Cults, Brainwashing, Advertising and Psychological Manipulation
I'm interested in the way peoples beliefs are formed and changed. This
includes the manipulation techniques used by cults, and by
advertisers.
Cults
What is a cult?
To be honest, this question doesn't interest me as much as it seems to
interest others. My interest is more in the tactics used to propagate
belief systems. However, you can find some people's views here:
On Using
the Term "Cult"; Checklist of
Cult Characteristics; Definition of a Cult
General information on cults.
The American Family Foundation (AFF)
is a secular, non-profit making organisation giving information
on cults. Their Cult-101 is
a good primer on cults.
The Australian
Cult Awareness & Information Centre (CAIC) is another good source
of links.
The Cult Information Centre
(CIC) provides a number of succinct checklists, such as
Mind Control Techniques
Yahoo's Cult Page is a good place to find other sites.
What tactics do cults use?
Why not take Omni magazine's
Cult Test to see if you're a potential victim? After completing
the test, you will be given a very interesting list of cult
manipulation tactics.
Also see the
Psychological aspects of cults (CAIC), a list of mind control
techniques(CIC), and
Six criteria for thought reform (AFF).
Information on particular cults
If you want to find out about a particular cult, try Pick 'n
Mix Spirituality , Watchman Fellowship's
Index of Cults and Religions (both christian sites), Secret Societies and
Religious Cults, Denominations, Orders
Ontario Consultants
on Religious Tolerance maintain a great non-partisan source of
information on various religious groups, so if you every wanted to
know what (for example) Jainism or
Zoroastrianism
are about, now's your chance.
Leaving cults
Ex-cult-members can swap information at the
.ex-cult archive.
For the flip side, see Ontario Consultants
on Religious Tolerance's page on
the anti-cult movement.
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Andy Pryke's Home Page