10 ICSA TODAY
Why We Can’t Eliminate Cults,
and How We Are Drawn In
This article is based on a paper presented at ICSA’s Annual Conference in Manchester, United Kingdom in 2019.
By Russell Bradshaw
11 VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 1 |2020
Introduction: An Evolutionary Psychology
Perspective
We can’t eliminate cultic groups because they appeal to two
of our strongest human needs, and because psychopathic and
narcissistic personalities may be inclined to exploit and control
other persons.
First, we feel a deep-seated need to belong to a group. This
is how our species has survived. Through millions of years of
natural selection, we have evolved into social animals. Second,
our social evolution and cognitive development eventually
created a deep-seated human need to understand our life on
earth: We try to understand our particular, personal place in
family, society, and the cosmos. As we evolved as a species, we
experienced a growing need to answer persistent questions
that impact our personal well-being and our unique existence.
These two basic needs, to feel part of a group and to understand
our lives, though often unconscious, are now part of our
evolutionary inheritance.
Membership in some kind of a group or groups is therefore
rewarding and necessary for most people. Indeed, without
such membership, people may experience serious mental
and social problems. Many researchers feel that the present
epidemic of depression and anxiety illnesses can be traced, at
least partially, to increasing loneliness and social separation
in our society. However, these deep-seated needs, to belong
and to understand, also open the door to the manipulations of
narcissistic and psychopathic leaders of cultic groups, which
purport to offer both fellowship in a close-knit group and
answers to existential questions.
In other words, cultic groups emerge as a form of social
and existential collateral damage resulting from our deeply
imbedded evolutionary inheritance exploited by unscrupulous
individuals. This outcome is especially evident in the context of
our postmodern alienating and anomic society. Although our
material well-being has increased in advanced societies, our
cultural angst and insecurity have also increased. Adolescents
and young adults in particular may find these inspiring and
idealistic groups especially supportive and appealing as they
intently seek their psychosocial identity (Erikson,1980).
Obviously, not all groups are harmful. So how can we distinguish
between a normal or beneficial social group and a harmful one?
In his article “Origins and Prevention of Abuse” (ICSA Today, 2016,
pp. 11–13), Michael Langone finds two critical characteristics
that distinguish between these two kinds of groups: In benign
or beneficial groups, he explains, members are treated as
subjects, with respect for their individuality and autonomy
whereas, in harmful groups, members are treated as objects,
attracted, retained, and manipulated at the expense of their
autonomy through undue influence and coercive control. These
latter are the groups often referred to as cults. Rod Dubrow-
Marshall, Maarten van de Donk, and Wessel Haanstra (2019) give
a comprehensive description of the powerful social-influence
processes used to retain members after initial recruitment.
Our Basic Needs and Cult Recruitment
How, then, are our basic social and cognitive instincts—the
need to belong and the need to understand—related to
whether or not we become engaged in a cultic group? Although
we all have these two evolutionary needs, not everyone
becomes involved in a cult. Extremist groups are not active
everywhere, and there is a host of individual and environmental
variables that promote or hinder our general tendency to
belong to a group. Among these variables are the following:
Intelligence. Research has shown that cultic group
members are not more mentally or psychologically
challenged than the rest of the population in fact,
the intelligence and educational level of members are
often higher than the average. They are often seeking
to improve themselves or society, and therefore may
be more open to unusual or alternative approaches
to life’s challenges. The explanation often provided
for the success of cultic groups, that weaker or
more troubled individuals become members, is not
supported by research.
Life Circumstance. Everyone goes through
psychosocial developmental stages, with their
inherent transitions and crises. All human beings
also have personal weaknesses, somewhere in
their psyches (e.g., see the works of Freud, Erikson,
Kohlberg, Fowler, and Maslow). Narcissistic leaders
and cultic groups are adept at identifying situations of
transition and crisis, in which people are vulnerable,
and exploiting the human weaknesses that may be
exacerbated under these conditions. These leaders
often find promising recruits in self-help or therapy
groups, political movements, religious gatherings, or
pyramid business enterprises. Cult recruiters often seek
out prospective recruits on college campuses, where
students are at a particularly vulnerable stage of life as
they emerge from the protective environment of their
families and confront adult challenges on their own.
Chance. Perhaps one of the most important variables
involved in who joins a cultic or extremist group and
who does not may be that someone is merely in the
wrong place, and at the wrong time.
I should note here that this paper does not deal with the special
issues of people who are born or raised in cultic groups.
