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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]
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]
The anti-cult movement, abbreviated ACM and also known as the countercult movement, [1] consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of religious groups that they consider to be "cults", uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.
Marketed as a school that would help troubled teens, in reality, many Ivy Ridge attendees endured mental and physical abuse and were made to take part in cult-like activities.
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.
Destructive cult is a term frequently used by the anti-cult movement. [18] Members of the anti-cult movement typically define a destructive cult as a group that is unethical, deceptive, and one that uses "strong influence" or mind control techniques to affect critical thinking skills. [32]
The Cult Awareness Network presented itself as a source of information about "cults"; by 1991 it was monitoring over 200 groups that it referred to as "mind-control cults". It also promoted a form of coercive intervention by self-styled "deprogrammers" who would, for a significant fee, forcibly detain or even abduct the cult member and subject ...