Behavior Psychology and its Effects on Cult Recruitment - Essay Example

? BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS EFFECTS ON CULT RECRUITMENT Insert Affiliation Method The study shall be carried out using direct interviews, questionnaires and review of materials written on cults and what attracts people to join them. Of particular importance shall be the reason why people decide to join cults and the circumstances surrounding their joining. Participants According to Stacey (1998), studies carried out in the United States have shown that two to five million young adults of between eighteen and twenty five years of age were involved in five thousand cult groups. Studies have shown that members of cults do not just join them but are recruited. People are known to get into groups that not only appear interesting to them, but also promise to offer solutions to their pressing needs. Groups only become cults when they appear defective, deceptive, dangerous, or when they appear to oppose basic values of the society. Stacey (1998) explains that cults use effective techniques when recruiting. They recruit the most capable individuals who can effectively serve the needs of the cult. Many cult members are responsible citizens such as lawyers, doctors, celebrities of high profile and professors, which may be the reason why they continue to survive for decades and function efficiently despite public disapproval, high rates of turnover and angry parents. Of much importance to note is that cult’s recruiters make numerous promises to the recruits during the initial induction phases and it is only until a considerable period of time has passed that that a recruit comes to realize that it was only a ploy to have them comply. By such a time, the member has already been submerged into the group and already in submission and under undue influence from the cult’s leadership. In selecting the most suitable participants to the study, all the aspects reviewed from written materials and other assumptions developed thereof shall be put under consideration. The participants shall mainly consist of people who are already members of certain cult movements. However, efforts shall be made to reach out to people outside the cults to gain insight into what they think makes people join cults. The participants shall be considered in four categories: Age where children, youth, young adults, mature adults and the aged shall be considered. Gender where male and female participants shall be considered. Race where the race of the participants shall be considered and Status where the participant shall be considered as either a member of a cult or a non member. Materials In carrying out the study, I intend to use various materials to assist in the carrying out the study. The materials include a pen for writing, a notebook for taking notes, questionnaires for collecting information from participants and a computer for researching on the subject over the internet and for recording and analyzing collected data. In addition, I shall require other materials that will enable me to fit in the cult’s situation when interviewing and studying members of cults. Such materials may be difficult to specify at the moment since they differ from cult to another. It is important to note that, it is not possible to get into some cult quarters unless you conform to certain standards especially of dress code. Procedure The study will mostly involve interviews with the participants, and in some cases distribution of questionnaires to be returned after they are duly filled by the participants. The interview procedure for all participants shall be as follows: Determining the age, race and gender of the participant Determining whether the participant is a cult member or not. If the participant belongs to a cult: Determine the practices of the cult Determine the reason and how the participant joined the cult Determine for how long the participant has been a member of the cult Determine whether the participant is comfortable in the cult Determine whether the participant wishes to leave the cult and the reason that may cause the participant to leave. If the participant is not a member of any cult: Determine what the participant thinks about cults Determine what the participant thinks is the reason why people join cults Determine whether the participant prejudices against members of cults Determine whether the participant is familiar with some of the cult practices After collecting information from relevant participants, the information shall be entered into a computer spread sheet program for analysis and determination of trends arising from the data. The data shall be sorted according to established relationships between variables, considering distribution of data based on the four criteria of participants. After deriving relationships from the collected data, comparison shall be done with other studies done before to determine common trends in the reasons why people opt to join cults and how they actually end up to join. The data shall then be analyzed using known and standard statistical methods of data analysis. Predicted results Results from the study are expected to indicate that: People who join cults are recruited by individuals who have gained control over them because they have become insecure in their belief system mainly because of staying away from family and friends to do a reality check on their belief system by talking to them (Lifton, 1961). People who join cults may be due to mystical manipulation, that is, they are given the impression that they are God chosen, especially in the religious cult movements. Being god chosen, the person has been set out on a mission by God to serve a heroic cause such as saving the world and therefore the victim ends up with a strong conviction that the world depends on him or her to fulfill a special responsibility The people who join the cults have been manipulated into believing that anyone outside the cult is somewhat tainted, unenlightened or negative and that joining the cult would make the person holy or reveal the truth to him or her (Lifton 1961). People who continue to stay in cults believe in dispensing of existence, that is, only members of the cultic group are believed to meaningfully exist. They alone are good or saved and that non-members are bad and damned. This may also be the reason why members of cults remain in the cult for fear of losing the goodness and damning themselves in the process. Majority of the cult members are completely normal and only a majority of them have any major psychological issue that made him or her join the cult. References Lifton, R. J. (1961). Cults, Religion and violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Stacey, J. (1998). Cults: Public Perceptions vs. Research. New Jersey: Rutgers University Read More