…these deep-seated needs, to
belong and to understand, also
open the door to the manipulations
of narcissistic and psychopathic
leaders of cultic groups,…
Why We Can’t Eliminate Cults,
and How We Are Drawn In
This article is based on a paper presented at ICSA’s Annual Conference in Manchester, United Kingdom in 2019.
By Russell Bradshaw
11 VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 1 |2020
Introduction: An Evolutionary Psychology
Perspective
We can’t eliminate cultic groups because they appeal to two
of our strongest human needs, and because psychopathic and
narcissistic personalities may be inclined to exploit and control
other persons.
First, we feel a deep-seated need to belong to a group. This
is how our species has survived. Through millions of years of
natural selection, we have evolved into social animals. Second,
our social evolution and cognitive development eventually
created a deep-seated human need to understand our life on
earth: We try to understand our particular, personal place in
family, society, and the cosmos. As we evolved as a species, we
experienced a growing need to answer persistent questions
that impact our personal well-being and our unique existence.
These two basic needs, to feel part of a group and to understand
our lives, though often unconscious, are now part of our
evolutionary inheritance.
Membership in some kind of a group or groups is therefore
rewarding and necessary for most people. Indeed, without
such membership, people may experience serious mental
and social problems. Many researchers feel that the present
epidemic of depression and anxiety illnesses can be traced, at
least partially, to increasing loneliness and social separation
in our society. However, these deep-seated needs, to belong
and to understand, also open the door to the manipulations of
narcissistic and psychopathic leaders of cultic groups, which
purport to offer both fellowship in a close-knit group and
answers to existential questions.
In other words, cultic groups emerge as a form of social
and existential collateral damage resulting from our deeply
imbedded evolutionary inheritance exploited by unscrupulous
individuals. This outcome is especially evident in the context of
our postmodern alienating and anomic society. Although our
material well-being has increased in advanced societies, our
cultural angst and insecurity have also increased. Adolescents
and young adults in particular may find these inspiring and
idealistic groups especially supportive and appealing as they
intently seek their psychosocial identity (Erikson,1980).
Obviously, not all groups are harmful. So how can we distinguish
between a normal or beneficial social group and a harmful one?
In his article “Origins and Prevention of Abuse” (ICSA Today, 2016,
pp. 11–13), Michael Langone finds two critical characteristics
that distinguish between these two kinds of groups: In benign
or beneficial groups, he explains, members are treated as
subjects, with respect for their individuality and autonomy
whereas, in harmful groups, members are treated as objects,
attracted, retained, and manipulated at the expense of their
autonomy through undue influence and coercive control. These
latter are the groups often referred to as cults. Rod Dubrow-
Marshall, Maarten van de Donk, and Wessel Haanstra (2019) give
a comprehensive description of the powerful social-influence
processes used to retain members after initial recruitment.
Our Basic Needs and Cult Recruitment
How, then, are our basic social and cognitive instincts—the
need to belong and the need to understand—related to
whether or not we become engaged in a cultic group? Although
we all have these two evolutionary needs, not everyone
becomes involved in a cult. Extremist groups are not active
everywhere, and there is a host of individual and environmental
variables that promote or hinder our general tendency to
belong to a group. Among these variables are the following:
Intelligence. Research has shown that cultic group
members are not more mentally or psychologically
challenged than the rest of the population in fact,
the intelligence and educational level of members are
often higher than the average. They are often seeking
to improve themselves or society, and therefore may
be more open to unusual or alternative approaches
to life’s challenges. The explanation often provided
for the success of cultic groups, that weaker or
more troubled individuals become members, is not
supported by research.
Life Circumstance. Everyone goes through
psychosocial developmental stages, with their
inherent transitions and crises. All human beings
also have personal weaknesses, somewhere in
their psyches (e.g., see the works of Freud, Erikson,
Kohlberg, Fowler, and Maslow). Narcissistic leaders
and cultic groups are adept at identifying situations of
transition and crisis, in which people are vulnerable,
and exploiting the human weaknesses that may be
exacerbated under these conditions. These leaders
often find promising recruits in self-help or therapy
groups, political movements, religious gatherings, or
pyramid business enterprises. Cult recruiters often seek
out prospective recruits on college campuses, where
students are at a particularly vulnerable stage of life as
they emerge from the protective environment of their
families and confront adult challenges on their own.
Chance. Perhaps one of the most important variables
involved in who joins a cultic or extremist group and
who does not may be that someone is merely in the
wrong place, and at the wrong time.
I should note here that this paper does not deal with the special
issues of people who are born or raised in cultic groups.
…these deep-seated needs, to
belong and to understand, also
open the door to the manipulations
of narcissistic and psychopathic
leaders of cultic groups,…
