Psychology of Cults: Research

➔ Definition
SLIDE 4: A cult is defined as a small group of people who have similar religious beliefs or routines that
others view as bizarre or sinister (Oxford English dictionary, 2018). A cult is also a group or movement
with a shared pledge to an extreme ideology that is typically embodied by a charismatic leader (Lalich,
2017).In the same sense there is present-day application ofthe word that is extended to refer to a
group of people with an overzealous interest in a celebrity, non-mainstream band, game, book or movie

SLIDE 5: The word cult originates from the early seventeenth century from the Latin word cultus
meaning worshiped, inhabited, and cultivated. From the nineteenth century to the present, the word
“cult” began to be associated with any religion or denomination other than Christianity; even more so, it
was used to describe the different beliefs of folk groups including the Druids in the eighteenth century
(Newcombe, 2014).

SLIDE 6: The interest in the topic becomes an obsession or way or life. Some of these fanatical groups
may elevate the figure they admire to a godly standard. Cults who do this take on the category of a
religious cult. In fact, many religions began as cults, but as they grew larger in society they became
known as bonafide religions rather than cults. For example, Christianity was a cult of Judaism before it
became one of the largest religions in the world.

➔ Classification of Cults
SLIDE 8: Categories of cults are contingent upon the groups’ actions, beliefs, ideologies and members. Among the
categories are doomsday cults, destructive cults and religious cults to name a few.

◆ Racist Cults
● often practice prejudice, discrimination, and hatred towards a group that is of a
different race than the cult members.
● They may gather in rallies to speak about their mission against other races, discuss
their hatred for other races in group meetings, or even commit illegal acts against
people of other races which may be seen as hate crimes. Besides their beliefs and
ideals, members also share their image.
● For example, a racist cult that is known to many Americans is the Ku Klux Klan. Not
only does this group share the ideas and beliefs that non-Aryans are inferior, but
most of their members are Aryan (of Indo-European background) or Caucasian
◆ Political Cults
● are fueled by belief in changing society, revolution, overthrowing the perceived
enemy or getting rid of evil forces.
● The leader professes to be all knowing and all powerful. Often the group is armed
and meets in secret with coded language, handshakes, and other ritualized
practices.
 ◆ Doomsday Cults
● Doomsday cults refer to groups who believe in some sort of apocalyptic end or who
choose to bring about some sort of calamity in society.
● These groups usually acquire numerous resources to prepare for some sort of
drastic end. The resources may include money, food, weapons, or medicine.
● Example: Aum Shinrikyo. This cult founded by Shoko Ashara was originally
dedicated to practicing yoga and other meditating techniques. Ashara soon
predicted a catastrophic judgement day termed “Nuclear Armageddon”. He
preached to both his followers and outsiders that if they did not join or remain in
Aum Shinrikyo, they were doomed. The continued to follow the doomsday pattern
with several incidents including several suspected assassinations, holding members
against their will, and the murder of a member who tried to escape. The cult’s
activities came to a halt when it executed a chemical attack in Tokyo across five
different subway trains injuring somewhere between 6,000-7,000 people.
◆ Religious Cults
● are marked by belief in a god or some higher being, salvation, and the afterlife,
sometimes combined with an apocalyptic view.
● Not only are religious cults the most notorious type of cult, but other categories of
cults overlap as religious ones.
● Some cults like ‘The Family’, led by Charles Manson, are harder to place in
categories. This cult masterminded a series of murders in Hollywood over a two-day
period. Despite the goal of starting a race war, the cult is placed in the religious
cult category because Manson’s followers worshipped him.
◆ OCCULT, SATANIC, OR BLACK-MAGIC CULTS
● are generated through belief in supernatural powers, and sometimes worship of
Satan. The leader professes to be evil incarnate.
● Animal sacrifice and physical and sexual abuse are common; some groups claim they
perform human sacrifice. Practices and influence techniques include exotic and
bizarre rituals, secrecy, fear and intimidation, acts of violence, tattooing or
scarring, cutting and blood rituals, sacrificial rituals, or altars

➔ Why Do People Join Cults?

