I think for me, in both cases, they sensed that the more dependent I was on them, and just them, for physical affection, financially and emotionally, the more power they had over me. So though they may not heard of the concept, on some level they knew what they were doing.
I don’t think the words trauma bonding are something they know about. That said , there are some videos on You Tube for men which encourage the silent treatment & mind games, a lot of videos, they can be found if you look under the word n********t. I would not put it past some men to study the Internet to hone their skills. My ex knew what would hurt me the most & i believe devised a plan to do this.I think that my ex studied behaviour on the Internet how to hurt & control people.