Stockholm Syndrome

There was a morbidly fascinating story on the psychological dynamic between captor and captive in today's New York Times.

One would think that the captive would be overjoyed at being freed; but it's not that simple. People held for a long time in captivity like Jaycee Dugard develop ambivalent feelings towards their captors.

Excerpt from the article:

David Wolfe, professor of psychology and psychiatry said:

“The child is frightened, and the perpetrator works to gain or regain the child’s confidence, to come across as a really good person: ‘I’m not going to hurt you, everything’s going to be O.K.’ and so on.

“So the child never knows when to fight or run,” he continued. “Do I wait and it’ll get worse? Or do I believe him and I won’t be hurt?”

Humans are wired to form social bonds, and such scraps of kindness can deepen even a relationship built on manipulation and abuse.