The Fact
A 2023 qualitative study of people who reported gaslighting in romantic relationships defined gaslighting as an attempt to convince a sane and rational person that they are not a trustworthy judge of their own experiences. The study describes the target as being pushed toward doubt about memory, perception, and interpretation.
What This Means
Gaslighting is more specific than ordinary lying or disagreement. The core mechanism is an attack on a person’s confidence in their own ability to know what happened or what they experienced.
Sources
- Willis Klein, Sherry Li, and Suzanne Wood, “A qualitative analysis of gaslighting in romantic relationships,” Personal Relationships, 2023.