On 18 November, 1978, 910 members of The People’s Temple, a religious sect led by its charismatic leader, the Reverend Jim Jones, committed mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, in South America. Fearful that he would be arrested and implicated in the killings of U.S. Congressman Leo J. Ryan and others, Jones gathered the entire community of followers and issued an edict for each person to commit suicide by drinking from a vat of strawberry-flavored poison. Compliantly, the majority of his followers systematically took turns drinking from the poisoned vat. A few who dissented were held down by others and forced to drink, children weren’t spared the same fate, as their parents force-fed them to consume the deadly concoction. It took approximately four minutes for each follower to die in convulsions. A few escaped, and as one escapee put it, “they were drinking the poison like they were hypnotized or something” (Cialdini 152). Commonly referred to as “The Jonestown Massacre,” the events at Jonestown sparked an international interest in a more general type of organization called a cult. A cult by is an organization that uses intensive indoctrination techniques to recruit and maintain members into a totalist ideology (Crawley 1). Almost everyone is susceptible to the influence of a cult and members are usually intelligent and idealistic. Typically associated with unorthodox religious groups, the definition of a cult can pertain to any group, including military organizations, governments, families, or companies. Cults instill and maintain unwavering commitment intheir members by using a set of psychological tools that are called mind control. Ruinous mind control can be conceptualized in terms of four primary components, which together form the acronym B.I.T.E. (Hassan 1):

a) Behavior Control

b) Information Control

c) Thought Control

d) Emotional Control

Behavior Control is the control of an individual’s physical reality. It can include control of where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with, what foods the member can eat, and how much sleep or leisure the member can have. What type of jobs the person can accept, what kinds of clothes they can wear, and to be financially dependent upon the group (Hassan 1). Most cults keep strict work schedules for its members, always keeping members as busy as possible and requiring extensive time commitment for indoctrination sessions and group rituals. The member’s self concept is destabilized (Singer 1), the member’s sense of individually is nullified and the will of the group prevails over the individual. Cults tend to use an extensive array of behavior modification techniques (positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment, classical and aversive conditioning) not only to change the person’s behavior, but also to unknowingly change the person’s thought processes. Exploiting the Consistency Principle (Cialdini 59) cults understand that a person must always keep their thoughts, behaviors and emotions consistent with one another. If a person can commit to acting or feeling in a certain way, then the person’s thoughts naturally follow to be consistent with what they have already done or felt. This was also investigated by psychologist Leon Festinger, when he formed “Cognitive Dissonance Theory” (Groenveld 1). According to Festinger, our self-image is made up of three components: Self-Control of Behavior, Self-Control of Thoughts, and Self-Control of Emotions. Modify one component and the others will follow. When all three components change the individual undergoes a complete change (Groenveld 1). People have a need to be consistent in order to avoid the stress of instability (dissonance). Followers are expected to follow strict rules, roles and norms, giving great deference and dependency to elders or authority figures. The individual has to have permission from his or her leader to make a major decision and to report their thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors (Hassan 1). This also activates the human Consistency Principle, since committing to something is what drives the principle to work. Furthermore, for a commitment to be effective, it must be a) effortful, b) active, and c) public (Cialdini 92). The environment within the scope of the cult is tightly controlled so that the individual will act in predictable ways. The second component initiating mind control is Information Control. Here the cult or organization controls the information one can receive in order to limit the ability for the individual to think for him or herself (Hassan 1) (Groenveld 1).This includes distorting information, holding back information and halting the access to non-cult sources of information (including TV, radio, written works, internet, former members, and critical information). The authority figures decide who needs to know what and when, varying the type and amount of information one can receive within different levels of the organization. Additionally, many times the individual is paired up with a “buddy” in order to monitor and control the individual, by reporting deviant thoughts, actions, and feelings to leadership (Hassan 1). By controlling the flow of information, a cult has the potential for unlimited power over the thoughts and actions of the individual and the group. Thought Control is the deliberate manipulation of the individual’s thought processes. It involves persuading and maintaining only proper or “pure” thoughts while annihilating negative or “evil” thoughts. The group’s ideology is programmed thoroughly in the individual during the indoctrination process so the system of beliefs is internalized as “the truth” (Hassan 2). Any new information filtered through this new belief system is to be integrated with the ideology of the group. The cult’s leadership needs the individual members to internalize the group’s doctrine as “the truth,” by polarizing information in simplistic terms; “us and them,” “black and white.” Language is the tool used to deliver such control (language is the tool of thought) and the group uses special words to constrict perceptual experiences into simple buzz words or clichés (Hassan 2). Thought-stopping techniques, as their commonly called, shuts down reality analysis in the members and ends rationality, critical thinking and criticism. These techniques can take many forms, including: chanting, humming, singing, praying, denial, speaking in tongues, wishful thinking, confession, rationalization, and justifying ones past (Groenveld 2). Special words also act to separate the individual from the outside world and to identify other cult members. By controlling the thoughts of the membership, cult leaders are able to influence the behavior, information processing, and emotionality of the group. Emotional Control is to manipulate and narrow the range of a person’s feelings (Hassan 3). This type of control is employed by manipulating three factors: a) identification of the individual’s past, b) excessive use of fear, c) excessive use of guilt (Hassan 3). Guilt is artificially synthesized by identifying the individual’s past (your family, historical guilt, affiliations, education, etc.) and by identifying who the individual is presently (social guilt, who you are-not living up to your potential, thoughts, feelings, actions, etc.) Fear is applied by reinforcing: fear of thinking independently, fear of the outside world, fear of disapproval, and fear of isolation, losing one’s sanctity, fear of past and fear of real or imagined enemies. The group and its leaders often act out on emotional highs and lows and rituals are often a springboard for public confessions. During these events public humiliation is often applied and a reduction in the individual’s self-esteem results, leading to greater dependency on the group and its leaders. Another way fear is programmed in the individual is by “Phobia Indoctrination”-using classical conditiong to instill irrational fears in the person. The person under mind control cannot visualize a happy, fulfilled future without the group (Hassan 3). Group leaders constantly remind their followers that terrible consequences may occur if they leave (demon possession, accidents, insanity, hell damnation, AIDS, suicide, leprosy, etc.) and that there is never a legitimate reason to leave. Group dissenters are shunned as “weak,” “have loose morals, ““unworldly,” “seduced be vice,” and etc. Whenever an individual is operating under strong emotion rather than reason, their sense of judgment is impaired and they lack the ability to gain perspective on the world around them (Lieberman 186).

