Social Psychology Lesson 7 Cults Name:________________________________________

Opener:

Lecture Notes:

Originated from the word _______________________________

A system of beliefs and behaviors that make a person part of a group

Typically has a _____________________________________ today

cultic relationship: a person _____________________________________________ others to become totally or

nearly totally dependent on him or her for almost all major ______________________________________

Difficulty of defining cults precisely:

One person’s cult is another person’s____________________

Europeans call them _________________________

“cult” is a pejorative term, usually used by one group to _____________________________.

What is the difference between a “cult” and a “social movement,” or an “extremist group” or a “club.”

A CULUTRE of beliefs, a way of living

Which, if any, of the following are cults?

CONTROL over others is the defining characteristic of a modern day cult.

Brainwashing

Can people be “brainwashed.”? There is no ____________________________________ that allows people to be programmed, deprogrammed, or reprogrammed like a computer.

A cult convert has to be a ____________________________________ in his/her conversion. He or she

may not be aware of a __________________________, but he or she has to ___________________ with the process.

Cults use the same basic techniques of persuasion as other persuaders, but in addition, they rely on

many _________________________________________

Cults employ many strategies at once;

__________________________________________________________________________

Cults control the _____________________________________of members as well (that is why cults

often live away from the rest of society in a _____________________________________

Robert Lifton’s Marks of Mind Control

1. _____________________________________ : control of the environment, communication, access to information

2. _____________________________________ : the leader gets to reinterpret events and history as she/he sees fit.

3. _____________________________________ society is corrupt, members must be purified. The desire to

become mentally and physically pure makes members susceptible to _________________________________

_________________________________________used by the leader.

4. _____________________________________ : control of _____________________________________;

members must confess any wrongdoing to the leader, including ____________________________infractions

5. _____________________________________ : reliance on dogmatic principles; the leader has all the

_____________________________________Only the leader is privileged to know the _____________________

6. _____________________________________ : reliance on ____________________________ phrases and

language; serves to ________________ members from the outside world and constrict members’ ____________

7. _____________________________________ : the cause’s doctrine takes ______________________ over the

individual. Members’ character and identity have to be __________________________

8. _____________________________________ : Outsiders are ___________________________ unless they join

the group. Members fear being ___________________________from the group.

Recruitment

Windows of_____________________________________: targets are most susceptible during an

_____________________________________crisis (divorce, death of loved one, serious illness, etc.)

target’s ________________________ may be confused, impaired

target is looking for an _____________________________________

Befriending the target

_____________________________________ strategies (compliments, flattery, especially about sources of insecurity)

Lure of forming a _____________________________________relationship

Invitation to attend a meeting or retreat

isolation from ______________________

control over ____________________

Difficult to ____________________

Deception: withholding the ______________________________ of the group, withholding the ______________ of befriending another, etc.

Psychological Persuasive Techniques

Unconditional ________________________________

“love bombing,”group hugs, etc.

Meditation, chanting, and other _____________________________ techniques

Peer group pressure

Pressure to conform, be ________________________

Verbal______________________

Cults as Power Structures

Four interlocking dimensions make up the framework of a cult’s ________________________________

Charismatic Authority

Transcendent Belief Systems

Systems of Control

Systems of Influence

Warning Signs of a Cult

The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display zealous, ________________________

The group is preoccupied with bringing in ___________________

The group is preoccupied with bringing in __________________

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are__________________, or even __________________

__________________ techniques like chanting, speaking in tongues

denunciation sessions are used to __________________about the group or its leadership

The leadership dictates in great detail how members should t__________________ (permission to come and go, where to live, how to discipline children, etc.

The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status. The leader is considered the __________________

Extra-biblical revelation: __________________directly to the group’s leader.

The group exhibits a polarized __________________mentality. Outsiders are evil and must be shunned.

The group’s leader is not accountable to any authorities, inside or outside of the group

The group teaches that its ends justify the means (such as collecting money for phony charities)

The leadership induces guilt, fear, in group members in order to __________________

Members’ subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up __________________goals in the interests of the group

Social encapsulation: Members are encouraged to __________________with the group exclusively

TED Ed – Why do people join cults?