The public’s understanding of the concept of gaslighting

Abstract

Gaslighting has been defined as an abuse that psychologically manipulates the victim to the point that they start to question their own sense of reality, thinking and memories. This form of abuse usually makes the victim confused about their emotional and mental health. This effect also makes them lose confidence in themselves and become more dependent on their abuser. The purpose of this study is to research the public’s understanding of the concept of gaslighting. The understanding of the concept was analysed with regards to age and gender. A total of 113 people participated in the study, which consisted of N = 82 females (72.6%) and N = 31 males (27.4%). Participants’ age ranged from 18 – 60 years and older. Materials used in the study was a questionnaire called “Victim Gaslight Questionnaire” (VGQ). Other material was a short story that was written by the researcher and was a modernized adaptation from the movie “Gaslight”. An independent samples t-test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test the results. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the age groups and no significant difference between the genders. A factorial analysis of variance (FANOVA) of the impact of gender and age groups knowledge about gaslighting was then performed. Results showed no main effects for gender and age, nor an interaction between them. A total of 96.25% participants correctly answered that the short story was an example of gaslighting. Therefore, the discussion of this form of abuse has been successfully delivered to both genders of any age and the public seems to be informed.Keywords: gaslighting, knowledge, public, abuse, manipulation

Gaslýsing hefur verið skilgreind sem sálfræðilegt ofbeldi sem sálfræðilega stjórnar þolanda að því marki að hann fer að efast um eigin skilning á raunveruleikanum, hugsun og minningum. Þetta form af ofbeldi venjulega lætur þolanda vera ringlaðan um sína eigin tilfinningalegu og andlegu heilsu. Tilgangur þessara rannsóknar er að athuga þekkingu almennings á hugtakinu gaslýsing. Þekkingin á hugtakinu var athuguð með tilliti til aldurs og kyns. Alls voru 113 þátttakendur sem samanstóð af N = 82 konum (72,6%) og N = 31 karlmönnum (27,4%). aldur þátttakenda var á bilinu 18-60 ára og eldri. Mælitækin sem voru notuð var spurningalisti sem kallast ,,Victim Gaslight Questionnaire” (VCQ). Annað mælitæki sem var notað var stutt smásaga sem var skrifuð af rannsakanda og var nútímavædd aðlögun úr söguþræðinum í myndinni ,,Gaslight”. Óháð t-próf og einföld dreifigreining (ANOVA) var notað til prófunar á niðurstöðum. Niðurstöður sýndu að ekki var marktækur munur á milli aldurshópa og enginn marktækur munur var á milli kynja. Þá var gerð þáttagreining á dreifni (FANOVA) á áhrifum þekkingar kynja og aldurshópa um gaslýsingu. Niðurstöður sýndu engin meginhrif á kyn og aldri, né samspil þeirra á milli. Alls svöruðu 96,25% þátttakenda rétt að smásagan væri dæmi um gaslýsingu. Þar að leiðandi hefur umræðan um þessa tegund ofbeldis verið að skila sér til beggja kynja á öllum aldri svo almenningur virðast vera vel upplýstur.Lykilorð: gaslýsing, þekking, almenningur, ofbeldi, stjórnun