With their unethical ability to twist and destroy people’s lives, some have made an effort to outlaw cults in this country and abroad. Victims’ friends, family members, individuals, and groups have all spoke out in the effort for a government crack down on these types of organizations. “Why do we continue to allow people’s lives to be taken away like this?” is a familiar cry. But like their ability to twist good people into mindless converts, the good laws of our country prevent a crack down on cults by any measure. Since the United States Bill of Rights guarantees freedom from religious persecution and government endorsement, cults operating under a religious umbrella have the legal right to exist unless they cause public harm. But proving public harm is usually very difficult because the members have the right to associate with whomever they choose to as long as children aren’t involved. The best advice for eradicating the existence of cults is to educate the public on what a cult is and why they exist. Cults exist to financially and emotionally benefit its leaders, not for the group members. Nobody joins a cult with the idea that their joining a cult, usually they think they’ve found a more promising and fulfilling lifestyle and beliefs system only to never realize their mistake after group indoctrination. Cults destroy lives and separate families, but beware; the usual recruit is a bright, intelligent, and idealistic individual. The most likely person to get involved in a cult is the one who says, “it won’t happen to me.”

LIST of REFERENCES

Cialdini PH.D. , Robert B. Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. William Morrow and
Company, 1984, 1994

Crawley, Kevin, Cult Definition, University of Iowa Panda System, 1994
Taken from: Manipulative Mind Control/Ex-Cult Resource Center

Groenveld, Jan Social Psychology and Group Dynamics. Manipulative Mind Control/Ex-Cult
Resource Center.com, 2001

Hassan, Steven Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves.
Freedom of Mind Press, 2000 Taken from: Manipulative Mind Control/Ex-Cult Resource Center.

Lieberman PH.D., David J. Never Be Lied to Again: How to Get the Truth in 5 Minutes or Less In
Any Conversation or Situation. St. Martin’s Press, 1998

Singer PH.D., Margaret T. Conditions for Mind Control University of California, Berkeley 2000
Taken from: Manipulative Mind Control/Ex-cult Resource Center.com