◆ Need for Cults (SLIDE:11)
● Evolutionary Need: Cults can provide a basic need for individuals. Charles Darwin, a
prominent figure of Evolutionary Theory, has stated that groups function as an
adaptive strategy for humans. Some forms of cult persuasion play on the natural
inclination of people to imitate social behavior or follow orders. What this means is
that as humans are social beings, we want to imitate the behaviour of other to
belong to a group and not be left out. An evolutionary drive to belong is another a
reason for people to remain in or join cults; they also want attainment of desired
rewards
● Survival: They are told what to fear and what to be anxious of, developing
psychological mechanisms that aid them specifically towards their group. The ability
for individuals to adapt physically and mentally to a changing world is what keeps
 them alive. Here, it is evident that there are psychological mechanisms used for
survival.
○ fear is an evolved psychological mechanism people have. It can be beneficial
because it demonstrates the need for individuals to be cautious in situations
that are dangerous or can cause harm to the individual.
○ Anxiety is also an evolved psychological mechanism that goes correlates
with fear.
○ In spite of cults satisfying the basic psychological needs for survival, people
will often use cults for a pathological need. They will behave in drastic and
undesirable ways that may hinder adaptation. This is one anomaly that may
separate cults from other groups.
○ Eg - The Order of the Solar Temple, another doomsday cult, believed there
was an apocalyptical ending in their near future. The group believed they had
to bum themselves alive to CULTS 7 ascend to the next spiritual plane to
survive the apocalypse

SLIDE 12: In most cases, you wouldn't recognize a cult member if you stood behind one in a supermarket
check-out line or saw one at a gas pump, both of which you probably have done at one time or another.
Cultists look and seem surprisingly normal for the most part. The question is, why do they do it?What
causes people to surrender themselves so willingly to others even to the point of being willing to die for
their leader or their group?
The answer is simple enough. People join cults because they're looking for love and acceptance and
because they want answers to the personal problems in their lives. Unlike most people who find socially
acceptable solutions to their problems, these emotionally scarred individuals are willing to go beyond the
bounds of normalcy in order to meet their deeply felt needs.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that people don’t always voluntarily or knowingly join a cult.
They:
➔ Don’t know that they are joining a Cult:
◆ Individuals who are attracted to groups that are considered cults may have certain
vulnerabilities that make them more likely to join, such as anxiety or substance
abuse problems.
◆ An example of this is the accounts of woman named Feaur Brown, who was part of
the Worldwide Church of God. Her mother joined the cult in her early twenties
after losing her husband. She was looking for sanctuary and found it in this cult.
Aside from a conservative dress code and a ban on makeup, the church was full of
fairly normal looking people. There were millions of followers at its peak — families
big and small, rich and poor joined from almost every country in the world. She had
no idea she was joining a cult.
➔ Have UNresloved insecurities:
◆ Another study found that many cult members experience attachment insecurity
prior to joining a cult. Their insecurities may drive them toward a group that
promises acceptance.
◆ Research done in the past two decades has found an interesting pattern: many
people successfully recruited by cults are said to have low self-esteem. Cults
generally do not look to recruit those with certain handicaps or clinical depression.
However, people with low self-esteem are easier to break down, then build back up
 in an effort to teach them that the cult is the supportive environment they’re
looking for.
◆ Once they join a group, they’re usually distanced from outside influences. After
people are separated from the outside world, leaving the group becomes difficult.
They often grow dependent on being in the group and develop suspicions of anyone
outside the group.This is why some people suspect that cult members are
“brainwashed.”
➔ They are manipulated into Joining the cult: some people believe those involved are more
like “victims” rather than “members,” since they are often subjected to psychological
manipulation tactics that lure them into making unhealthy decisions—including suicide in
some cases.

