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Combating Cult Mind Control is a nonfiction book by Steven Hassan, first published in 1988.The book presents itself as a guide to resisting the mind control practices of destructive cults, and focuses on the research of Margaret Singer and Robert Lifton as well as the cognitive dissonance theory of Leon Festinger.
In Cults in our Midst, Singer differentiated between the usage of the terms cult and Large Group Awareness Training, [39] [40] [page needed] while pointing out some commonalities. [41] [42] Elsewhere she groups the two phenomena together, in that they both use a shared set of thought-reform techniques. [43] [44]
Brainwashing was first published in hardcover format on 16 December 2004 by Oxford University Press, and again in paperback format on 24 August 2006.The book was "highly commended" and runner-up in the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement Young Academic Author Award, and also made it to the shortlist for the 2005 MIND "Book of the Year Award".
The APA asked Margaret Singer, a leading theorist in cults and coercive persuasion, to chair a task force to "expose cult methods and tactics". Some examples that led to the task force's creation were the Manson family murders, Patty Hearst kidnapping, and the Jonestown massacre. [1]
Brainwashing [a] is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. [1] Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, [2] as well as to change their attitudes, values, and beliefs.
The group constantly exhorts members to view the world as black and white, conform to the group ideology, and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here. Confession. The group defines sins that members should confess either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group.
The academic study of new religious movements has been noted to be unusually hostile, with scholars holding strong opinions as to the influence of cults on society. [1] [2] A 1998 article in the magazine Lingua Franca reported on the acrimony of the scholarly debate on the topic; in the "cult-anticult debate", [3] scholars have been described as exhibiting a "toxic level" of suspicion toward ...
To combat destructive mind control, he has developed the Strategic Interaction Approach. This approach is designed to free the cult member from the group's control over his or her life." [109] New York Magazine characterized Hassan as, "one of the country's leading experts on cults and mind control."