular media and press, there is limited empirical research on gaslighting and how people perceive it. Although the term was first used in the context of intimate partner violence to describe manipulative behaviours carried out to purposefully cause an intimate partner to doubt their sense of sanity and their current reality, gaslighting has more recently been suggested to occur in a wide range of contexts and settings, including medicine and politics. Given its more frequent and broadened use, the current study investigated undergraduate university students’ perceptions of what gaslighting is as well as the contexts and/or situations in which the term is currently being used. Sixty-three undergraduates (61.9 % women; 71.4 % White; Mage = 22.5 years) were recruited through the University of Windsor’s Participant Pool. Students completed a demographic questionnaire and answered four qualitative questions about gaslighting that were interpreted using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis procedure. Participants defined gaslighting as manipulation, invalidating one’s feelings, lying, and shifting blame. Many individuals associated gaslighting with condescending, abusive, and toxic behaviour. Gaslighting was used across several domains with a primary focus on intimate and familial relationships. However, gaslighting was also used beyond IPV situations and was present in medical, political, and social-media contexts, and within friendships. Most students' operationalizations of gaslighting seemed to be generalized to manipulative and malicious behaviours that were not specific to causing victims to question the validity of their own thoughts, sense of reality, or memories.

angela hormiz

I, Angela Hormiz, have worked in Dr. Patti Fritz's Healthy Relationships Lab at the University of Windsor since February 2021. Throughout my time as a paid research assistant, I was involved with creating coding manuals and coding participants' qualitative responses. The responses contained sensitive material pertaining to intimate partner violence and unwanted sexual experiences. Moreover, I was responsible for coordinating a Q-methodology study using a Q-method data collection software program. In addition, I have been working as a Crisis Hotline Responder for Canada Suicide Prevention Services since January 2022. I am continuously challenged to apply the knowledge I gained throughout my 13 weeks of training to support service users who have experienced abuse, violence, and trauma. Thus, I was inclined to create a study for my honours thesis that explored gaslighting — a common coercion tactic of increasing popularity with limited empirical research.