How your identity is formed

Why is it that during the Korean War more American POWs informed on their fellow prisoners than in any other war in modem history? The answer is that the Chinese Communists, unlike their allies, the North Koreans, understood the power of identity to instantaneously change not only their long-held beliefs and values, but their actions, in an instant. Rather than brutalize the prisoners, they doggedly[181] pursued their own ingenious form of psychological warfare[182] designed not merely to

extract information or create compliance, but rather to convert the American fighting man to their political philosophy. They knew that if they could lead him into a new set of beliefs and values, then he would see his country's role in the war as futile[183] and destructive, and therefore assist them in any way they requested. And they succeeded. Understanding what they did can help you understand how you've arrived at your current identity and how you can expand your identity, and therefore your entire life, in a matter of moments.

The task before the Chinese Communists was formidable indeed. How can you change someone's entire identity without the threat of death or the promise of freedom? Especially knowing that the American soldier has been trained to give only his name, rank, and serial number?

Their plan was very simple: start small, and build. The Chinese understood that the way we identify anyone is by their actions. For example, how do you know who your friend really is? Isn't it by the way he or she acts, the way he or she treats people?

The Communists' real secret, though, was that they understood that we determine who we are—our own identities—by judging our own actions as well. In other words, we look at what we do to determine who we are. The Chinese realized that in order to achieve their broader objective of changing the prisoner's beliefs about his identity, all they had to do was get the prisoner to do things that a collaborator or a Communist would do.

Again, this is not a simple task, but they realized it could be done if they simply could wear the American POW down through conversation that lasted twelve to twenty hours, and then make a minor request: get him to say something like " The United States is not perfect" or " It's true in a Communist country that unemployment is not a problem." Having established this footing, the Chinese would simply start small and build.

They understood our need for consistency. Once we make a statement that we say we believe, we have to be willing to back it up. They would merely ask the POW to write down some of the ways in which America is not perfect. In his exhausted state, the GI was then asked, " What other social benefits are there to communism? " Within a short period of time, the GI would have sitting in front of him a document not only attacking his own nation, but also promoting Communism with all the reasons written in his own handwriting. He now had to justify to himself why he'd done this. He'd not been beaten, nor had he been offered special rewards. He'd simply made small statements in his need to stay consistent with the ones he'd already written, and now he'd even signed the document. How could he explain his " willingness" to do this? Later he would be asked to read his list in a discussion group with other prisoners or even to write an entire essay about it.

When the Chinese broadcast these essays, along with the names of the prisoners who had written them, suddenly the prisoner would find himself publicly identified as an enemy " collaborator." When fellow prisoners asked him why he did it, he couldn't defend himself by saying he'd been tortured. He had to justify his acts to himself in order to maintain his own sense of integrity. In an instant, he would state that he wrote it because it was true! In that moment, his identity shifted. He now perceived himself as pro-Communist, and all those around him also labeled him as such. They would reinforce his new identity by treating him the same way they treated the Communist guards.

Soon his new identity would cause him to openly denounce his country and, in order to maintain consistency between his statements and his new label, he would often collaborate even more extensively with his captors. This was one of the most brilliant facets of the Chinese strategy: once a prisoner had written something down, he couldn't later pretend to himself that it had never happened. There it was in black and white, in his own handwriting, for anyone to see—something which drove him " to make his beliefs and his self-image consistent with what he had undeniably done."

Before we judge our POWs harshly, however, we should take a good look at ourselves. Did you consciously choose your identity, or is it the result of what other people have told you, significant events in your life, and other factors that occurred without your awareness or approval?

What consistent behaviors have you adopted that now help to form the basis of your identity? Would you be willing to undergo a painful bone-marrow extraction to help a stranger? Most people's first response would be, " Absolutely not! " Yet in a study done in 1970, researchers found that if a person was led to believe that the consistency of their identity relied upon it, many would commit to just such a selfless act.

The study showed that when the subjects were asked to make small commitments first, and followed up with two simple acts which made not volunteering seem " out of character, " many began to develop a new identity. They began to see themselves as " donors, " as a person who unconditionally commits to help those in need through personal sacrifice. Once this occurred, when the request for the bone marrow was made, these people felt compelled by the force of their new identity to follow through regardless of the time, money, or physical pain involved.

Their view of themselves as donors became a reflection of who they were. There is no more potent leverage in shaping human behavior than identity.

You might ask, " Isn't my identity limited by my experience? " No, it's limited by your interpretation of your experience. Your identity is nothing but the decisions you've made about who you are, what you've decided to fuse yourself with. You become the labels you've given yourself. The way you define your identity defines your life.