Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 115
Scharff, B. (1985). Messianism, mysticism and magic -a sociological analysis of Jewish
religious movments -Sharot, S. (book review). British Journal of Sociology, 36, 134-
138.
Scharff, B. (1985). New religious movements -a perspective for understanding society -
Barker, E. (book review). British Journal of Sociology, 36, 134-138.
Schwartz, L. L. (1983). Family therapists and families of cult members. International
Journal of Family Therapy, 5, 168-178. Describes cults, cult members, and their
families. Cults, here defined as ―deviant religions,‖ have involved 1-3 million young
persons in the past 20 years. Cult members and their families often seek therapy
during or after involvement with cults, but too few psychologists and other therapists
in private practice are adequately prepared to help them. Suggestions are made for
specific intervention techniques with cult members and their families soon after
involvement with a cult, and after the member has returned to his or he family. (18
ref),
Snow, D. A. (1985). The anti-cult movement in America -a bibliography and historical
survey -Shupe, A. D., Bromley, D. G., &Oliver, D. L. Contemporary Sociology -A
Journal of Reviews, 14, 332.
Snow, D. A. (1985). Mind-bending -brainwashing, cults, and deprogramming in the eighties
-Streiker, L. D. (book review). Contemporary Sociology -A Journal of Reviews, 14,
404.
Spanos, N. P.7985). Entertaining Satan -witchcraft and the culture of early New England -
Demos, J. P. (book review). Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 21,
60-66.
Spero, M. H. (Jun. 1984). Some pre- and post-treatment characteristics of cult devotees.
Perceptual and Motor Skills, 749-750. Summarizes test characteristics of 51 cult
devotees (aged 17-27 years) who elected to undergo intensive psychoanalytic
psychotherapy. SS were tested prior to and after six months of therapy, using Wais,
Rorschach, and Bender Gestalt. 23 SS also took embedded figures test before and
after therapy. A dramatic improvement in Wais performance IQ appeared after
therapy, and a significant increase in the quality of psychological differentiation was
noted. The author suggests that relative achievements in field-dependence/field
independence and the overall ego quality of psychological differentiation are
disposing factors to the initial interest in the type of community offered by cults or
are modified by involvement in them.
Spigelmyer, J. W. (1985). Computerland and est. Fortune, 111, 24.
Spiro, P. (Feb. 6, 1984). Paranoid politics. New Republic, 10. Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., is a
dangerous political cult leader who works mainly through seemingly innocuous front
organizations. La Rouche‘s political career began during the student unrest of 1968,
when he formed the National Caucus of Labor Committees, a doctrinaire Marxist
group. This organization, with an estimated membership of 1,000 -3,000, has since
swung to the extreme right, and some of its members have received paramilitary
training. LaRouche received almost 200,000 votes in the 1980 elections. He is
conspiracy-minded and anti-Semitic, and believes that British Intelligence plans to
ignite a world holocaust through organizations such as the International Monetary
Fund and the FBI. He has had some electoral success at the local and state level, and
his followers ,nan airport literature stands. Front organizations, some of which
receive public funds, include the Fusion Energy Foundation, the National Democratic
Policy Committee, and the Anti-Drug Coalition. He is highly dangerous, and must be
exposed.

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 116
Strenski, I. (Mar. 19, 1984). Cult contradiction. New Republic, 3. Strenski contends that
Laurence Gra ftstein‘s article (Feb. 20), though welcome, is merely an assembly of
new facts without a theory of cult capitalism legitimazation and individual
suppression to back them up. His statements about cult capitalism are true of
traditional religious communities in the U.S., but do not take into account the cults‘
special situations, such as tax loopholes and slave labor. The slavery of cult
members is freely undertaken and cannot be the subject of liberal protest. A theory
of individualism is needed in analyzing cults in the U.S.
Thompson, H. 0. (1984). The family and the Unification Church -James, G. G. (book
review). International Social Science Review, 59, 47-49.
Tierney, R. L. (Aug. 1983). America‘s mystical Mt. Shasta. Fate, 70. Mount Shasta, in
northern California, is an alleged home of supernatural beings, and legends about
the mountain abound. The most recent cult to focus on the mountain is the Church
Universal and Triumphant (CUT), which worships the ascended masters it believes
reside there. They believe that these white-robed supernatural sages initiate
followers into a state of enlightenment which enables them to transcend mortality.
Leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet promises a great ascension. Over the past century,
many sects have believed in the existence of secret people on the mountain, a
legend sparked by an occult novel written by Frederick Spencer Oliver. The ‗1 AM‘
cult, which was formed in the 1930‘s and claimed 1 million followers, now resents
the incursion of the CUT community. Residents of Paradise Valley, Southern
Mountain, are worried about the influx of worshippers.
Wallace, R. K., Orme, J. D. W., Mills, P. J., 8c Dillbeck, M. C. (Nov. 1984). Academic
achievement and the paired Hoffman reflex in students practicing meditation.
International Journal of Neuroscience, 261-266. The paired H reflex is considered to
be the electrically evoked counterpart of the monosynaptic stretch reflex. It provides
a measure of motorneuron excitability under a variety of experimental and clinical
conditions, and offers a potentially useful tool in examining the neurophysiologic
basis of alterations in reflex response in different states of awareness. The study
investigated the relationship between the paired H reflex and academic achievement
in students who practiced the Transcendental Meditation program. The paired H
reflex correlated significantly with grade point average, but not with SAT scores or
any of three IQ measurements. These results suggest that the facilitation period of
the paired H reflex recovery curve may be a useful indicator of academic
achievement, perhaps as a result of its relationship to awareness or wakefulness
level.
Wallack, J. M. (Aug. 1984). Testing for a psychokinetic effect on plants: Effect of a ―laying
on‖ of hands on germinating corn seeds. Psychological Reports, 15-18. This study
investigated a possible psychokinetic effect on plants from the ―laying on‖ of hands
by a self-proclaimed 28-year-old female psychic healer. In 3 procedures, the subject
treated a sealed petrie dish containing germinating root growth-retarded corn seeds.
In procedure 1, randomly drawn corn seeds were presoaked for 12 hours in a 2%
NACL solution, then were randomly assigned to 3 prepared petrie dishes: healing,
control, and a control for the temperature of the subject‘s hands. Root growth was
measured after 96 hours. Procedure 2 tested for a possible transitory healing effect
following the same procedures as procedure 1, but the roots were measured after 48
hours. In procedure 3, the presoaking period of the seeds was reduced to 8 hours to
test the possibility that the 12-hour presoaking period was too severe to allow a
healing effect to be observed. Nonsignificant effects were yielded in all 3 procedures,
but it is concluded that additional studies are needed to rule out the possibility of a
psychokinetic effect on plants by the laying on of hands.