Cults
What causes people to join cults? One of the misconceptions is that the only people attracted to cults are those who are mentally unstable. But from research it is known that, those with greater education are more likely to join cults. It shows that cults are not always attractive to the uneducated, as one might think.The term cult means something different, something other than normal, something that is different. Generally most people think that a cult is strange or abnormal, the problem of identifying a cult is affected by the fact that even experts in cultic studies realize that, no scientific test accurately establishes whether or not a group is indeed a cult (Barker). Currently, the most popular cult is the Moonies, or the followers of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. This cult draws attention because of its "media and political linkages, financial practices and commercial diversification" (Maxim). A few years ago, twenty-one female and nineteen male followers of the Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide in order to follow the Hale Bop comet (Zimbardo). This incident raised a new awareness of the damage cults can cause. Another example of cults would be the Branch Davidian Cult that existed in Waco, Texas. This was a
This is a very good in persuading because they feel oblige and guilty, making that person to repay more than he received. This occurs when "one person tries to repay, in kind, what another person has provided" (Cialdini). "Persons with low stakes in conformity tend to have less favorable evaluations of conventional religious explanations than do persons with higher stakes in conformity". case of a people who were psychologically easy to be brain washed. We as people look for approval and favor in everything we do, so getting it from cults may not seem strange which makes us all venerable to cults. The first of these techniques used is "Reciprocity"(Cialdini). "People are more likely to respond positively to those whom they like, whether it is because of appearance, similarity, or flattery" (Cialdini). In cults, "restricted access to a message cause people to want to receive it" (Cialdini). People also turn to others to review their own decisions. In order to test the causes, Bader and Demaris used a survey distributed by the National Survey of Families and Households. A second cause common in cults, is commitment. Every additional year of education increased the odds of cult affiliation by 19. The survey used 12,415 subjects, with those who chose none as religious preference. The final cause used is the principle of scarcity, "people assign more value to opportunities when they are less available" (Cialdini).
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