THE THREE STAGES OF GAINING CONTROL OF THE MIND (From "Releasing the Bonds" by Steven Hassan):
Unfreezing "breaking a person down":
a. Disorientation/confusion: if a person is kept in a controlling environment long enough, hearing disorienting language and confusing information, he will usually suspend his critical judgement and adapt to what he percieves everyone else is doing?the tendency is to doubt themselves and defer to the group.. b. Sensory deprivation and/or sensory overload : A person can be bombarded by emotionally laden material at a rate faster than he can digest. The result is a feeling of being overwhelmed. The mind snaps into neutral and ceases to evaluate material pouring in. c. Physiological manipulation
1. Sleep deprivation
2. Privacy deprivation 3. Change of diet
d. Hypnosis
1. Age regression 2. Visualizations 3. Storytelling and metaphors 4. Linguistic double binds, use of suggestion. A double bind forces a person to do what the controller wants while giving an illusion of choice. Example: "If you admit there are things in your life that aren?t working, then by not taking the seminar, you are giving those things power to control your life." 5. Meditation, chanting, praying, singing
e. Get the person to question self-identity--most cults bombard them with the idea that they are badly flawed.
f. Redefine individual's past (forget positive memories of the past)
Changing "the indoctrination process"
a. Creation and imposition of new "identity," done step by step: new behaviors, thoughts, & emotions
1. Formally within indoctrination sessions--rule of thumb is: "Tell him only what he can accept."
2. Informally by members, tapes, books, etc.
b. Use of Behavior Modification techniques
1. Rewards and punishments 2. Use of thought stopping techniques 3. Control of environment c. Mystical manipulation
d. Use of hypnosis and other mind-altering techniques
repetition focuses on certain central themes. The recruits are told how bad the world is and that the unenlightened have no idea how to fix it. This is because ordinary people lack the new "understanding" that has been brought by the leader(s). The group is the only hope of lasting happiness: "your ?old? self is what?s keeping you from fully experiencing the ?new truth.? Your ?old concepts? are what drag you down. Your ?rational? mind is holding you back from fantastic progress. Surrender. Let go. Have faith."1. Repetition, monotony, rhythm--
2. Excessive chanting, praying, decreeing, visualizations
a. Use of confession and testimonials
A common technique is to instruct people to ask God what He wants them to do. Members/recruits are told to study and pray in order to know God?s will for them. It is always implied that joining the group is God?s will and leaving it is betraying it. Perhaps the most powerful pursuasion is exerted by the other members themselves. For the average person, talking with an indoctrinated cultist is quite an experience. You have probably never met anyone else, friend or stranger who is absolutely convinced that he knows what is best for you. A dedicated cult member also does not take no for an answer, because he has been indoctrinated to believe that if you don?t join, he is to blame. This creates a lot of pressure on him to succeed. When you are surrounded by such people, group psychology plays a role?The changing process includes numerous "sharing" sessions, where past evils are confessed, present success stories are told, and a sense of community is fostered?the group vigorously reinforces certain behaviors by effusive praise and acknowledgement, while punishing non-group behaviors and ideas with icy silence.
Refreezing : "building up and reinforcing the new identity" After someone has been broken down and indoctrinated, he must be built up again as the "new man", given a new purpose in life and new activities that will solidify his new identity.
a. New identity reinforced, old identity surrendered
1. Separate from the past; decrease contact or cut off friends and family. A n individual's memory becomes distorted, minimizing the good things in the past and maximizing the sins, the failings, the hurts, the guilt. Special talents, interests, hobbies, friends, and family are abandoned?prefarably in dramatic public actions?if they compete with commitment to the cause. The member tends to look back at his previous life with a distorted memory that colors everything dark. Even very positive memories are skewed toward the bad.
2. Give up meaningful possessions and donate assets 3. Start doing cult activities: recruit, fundraise, move in with members . He feels a great sense of urgency?many groups teach that the apocalypse is just around the corner.
b. New name, new clothing, new hairstyle, new language, new "family"
c. Pairing up with new role models, buddy system . Primary method for passing on new information is modeling. New members are paired with older members. The "spiritual child" is instructed to imitate the "spiritual parent" in all ways.
d. The indoctrination continues: workshops, retreats, seminars, individual studies, group activities
Summary: breaking someone down by calling into question his present identity, indoctrinating him to change his identity, then reinforcing/maintaining the new identity.