How Do Cults Gain & Maintain Their Control?

The world is an increasingly complex place, there are many moving parts and it can make finding certainty in life very difficult.

Amongst all the upheaval, Cults and High-Control groups thrive as they present a very flat, one-dimensional view of the world. Offering what, at least seems like, a clear-cut black and white view of world events.

So How Do Cults Succeed?

Jon-Patrik Pedersen, a psychologist at CalTech, has pointed out that cult leaders often make promises that, while they are totally unattainable, are also not offered by any other group in society. Such things include financial security, perfect health, constant peace of mind and eternal life - usually, the things humans desire at the deepest level. It holds such promise, special knowledge and benefits available only to group members – special exclusivity. 

What’s Not To Like About That?

Our world is complex and littered with many abstract issues and interactions. Naturally, all the noise that life brings leads human beings to crave clarity.  Many people join groups that they later discover are cults, because they believe they’re being offered solid, absolute answers for huge questions such as good vs. evil, religion, the meaning of life, politics - the list is endless.

Many cult leaders promote messages that are simple and on a surface level, seem to make sense. They offer calm amid the noise. It appeals on an ironically human level, because it is the polar opposite of what we’re often confronted with in typical, everyday life.

Cults use Black and white thinking, an “us” versus “them” mentality. The narrative promoted is that the outside world is bad, under devil control, or corrupt/impure versus the purity or truth offered by the cult. Eventually, this becomes an intrinsic belief that there is no prospect of living a good life outside of the cult or High Control Group.

Who Are The People Who Join Cults? 

Believe it or not, people who join cults are just like you and me – average, everyday human beings.  Research has shown there are no particular personality types that are more likely to join a cult. However, someone experiencing low self-esteem, trauma or a major life change such as a death of a partner/child/parent or relationship breakdown can be more likely to join a cult. Experiencing this kind of trauma often makes it easier for a cult to break down a person's own authentic personality, or overwrite it, with the cult personality in a seemingly supportive environment.

How Do Cults Alter Your Perception?

Often, a tactic called love-bombing is the key to gaining new members. Love-bombing is showering intense attention and affection to an individual. Growing up in the Jehovah’s Witness religion, I experienced this first-hand from a member perspective.  We were instructed to approach people we didn’t know or who were attending for the first time. We were encouraged to introduce ourselves, show personal interest and assist the person/s in attendance by inviting them to share in group activities.

For me as the provider, love-bombing was almost automatic, a programmed response. For the person on the receiving end, a constant stream of compliments, flattery and encouragement created a seductive dopamine hit. Training the person to associate the cult with misguided positive emotions. The reality of the situation however, is of course one that is far more sinister.

How do Cults and High-Control groups maintain their power?

To maintain this power, reductive “us” versus “them” thinking comes into play.  Successful cults manage to isolate members from their former lives and identities, convincing followers that they are superior to people who are not a member of the cult. This conforms to the cult playbook as it is  described by Dr Steven Hassan’s BITE model. Specifically through thought control, forbidding questioning of  leadership resulting in stopping of rational thought processing through the explicit rejection of critical thinking.

How Do Cults Manipulate Their Members' Reality?

Some techniques of mind control are subtle, some are explicit. The methods vary and often a mixture of both are used to obtain control. Some examples of tactics that are commonly used by cults are:

Public Humiliation and always keeping busy

As mentioned previously, cult members may be “love bombed” shortly after their arrival. Once they are established members however, cult leaders often maintain their emotional control through various exercises meant to publicly humiliate the member.  A variation on this is keeping members continuously busy while reminding them they can never live up to the lofty ideals of the group. They guilt members into engaging in even more cult-related activities, or to donate their money and/or physical resources.

Self Incrimination

Jim Jones, cult leader turned mass murderer, used self incrimination in a big way.  Self incrimination requires cult members to provide their leader with written statements detailing their individual fears and mistakes. The cult leader can then use these statements to shame individual members publicly.

A similar tactic is used by Scientology, members are “Audited”, leading to them exposing their innermost thoughts. This information is kept by leadership, and in the case of a member trying to leave, it is used against ex-members as part of a policy known as “fair gaming”. 

This policy makes it clear to members that there can be no legitimate reason for leaving the cult. Essentially, it means they are stating it is acceptable that  any members who do leave, permit the cult to use any of this information against them; resulting in a powerful combination of fear, guilt and shame.

Brainwashing

Cult leaders Lie. They lie often, unapologetically, with grandiosity and with no evidence to support their claims. This can take the form of claimed divine revelation, “special” knowledge, half truths or unquestionable beliefs. 

Tactics to make members believe their lies include chanting, singing and repetition.  Also, assigning special meaning to words or distorting definitions. These lies, distortions and half-truths are repeated so often that members find it difficult to distinguish between reality and thoughts and beliefs promoted from the cult.

This describes the phenomenon known as cognitive dissonance, the ability of the human mind to hold two contrary beliefs simultaneously. This, achieved through the above methods, explains the ability of cult members to shun members who leave, Sometimes even family members, while still remaining convinced that their beliefs are true and their actions are in fact undertaken out of love. 

Offering comfort in control

If everything outside of an individual's viewpoint is in chaos, then the controlling tactics and restrictive practices and beliefs espoused by high control groups and cults can provide reassurance, certainty and comfort.

As an extension of black and white thinking, if everything inside the cult is good, clean, proper and orderly, then everything outside is polluted, unholy, unclean, from the devil or worldly. There are a plethora of terms and tactics used here that all rely on building paranoia. 

If you can convince members of the group that outsiders, including their families, government, outside organizations and institutions are “out to get” them while simultaneously offering them the “perfect” solution you can convince them that only the cult can provide safety.

Once this illusion is built members believe safety and certainty comes only from association with the group. Even members' own families are no longer seen as safe or places of refuge. The same applies to friends and former associates. The “logical” conclusion therefore is to stay close to the cult and engage in the community built by and around its leadership.

Looking For More Information?

If you want to hear more about my own personal experience of leaving the JW cult and how I help others find and build their purpose I’m available to speak at conferences or work with your organization to build a healthy purpose-driven environment.

I’m Christopher Karvountzis for the Good purpose Network - for more information please see my other blog posts and links or get in contact with me to arrange a workshop in your workplace or a keynote at your next conference.