IC Public WorkstationHow to Become a Cult LeaderThe Social Psychology of Groups

1、how to become a cult leader:the social psychology of groupshttp:/ is a cult?an organization operating on the fringes of society“new religious movements” faith groups high demand faith groups destructive cultshttp:/ your own social realitychoose something people already believe in and put your own sp

2、in on it.marshall applewhite & heavens gatejim jones & the peoples templel. ron hubbard & scientologydavid koresh & the branch davidiansfred phelps & the westboro baptist churchhttp:/ your own social realityeliminate all sources of information except that provided by the cult.rem

3、ote areano mass medialimited contact with people outside the organizationhttp:/ your own social realityprovide a cults eye view of the world“shirley phelps-roper, the attorney for the westboro baptist church, explained that rogers, as a presbyterian minister with a television program, had a responsi

4、bility to comment on the issue. by not doing so, she explained that he was helping to promote homosexuality, which the group says falls into the category of whoremongery and adultery, which will damn the soul forever in hell. she added that the support some americans have given to homosexuals was th

5、e reason behind tragedies including the sept. 11 attacks, the crash of the nasa shuttle colombia (sic), and the nightclub fire in rhode island. “you dont get to pretend to decide what form god takes, phelps-roper said. hes the god who could have stopped the shuttle crash, the nightclub fire, but ins

6、tead he sent those things. this country has forgotten god and effectively flipped him off, and fred rogers is in part responsible. - daily illini, march 20, 2003http:/ your own social realityregarding the sept 11th attacks, jerry falwell said on the 700 club:the pagans and the abortionists and the f

7、eminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the aclu, people for the american way all of them who have tried to secularize america, falwell continued, i point the finger in their face and say you helped this happen. - abc news, sept 14, 2001t

8、hrowing god out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing god out of the public square, out of the schools, he said. the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because god will not be mocked. and when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make god mad.ht

9、tp:/ your own social realitykeep repeating it.“fiction if heard frequently enough can come to sound like fact.”- pratkanis & aronson, age of propagandahttp:/ the ingroup biasinitiationdistinctive clotheschanged dietchanged namehttp:/ your members out to witnessbrings in new membersreestablishes

10、current members beliefshow?http:/ dissonanceperform a boring task. “can you tell the next person how much you enjoyed it?”iv: $1 vs. $20dv: “so, how much did you really enjoy it?”those paid $1 found the task much more enjoyable than those paid $20. - festinger & carlsmith (1959)http:/ dissonance

11、“this was really a lot of fun”why did i say that? it wasnt really fun at all!cognitive dissonance! the thought doesnt mesh with the behavior.http:/ dissonanceam i liar? nah! not me!http:/ dissonancei lied because they paid me $20. thats a lot of $. i was doing my job.“the task really was boring!”cog

12、nitive dissonance resolved!http:/ dissonancethey only paid me $1. certainly i wouldnt sell my soul for $1. so why did i do it?“the task really was enjoyable!”cognitive dissonance resolved!http:/ dissonance & witnessingwhy did i say that? i really think that joining this organization was a bad id

13、ea.“this organization is great! join us!”http:/ dissonance & witnessingam i liar? nah! not me!http:/ forced me to say that, so why did i do it?“this group really is great!”cognitive dissonance & witnessingcognitive dissonance resolved!http:/ commitmentfoot-in-the-door techniqueiv: “sign a pe

14、tition supporting safe driving?” vs. no requestabout 2 weeks later -dv: “can we place this large, ugly drive safely sign in your front yard?”those who had signed the petition were 3 times more likely to agree to the second request. -freedman & fraser (1966)http:/ commitmentfoot-in-the-door techn

15、ique as used by scientologytime magazine, 1991http:/ commitmentfoot-in-the-door technique continuedtime magazine, 1991http:/ commitmentfoot-in-the-door technique continuedtime magazine, 1991http:/ leaders credibility and attractivenessl. ron hubbard is goddavid koresh is the second coming of christh

16、ttp:/ members from thinking “unthinkable” thoughtsespecially important for new memberschantingsingingmeditationconstant group interactionhttp:/ members vision on a phantomit looks solid, but is never accomplished“better world for the faithful”doomsday has been moved to some future pointhttp:/ your own social realityuse the ingroup biascreate commitmentestablish leaders credibility & attractivenesssend members out to witnessdistract members from thinking the “unt