Screening for Torture

Contributory torture.

Sir, Contributory torture occurs when the behavior of the offender influences the behavior of the interrogator or, in a broader sense, anyone disciplining the offender. The word contributory is used because if the offender acts up, he/she is part of the reason for the type of punishment he/she receives. For example, if two people are arrested and one follows the directions of the officer and th...

Surviving torture.

Tame to Torture: Psychosexual Correlations of Sex, Violence and Torture

This paper discusses the psychosexual correlations and psychological consequences related to torture and behavioral acts that are fundamentally torturous. The influence of participation by learning and the relationship of acts to thought and thought to acts are further discussed to raise awareness to the effects of torture on the torturer. Theories from multiple disciplines are presented in an ...

Status quo framing increases support for torture

Does describing torture by America’s agents as a longstanding practice—part of the status quo—increase people’s acceptance of the practice? A representative sample of U.S. adults, randomly assigned to conditions in which these practices were described as new or as having been used for more than 40 years, read about the use of torture in questioning of detainees. Torture described as a longstand...

Psychological Sequelae of Torture