Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance have been discussed here and elsewhere quite a lot (if you're unfamiliar, google them). We all use confirmation bias to some extent to reaffirm ourselves and our beliefs, and cognitive dissonance is something we all have to deal with, but cult members who have been indoctrinated with thought-reform (aka mind control) techniques display these in predictable ways when you know what you're looking for.
Below are two scenarios and a cult member's interpretation of the events. Notice the belief that the cult is "the truth" is always reinforced by the member's interpretation of events, even when those events seem to be totally opposite.
Scenario One. A person not in the cult is bothered by strange events in his/her home. Books and other items fall off shelves on their own. Lights that you would swear were turned off are suddenly turned on again. Strange orbs show up on photographs taken in the home. There are extreme cold spots here and there throughout the house. This person eventually studies with the cult and joins up, and the symptoms mentioned stop.
When informed about this, a cult member would say this person and his/her home were being attacked by demons. The cult member's explanation of the reason the demon attacks stopped is because the person began opposing them and became the demons' enemy by joining this special group that has protection from demons.
Scenario Two. A person is a cult member and is bothered by strange events in his/her home. Books and other items fall off shelves on their own. Lights that you would swear were turned off are suddenly turned on again. Strange orbs show up on photographs taken in the home. There are extreme cold spots here and there throughout the house. This person eventually leaves the cult and the symptoms mentioned eventually stop.
When informed about this, a cult member would say this person and his/her home were being attacked by demons because demons hate "the truth" that only the cult possesses. The reason the demon attacks stopped after the former cult member left is because that person finally stopped opposing them and became the demons' friend by leaving the cult.
A rational person would feel the dissonance of the two explanations and try to figure out which one of them is correct (since they can't both be). An indoctrinated cult member, on the other hand, will easily believe both explanations are true and ignore the fact that they are in opposition to one another.
It's sad, but predictable, and it happens far too often among cult members.
Any other examples you can think of? Some are tragic and sad, others are funny. Please share what comes to your mind on the topic.