Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 73
19g) Deployable agency. The involuntarily imposed false self and defective world
view persist after the brainwashing process has been completed and as a result the
brainwashed person retains his commitment to the new self and world view even
when he or she is not in direct contact with the group doing the brainwashing.
19h) Exit Costs: It is extremely difficult for the person to later repudiate his new
world view and false self-conception because he no longer has the capacity to
rationally evaluate these choices.
disputational X relevant correct
There is nothing new in this proposition, nor does Anthony intend there to be. This is simply
a summary of what Anthony believes are the hypotheses he has discovered within my
theory. It is a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example, 19f) is completely
incorrect. There is no coercion involved, and the notion of a ―false self‖ is meaningless
within the paradigm of mainstream social psychology within which I work. After G.H. Mead,
most social psychologists regard self as a process (in continuous interaction with the social
and nonsocial environment) rather than a structure that can be imposed—coercively or not.
The self at the end of the brainwashing process is just what it is. It is neither truer nor
―falser‖ than the self at the beginning of the persuasion process, nor are these even
meaningful adjectives in this context. Most of the other hypotheses as stated by Anthony
are either completely or partly false. Even a cursory comparison of this list with the twelve
hypotheses on pages 185 through 193 of Misunderstanding Cults will confirm this. However,
19g) would be correct if the terms ―involuntary,‖ ―false,‖ and ―defective‖ were removed
from the sentence.
Proposition 20. (Page 227) All of these hypotheses were aspects of the original,
generally discredited CIA brainwashing model which Zablocki claims to be replacing with his
―new approach.‖
X disputational relevant correct
This is an instance of the false equivalency fallacy that runs through many of Anthony‘s
propositions. Anthony is correct in perceiving that if only he can establish an equivalence
between my theory and a theory that has already been discredited, his debunking job will
be much easier. By invoking a simple train of logical reasoning that says if A =B, and B is
false, then A must be false, he will have accomplished his goal. Anthony has demonstrated
in other writing that B (the CIA model) is false. But, as we have already seen, his attempt
to establish that my theory is equivalent to the CIA model has failed.
Proposition 21 (Page 227) ...he asserts that disorientation and a suspension of critical
rationality are essential to the brainwashing process. He states:
The core hypothesis is that, under certain circumstances, an individual can be
subject to persuasive influences so overwhelming that they actually
restructure one’s core beliefs and world view and profoundly modify one’s
self-conception. The sort of persuasion posited by the brainwashing
conjecture is aimed at somewhat different goals than the sort of persuasion
practiced by bullies or by salesman and teachers. ...The more radical sort of
persuasion posited by the brainwashing conjecture utilizes extreme stress and
disorientation along with ideological enticement to create a conversion
experience that persists for some time after the stress and pressure have
been removed.... To be considered brainwashing this process must result in
(a) effects that persist for a significant amount of time after the orchestrated
manipulative stimuli are removed and (b) an accompanying dread of
disaffiliation which makes it extremely difficult for the subject to even
contemplate life apart from the group.
19g) Deployable agency. The involuntarily imposed false self and defective world
view persist after the brainwashing process has been completed and as a result the
brainwashed person retains his commitment to the new self and world view even
when he or she is not in direct contact with the group doing the brainwashing.
19h) Exit Costs: It is extremely difficult for the person to later repudiate his new
world view and false self-conception because he no longer has the capacity to
rationally evaluate these choices.
disputational X relevant correct
There is nothing new in this proposition, nor does Anthony intend there to be. This is simply
a summary of what Anthony believes are the hypotheses he has discovered within my
theory. It is a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example, 19f) is completely
incorrect. There is no coercion involved, and the notion of a ―false self‖ is meaningless
within the paradigm of mainstream social psychology within which I work. After G.H. Mead,
most social psychologists regard self as a process (in continuous interaction with the social
and nonsocial environment) rather than a structure that can be imposed—coercively or not.
The self at the end of the brainwashing process is just what it is. It is neither truer nor
―falser‖ than the self at the beginning of the persuasion process, nor are these even
meaningful adjectives in this context. Most of the other hypotheses as stated by Anthony
are either completely or partly false. Even a cursory comparison of this list with the twelve
hypotheses on pages 185 through 193 of Misunderstanding Cults will confirm this. However,
19g) would be correct if the terms ―involuntary,‖ ―false,‖ and ―defective‖ were removed
from the sentence.
Proposition 20. (Page 227) All of these hypotheses were aspects of the original,
generally discredited CIA brainwashing model which Zablocki claims to be replacing with his
―new approach.‖
X disputational relevant correct
This is an instance of the false equivalency fallacy that runs through many of Anthony‘s
propositions. Anthony is correct in perceiving that if only he can establish an equivalence
between my theory and a theory that has already been discredited, his debunking job will
be much easier. By invoking a simple train of logical reasoning that says if A =B, and B is
false, then A must be false, he will have accomplished his goal. Anthony has demonstrated
in other writing that B (the CIA model) is false. But, as we have already seen, his attempt
to establish that my theory is equivalent to the CIA model has failed.
Proposition 21 (Page 227) ...he asserts that disorientation and a suspension of critical
rationality are essential to the brainwashing process. He states:
The core hypothesis is that, under certain circumstances, an individual can be
subject to persuasive influences so overwhelming that they actually
restructure one’s core beliefs and world view and profoundly modify one’s
self-conception. The sort of persuasion posited by the brainwashing
conjecture is aimed at somewhat different goals than the sort of persuasion
practiced by bullies or by salesman and teachers. ...The more radical sort of
persuasion posited by the brainwashing conjecture utilizes extreme stress and
disorientation along with ideological enticement to create a conversion
experience that persists for some time after the stress and pressure have
been removed.... To be considered brainwashing this process must result in
(a) effects that persist for a significant amount of time after the orchestrated
manipulative stimuli are removed and (b) an accompanying dread of
disaffiliation which makes it extremely difficult for the subject to even
contemplate life apart from the group.
