zeuszor:
Milgram and Zimbardo represent one piece of understanding cults and how they work.
There is actually quite a bit more than any single "trinity" when it comes to understanding cult dynamics and how leaders manipulate people.
Lifton, Singer and Ofshe are another trio of highly regarded sources concerning groups called "cults".
There is also the research of communication experts Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman in their seminal book "Snapping", which now has a second edition.
"Influence" techniques are also discussed in considerable depth by Robert Cialdini.
Janja Lalich has also written some excellent books, such as "Bounded Choice" and "Take Back Your Life".
Singer's book "Cults in Our Midst" remains a good foundation for unraveling the methodology and group dynamics of cults. She cites Lifton and Edgar Schein and demonstrates how their research converges regarding coercive persuasion or thought reform techniques.
See [
www.culteducation.com]
Note the distinctions Singer makes between various forms of persuasion such as education, advertising, propaganda, indoctrination and thought reform.
Thankfully there are many sources for helpful information.
Part of getting out of the cultic mindset is realizing how many alternate sources of information exist and not being too dependent on a single frame of reference.
There is also much anecdotal information from former cult members describing their past lives and explaining the control that was once exercised over them within various groups.
See [
www.culteducation.com]
The Ross Institute Links page contains many links to such sources and many other useful links to other related Web sites.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2012 03:19AM by rrmoderator.