Some mainline social scientists believe that Hassan's work lacks academic rigor and is used to fuel hysteria. American sociologists Anson D. Shupe and David G. Bromley are skeptical of the existence of brainwashing and mind control. Sociologists Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins state that Hassan's brainwashing theories have long been proven false. The evidence, Zablocki and Robbins state, "refutes the effectiveness of all efforts to brainwash anyone—especially through inducing altered states of consciousness."
