Chapter 5: Brainwashing? RELS 225 Cults and New Religious Movements RELS 225 Cults and New Religious Movements

Brainwashing?Brainwashing? parents want to convince judges that their children are incompetent deprogrammers need to defend themselves against charges of kidnapping

IS it a real? if brainwashing is actually taking place, then NRMs prove to be a public health risk for society if brainwashing is false and not actually taking place, then to interfere with NRMs on the basis of brainwashing could be an infringement of their rights and freedoms theoretically implausible no longer holds up in USA courts

Phases (Schein’s terminology) Unfreezing Create cognitive, emotional, and social breakdown to make open to suggestion by sensory deprivation or sensory overload sensory deprivation and sensory overload changing new routines, activities, and rewards refreezing immersion into a new stable social environment

Accusations of Brainwashing 1. Use social-psychological techniques of influence 2. recruiters taught to target and approach recruits 3. recruiters taught to be deceptive 4. potential recruits are pressured to signing up 5. new recruits are not left alone 6. recruits are kept busy, and underfed with little sleep 7. activities take place in isolated environments 8. recruits are "love-bombed" 9. recruits do "confessional" activities 10. recruits are subject to sensory deprivation 11. recruits are subject to hypnosis 12. recruits’ identity is transformed.

Case Against Brainwashing 1. research discredited because researchers often generalize. Not all cults can be lumped together 2. ideological bias 3. no logical or empirical reason only brainwashed would join NRMs 4. the theories are based on already contradictory ideas of psychology and human nature 5. dramatic claims are based on anecdotal evidence 6. no legal proof NRMs have held members/recruits against their will; hard to brainwash without this. 7. sampling bias 8. research dependent on self-descriptions by “apostates". 9. shortage of information due to low recruitment rates and high levels of defection 10. NRM members are not susceptible to brainwashing 11. studies lack safeguards 12. NRMs are not unique in their conversions by deconditioning and resocialization

Continued appeal to brainwashing what some groups do to retain members Stephen Kent Benjamin Zablocki high exit costs a cult member must face if he chooses to leave a cult.

How can we explain behaviour, if not brainwashing? Social pressure, hyper encouragement, organized activity, and too much enthusiasm influence and authority to group centered, charismatic teachings

Review of Brainwashing How did the idea develop? Explanation for why people would join strange religious movements. Defense for those “rescuing” them. Why is it important? If it does happen, NRMs are dangerous. If it doesn’t, rescue attempts should stop. Phases: Unfreezing, changing, refreezing Accusations of Brainwashing: sophisticated; preying; deceptive; pressuring; bombarding; depriving; isolating; love-bombing; requiring confession; hypnotizing; transforming identity Case Against Brainwashing: generalizing; biased; unscientific; contradictory; anecdotal; unsubstantiated; self-descriptive; uninformed; without controls; unnecessary Continued appeal to brainwashing: what some groups do to retain members (Kent & Zablocki) - high exit costs How can we explain behaviour, if not brainwashing? Social pressure, hyper encouragement, organized activity, and too much enthusiasm