在心理学中，通过“扭曲受害者眼中的真实”来对对方进行情绪控制的操纵行为，被称为“煤气灯操纵法” 。
而“煤气灯效应”的概念，源自帕特里克·汉密尔顿1938年创作的剧本。1944年，改编自该剧本的经典黑色悬疑片《煤气灯下》（Gaslight）问世。影片讲述了丈夫为了谋取妻子的财产，千方百计把妻子逼疯的故事。
剧中，妻子看到了微弱的煤气灯光，丈夫却一直否认，说她看错了。妻子单纯地爱着丈夫，对其深信不疑，久而久之就确信自己真的哪里出了毛病。
US-based author of The Gaslight Effect, Dr Robin Stern, outlined the insidious nature of gaslighting, writing: "It's a form of emotional abuse and manipulation that is difficult to recognize and even harder to break free from."
The term describes a type of emotional abuse, and unlike other forms, is difficult to recognize because it distorts a person's sense of reality.
At its mildest, gaslighting leaves victims uneasy, wondering why they always seem to end up in the wrong.“
At it's worst, gaslighting leads to major depression, with formerly strong, vibrant persons reduced to abject misery and self-hatred.
