Reg
05-03-2010, 07:26 AM
Reviewing my posts to another Forum I was on I ran across this. Not sure of the source.
Socio-Psychological Manipulation
These cult leaders use socio-psychological manipulation practices to exploit their followers.
These techniques are capitalized on by stage hypnotists, evangelists, political orators, dictators,
and cult leaders, among others. The tactics they employ can be remembered by the acronym.......
APES
A = altered states of consciousness;
P = the psychology of peer pressure;
E = exploitation of expectations
S = the subtle power of suggestion.
Altered states of consciousness. Cult leaders employ a variety of methods to work their devotees
into altered states of consciousness. In some cases it is repetitive physical motions, drugs,
excessive and repetitive work schedules; sleep deprivation; chanting mantras, etc. The goal is to
dull the critical thinking process so that devotees become hyper-suggestible, willing to accept any
"spiritual truth" that enters their minds. The dangerous effect for devotees involves depression,
detachment, depersonalization, disillusionment, and, in the case of the Higher Source cult, even
death.
Psychology of Peer Pressure
Cult leaders, like Do and Te of the Heaven's Gate cult, utilize the power of peer pressure to
conform devotees to predictable patterns.
They promote a "we/they" siege mentality that galvanizes their constituency against a foe
of mythological proportions. They are particularly adept at using conspiracy theories to
reinforce their paradigm of reality. The peer pressure that entices devotees in the first place often
keeps them from acknowledging that they were participants in a deception, even after the
deception has been clearly unmasked. One millennial madness advocate expressed this siege
mentality by commenting, "What if the Earth is in danger of a massive catastrophe? Would the
common man know? If the authorities with expertise in the field had foreknowledge of this
coming event, would they share the information with us?"
Exploitation of Expectations
Devotees are systematically programmed to believe that they are receiving esoteric revelations
which have been hidden from the rest of humanity. In some cases they are systematically
programmed to believe that through adherence to the will of the "Master," they will be enabled
to take over the socio-political systems of society. Or, as may be in the case of the Higher Source
cult, that they are poised to shed their earthly containers and become pioneers of a new,
extra-terrestrial civilization. The proximity of the comet and the Christian commemoration of
Holy Week, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, became the inexorable fulcrum
precipitating their final, deadly, fall.
Subtle power of suggestion. The power of suggestion seems virtually without limit. Once
epidemic suggestion contaminates a movement, human beings can behave like beasts or
barbarians, and be proud of it. In full force, it strikes intellectuals as well as the ignorant, the
prosperous as well as the poor. Its wellsprings are esoteric rather than evidential. As has been
noted, "the effect of suggestion on crowds is virtually without limit. It can make black appear
white, it can obscure realities, enshrine absurdities, and impel men piteously to cleave the skulls
of their brothers" (or, for that matter, to drink Kool-Aid laced with arsenic or to die under the
covering of a purple shroud). Statistically, one in twelve Americans are "highly suggestible,"
fantasy-prone," susceptible to creating a memory out of thin air and then believing it.
Fantasy-prone personalities are vastly over-represented in cults like the Higher Source that prey
on such personalities in their recruitment efforts. Fantasy-proneness is typically referred to as
"Grade Five Syndrome:" very trusting; desiring to please (especially an authority figure); able to
accept contradictory experiences (cognitive dissonance); with a marked propensity for a
feeling of affiliation with new or unusual events; and apt to relate everything they experience to
their own self-perception. This complex of characteristics makes Grade 5s particularly
susceptible to UFO theories, millennial madness, and out-of-body experiences.
Socio-Psychological Manipulation
These cult leaders use socio-psychological manipulation practices to exploit their followers.
These techniques are capitalized on by stage hypnotists, evangelists, political orators, dictators,
and cult leaders, among others. The tactics they employ can be remembered by the acronym.......
APES
A = altered states of consciousness;
P = the psychology of peer pressure;
E = exploitation of expectations
S = the subtle power of suggestion.
Altered states of consciousness. Cult leaders employ a variety of methods to work their devotees
into altered states of consciousness. In some cases it is repetitive physical motions, drugs,
excessive and repetitive work schedules; sleep deprivation; chanting mantras, etc. The goal is to
dull the critical thinking process so that devotees become hyper-suggestible, willing to accept any
"spiritual truth" that enters their minds. The dangerous effect for devotees involves depression,
detachment, depersonalization, disillusionment, and, in the case of the Higher Source cult, even
death.
Psychology of Peer Pressure
Cult leaders, like Do and Te of the Heaven's Gate cult, utilize the power of peer pressure to
conform devotees to predictable patterns.
They promote a "we/they" siege mentality that galvanizes their constituency against a foe
of mythological proportions. They are particularly adept at using conspiracy theories to
reinforce their paradigm of reality. The peer pressure that entices devotees in the first place often
keeps them from acknowledging that they were participants in a deception, even after the
deception has been clearly unmasked. One millennial madness advocate expressed this siege
mentality by commenting, "What if the Earth is in danger of a massive catastrophe? Would the
common man know? If the authorities with expertise in the field had foreknowledge of this
coming event, would they share the information with us?"
Exploitation of Expectations
Devotees are systematically programmed to believe that they are receiving esoteric revelations
which have been hidden from the rest of humanity. In some cases they are systematically
programmed to believe that through adherence to the will of the "Master," they will be enabled
to take over the socio-political systems of society. Or, as may be in the case of the Higher Source
cult, that they are poised to shed their earthly containers and become pioneers of a new,
extra-terrestrial civilization. The proximity of the comet and the Christian commemoration of
Holy Week, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, became the inexorable fulcrum
precipitating their final, deadly, fall.
Subtle power of suggestion. The power of suggestion seems virtually without limit. Once
epidemic suggestion contaminates a movement, human beings can behave like beasts or
barbarians, and be proud of it. In full force, it strikes intellectuals as well as the ignorant, the
prosperous as well as the poor. Its wellsprings are esoteric rather than evidential. As has been
noted, "the effect of suggestion on crowds is virtually without limit. It can make black appear
white, it can obscure realities, enshrine absurdities, and impel men piteously to cleave the skulls
of their brothers" (or, for that matter, to drink Kool-Aid laced with arsenic or to die under the
covering of a purple shroud). Statistically, one in twelve Americans are "highly suggestible,"
fantasy-prone," susceptible to creating a memory out of thin air and then believing it.
Fantasy-prone personalities are vastly over-represented in cults like the Higher Source that prey
on such personalities in their recruitment efforts. Fantasy-proneness is typically referred to as
"Grade Five Syndrome:" very trusting; desiring to please (especially an authority figure); able to
accept contradictory experiences (cognitive dissonance); with a marked propensity for a
feeling of affiliation with new or unusual events; and apt to relate everything they experience to
their own self-perception. This complex of characteristics makes Grade 5s particularly
susceptible to UFO theories, millennial madness, and out-of-body experiences.