Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Brainwashing?Brainwashing?

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Brainwashing?Brainwashing?

RELS 225RELS 225

Cults and New Religious MovementsCults and New Religious MovementsRELS 225RELS 225

Cults and New Religious MovementsCults and New Religious Movements

Brainwashing?Brainwashing?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?IS it a real?IS it a real?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 Phases (Schein’s terminology)terminology)

Phases (Schein’s Phases (Schein’s terminology)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 BrainwashingAccusations of BrainwashingAccusations of BrainwashingAccusations of Brainwashing

1. Use social-psychological techniques of influence2. recruiters taught to target and approach

recruits3. recruiters taught to be deceptive4. potential recruits are pressured to signing up5. new recruits are not left alone6. recruits are kept busy, and underfed with little

sleep7. activities take place in isolated environments8. recruits are "love-bombed"9. recruits do "confessional" activities10. recruits are subject to sensory deprivation11. recruits are subject to hypnosis12. recruits’ identity is transformed.

Case Against BrainwashingCase Against BrainwashingCase Against BrainwashingCase Against Brainwashing

1. research discredited because researchers often generalize. Not all cults can be lumped together

2. ideological bias3. no logical or empirical reason only brainwashed would join

NRMs4. the theories are based on already contradictory ideas of

psychology and human nature5. dramatic claims are based on anecdotal evidence6. no legal proof NRMs have held members/recruits against

their will; hard to brainwash without this.7. sampling bias8. research dependent on self-descriptions by “apostates".9. shortage of information due to low recruitment rates and

high levels of defection10. NRM members are not susceptible to brainwashing11. studies lack safeguards12. NRMs are not unique in their conversions by deconditioning

and resocialization

Continued appeal to Continued appeal to brainwashingbrainwashing

Continued appeal to Continued appeal to brainwashingbrainwashing

• 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 How can we explain behaviour, if not behaviour, if not brainwashing?brainwashing?

How can we explain How can we explain behaviour, if not behaviour, if not brainwashing?brainwashing?

• Social pressure, hyper encouragement, organized activity, and too much enthusiasm

• influence and authority to group centered, charismatic teachings

Review of BrainwashingReview of BrainwashingReview of BrainwashingReview 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