Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 7
understand cult followers, we must simultaneously seek to understand cult leaders. I will
attempt to describe the interplay of psychological dynamics between leader and follower
that can enable cult leaders to dominate and control followers, and enable cult followers to
be seduced and manipulated into submission.
The questions most often asked of former cult members, usually with incredulity, are ―How
did you get into something like this? And why did you stay so long?‖ The unspoken subtext
seems to be, ―How could someone like you end up in something like this? There must have
been something wrong with you.‖ Certainly, people who join cults are not seeking to be
controlled, made dependent, exploited, or psychologically harmed when they first commit
themselves to membership. Cult members actually come to embrace and even glorify these
kinds of mistreatment in part because their leaders, and their followers by proxy, have
mastered the art of seduction, using techniques of undue influence (Cialdini, 1984). As
Hochman (1990) notes, cults, by employing ―miracle, mystery, and authority, promise
salvation. Instead of boredom—noble and sweeping goals. Instead of existential anxiety—
structure and certainty. Instead of alienation—community. Instead of impotence—
solidarity directed by all-knowing leaders‖ (p. 179). Cults prey upon idealistic seekers,
offering answers to social problems and promising to promote bona fide social change.
Recruitment addresses the anxieties and loneliness of people experiencing personal
problems, transition, or crisis by holding out the promise of transformative healing within
the framework of a caring and understanding community (Tobias &Lalich, 1994). Cult
recruitment often takes place in sophisticated settings, in the form of seminars featuring
persuasive, well-credentialed speakers, such as successful professionals, respected
academics, or popular artists, writers, and entertainers. Cults target members from middle-
class backgrounds, often directly from college campuses, and the majority of members are
of above average intelligence (Hassan, 1990 Kliger, 1994 Tobias &Lalich, 1994).
In recruitment programs, speakers and members present various kinds of misinformation
about cult leaders, including concealing their existence altogether. Otherwise, the leader
may be represented as a humble, wise and loving teacher, when in reality he or she may be
a despot in possession of a substantial fortune, generated from member donations and
(often illegal) business activities. The apparent leader may be only a figurehead, while the
identity of the actual leader is concealed. False claims of ancient lineages may be made, or
the leader is falsely said to be revered and renowned in his or her own country. Cult leaders
rewrite and falsify their own biographies. Recruitment programs generally do not, for
instance, inform participants about leaders of the group having criminal records, or a
group‘s history of sexual abuse of members, or the group‘s involvement with illegal
activities. Seduction in cult recruitment typically involves strict control and falsification of
information.
The Psychopathology of the Cult Leader
Thought reform, or mind control, is another important component of my conceptualization
of the seductive power of cults, although it is not a psychoanalytic concept. The psychiatrist
Robert Jay Lifton (1987) studied the methods used by the Chinese Communists during the
Korean War to turn war prisoners into willing accomplices, and called these methods
thought reform (see also Hinkle &Wolff, 1976 Schein, 1956 Singer, 1979). Thought
reform techniques are readily found in use in any cult, yet it is my belief, based on my own
exposure to and study of various cults, that many cult leaders are not necessarily students
of thought reform techniques. One might argue that meditation and chanting, for example,
are techniques specifically designed to control others, and they can be. But they are also
ancient traditional spiritual practices. Cult leaders who require their followers to perform
mind-numbing, trance-inducing practices may do so while fully believing that such practices
are for the greatest possible good of the follower. In religious philosophies that emphasize
detachment and transcendence, for instance, trance states are highly valued as avenues
understand cult followers, we must simultaneously seek to understand cult leaders. I will
attempt to describe the interplay of psychological dynamics between leader and follower
that can enable cult leaders to dominate and control followers, and enable cult followers to
be seduced and manipulated into submission.
The questions most often asked of former cult members, usually with incredulity, are ―How
did you get into something like this? And why did you stay so long?‖ The unspoken subtext
seems to be, ―How could someone like you end up in something like this? There must have
been something wrong with you.‖ Certainly, people who join cults are not seeking to be
controlled, made dependent, exploited, or psychologically harmed when they first commit
themselves to membership. Cult members actually come to embrace and even glorify these
kinds of mistreatment in part because their leaders, and their followers by proxy, have
mastered the art of seduction, using techniques of undue influence (Cialdini, 1984). As
Hochman (1990) notes, cults, by employing ―miracle, mystery, and authority, promise
salvation. Instead of boredom—noble and sweeping goals. Instead of existential anxiety—
structure and certainty. Instead of alienation—community. Instead of impotence—
solidarity directed by all-knowing leaders‖ (p. 179). Cults prey upon idealistic seekers,
offering answers to social problems and promising to promote bona fide social change.
Recruitment addresses the anxieties and loneliness of people experiencing personal
problems, transition, or crisis by holding out the promise of transformative healing within
the framework of a caring and understanding community (Tobias &Lalich, 1994). Cult
recruitment often takes place in sophisticated settings, in the form of seminars featuring
persuasive, well-credentialed speakers, such as successful professionals, respected
academics, or popular artists, writers, and entertainers. Cults target members from middle-
class backgrounds, often directly from college campuses, and the majority of members are
of above average intelligence (Hassan, 1990 Kliger, 1994 Tobias &Lalich, 1994).
In recruitment programs, speakers and members present various kinds of misinformation
about cult leaders, including concealing their existence altogether. Otherwise, the leader
may be represented as a humble, wise and loving teacher, when in reality he or she may be
a despot in possession of a substantial fortune, generated from member donations and
(often illegal) business activities. The apparent leader may be only a figurehead, while the
identity of the actual leader is concealed. False claims of ancient lineages may be made, or
the leader is falsely said to be revered and renowned in his or her own country. Cult leaders
rewrite and falsify their own biographies. Recruitment programs generally do not, for
instance, inform participants about leaders of the group having criminal records, or a
group‘s history of sexual abuse of members, or the group‘s involvement with illegal
activities. Seduction in cult recruitment typically involves strict control and falsification of
information.
The Psychopathology of the Cult Leader
Thought reform, or mind control, is another important component of my conceptualization
of the seductive power of cults, although it is not a psychoanalytic concept. The psychiatrist
Robert Jay Lifton (1987) studied the methods used by the Chinese Communists during the
Korean War to turn war prisoners into willing accomplices, and called these methods
thought reform (see also Hinkle &Wolff, 1976 Schein, 1956 Singer, 1979). Thought
reform techniques are readily found in use in any cult, yet it is my belief, based on my own
exposure to and study of various cults, that many cult leaders are not necessarily students
of thought reform techniques. One might argue that meditation and chanting, for example,
are techniques specifically designed to control others, and they can be. But they are also
ancient traditional spiritual practices. Cult leaders who require their followers to perform
mind-numbing, trance-inducing practices may do so while fully believing that such practices
are for the greatest possible good of the follower. In religious philosophies that emphasize
detachment and transcendence, for instance, trance states are highly valued as avenues