➔ Why Stay Crazy? (SLIDE 16)

◆ Social Identity Theory
● explains how an individual can enhance their self-esteem in correspondence to their
group.
● meaning humans are motivated to positively evaluate their own groups and value.
● The individual sees the group as an extension of themselves.
● A prime example of SIT at work within cults is in the name itself. If you were to
approach a cult member and were to tell them that they were in a cult, they would
immediately say they were not. Remember, cults are “weird” or “bizarre”. This gives
them a negative group concept.
● To keep a positive group concept, in return maintaining a positive self-concept, the
member is likely to say: “this is not a cult, this is a religion, or this is a school of
thought”. They will do away with the negative terminology and replace it with a
positive one. In this way, individuals also seek to categorize groups.

◆ Self-Categorization Theory
● States that self-categorizations are motivated by the need to reduce uncertainty.
● This theory states that members of a group will reduce uncertainty or cognitive
dissonance about any concept by seeking affirmation of their beliefs from members
within the group.
● By doing so, the group member feels even more a part of the group.
● The theory creates a clear divide in groups and others. They make “in groups” for
anyone within the circle and “out groups” for anyone who is not. Cults claims to
answers life’s biggest questions like and satisfy the human need for absolute
answers.
● When members begin to have questions about topics such as these, they seek the
answers within the cult. Naturally, answers that arise from the cult are the cult’s
ideologies. When people take the group’s answers from these major questions, they
essentially become the entire group’s way of thinking. Anyone who does not match
these ways of thinking becomes members of the outgroup.
● “us” versus “them” approach, a basic idea of SCT. When individuals use the “us”
idea, it makes it easier for them to agree in a group while giving them the
expectation that others will agree too.
 ● With thought-stopping techniques, members are taught to stop doubts from
entering their consciousness about the cult, often with a key phrase they repeat.
Phobia indoctrination is also used, where cults play on a person's irrational fears.

◆ De-Individualisation
● Cults act as a collective. There is no difference of individual personality, emotions,
or thoughts seen in cult members.
● Human beings learn from and follow each other: They adopt identical behaviors, buy
the same things, and follow trends based on people who impact them.
● People then become so involved with other people, they tend to become
deindividualized and lose self-awareness
● Basically their feelings and idea’s become the cult’s feelings and ideas

◆ Conveyor Belt of Cult Identity

● Social identity theory, self-categorization theory, and deindividualization all make
up the Conveyor Belt of Cult Identity.
● It starts with social identity theory: group members are creating a positive
identity and try to lessen off any negative external criticism.
● Next, after exhibiting social identity theory, members begin to self-categorize.
They ask other group members about things they are uncertain about, creating a
group mentality and overall group category.
● Once they have that group mentality, that becomes one of the few resources group
members have to rely on. They become so group-involved that they become the
group.
● Their individual identity dissociates and they lose their personal existence,
character, feelings, motives, or desires.

◆ Mind Control (SLIDE 17)

● APA's 2002 Annual Convention in Chicago during the session "Cults of hatred" to
speak out on the effects of mind control and destructive cults. Panelists made a
plea to the association to form a task force to investigate mind control among
destructive cults.
● "Extreme influence [such as mind control and cults] has remained dormant in the
field of psychology," Alan W. Scheflin, professor of law at Santa Clara University,
told the audience.
● Mind control, or "brainwashing" as it's commonly referred to by the media, is often
viewed by many psychologists as science fiction.
● However, panelists stressed that mind control is being used by cults to recruit and
maintain followers and can have dangerous and lasting psychological consequences.
● Cults that use mind-control techniques "have been able to do so with impunity, and
the people who are victims of these techniques get no treatment," Scheflin said.
● In fact, psychologists who do treat someone claiming to be a mind-control victim
from a destructive cult might face a malpractice action.

➔ Cult Leaders
A part of the phenomenon of cults is the cult leader. Analyzing the leadership style of cults will gain
insight in why cult members choose to follow them. This analysis will also explain the phenomenon that
some describe as brainwashing that occurs within cults.Cult leaders are usually psychopaths with a desire
for power and often take ideas from politics, religion and psychology to fulfill their purpose.
◆ Charismatic Leader
● Charisma has been seen as a characteristic of infamous figures in society and it has
been determined that there are psychological mechanisms which lead to the
emergence of charismatic leaders and their attraction to the people that follow
them.
● For example, the charismatic leader gains power based on personal features rather
than knowledge or experience. They use their charisma as a tool.
● The charismatic leader is a leadership style that uses propaganda; this type of
leader relies on personality to persuade people to follow
● . Cults demand obedience to leaders who are persuasive people with authoritarian
and narcissistic tendencies motivated by money, sex, power, or a combination of all
three.
● Although the charismatic leader has the personality of someone corrupt, their
followers see them as an amazing person. This person is actually a manipulator who
promises them anything they wish.
● A study by Smith and Zarate (2015) demonstrated how powerful charisma is in
influencing decision making.
● They explored how the effects of religious priming and the charismatic leadership
style influenced decision-making.
● In the study, they had participants assigned to a priming condition that included
either having the participants write about the role ofreligion in society or about
their favorite movie.
● The participants were then given a presentation of either hydro-fracture mining or
solar energy alternatives. Then while in the treatment of a charismatic or
non-charismatic confederate, they were to hypothetically distribute funds to
either the hydro-fracture mining or solar energy alternatives.
● The confederate in both situations supported hydro-fracture mining and
recommended the funding go towards it. They found that a charismatic leader was
more effective when participants were first primed with religion.
● This shows that a charismatic leader is able to influence people about a topic that
they have no expertise in.

◆ Persuasion
● Persuasion is seen as a power tactic to get cult members to participate in behaviors
they otherwise would not.
● Some methods of cult influence include techniques of compelled persuasion involving
guilt, shame, or fear.
● Persuasion is a form of social influence that involves changing other’s thoughts, or
behaviors by applying rational and/or emotional arguments to convince them to
adopt a certain position or view.

◆ Bounded Rationality
 ● Bounded rationality theory states that decision-making and subsequent behavior is
limited by the information that is presented, cognitive limitations, attitudes, biases,
stereotypes, heuristics, and the amount oftime that a person has to plan.
● It also states people will learn to achieve success through experience and that
bounded rational behavior will disappear over time if the environment remains
stable.
● Bounded rationality is a way that humans make decisions quickly without using too
much cognitive effort; however, when they use this, they are known to make hasty
and irrational decisions, but to them the decision seems rational.

➔ Religion vs Cults
◆ Like Classic Coke and Diet Coke, both religions and cults look alike even if they taste
different.
◆ A religion belongs to the wider culture; its adherents come and go freely.
◆ A cult tends to be counter-cultural, restricting the social life of its adherents to other
cult members.
◆ The cult leader claims exclusive access to transcendent reality, and dispenses power and
grace as he or she sees fit.
◆ It is not theology that distinguishes a cult from a religion; in fact, cults may appear within
a religion, for example, the Branch Davidians or Jim Jones' Peoples Church were both cults
within Christianity.
◆ One major difference is the "cost" of disagreeing with those who are in positions of
authority.
◆ A cult wields fear as a way of keeping people and secrets inside.
◆ Religious communities can become cultic with the most dramatic example resulting in the
crimes perpetrated on children by Catholic priests.
◆ Moreover, if your definition of "cult" is a group with a charismatic and very odd leader who
thinks he or she has direct access to the divine and spreads a theology that seems both
heretical and confused to the established religions around it, then Christianity and Islam
and Buddhism were certainly cults when they began.
◆ Here, I suggest, is the real difference between a cult and a religion: about 100 years.
Once a cult is able to establish itself for several generations, we call it a "religion." Before
that, we dismiss it as a dangerous threat to real religion. Reasons:
● a group that survives over generations cannot afford the sort of self-destructive,
oppressive or anti-social behavior that appalls us in cults.
● A group that survives over generations will also have to develop institutions for
teaching its message to its young. But no system that has horrific or very bizarre
implications is likely to retain the loyalty of its young

➔ Why Chritianity is a Cult?

◆ Christ removes the burden of the law, and the cycle of guilt and shame that
comes with it. We’re accepted and loved by Jesus through a living
grace-filled relationship, not through obeying rules.