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Dr. Margaret T. Singer's 6 Conditions for
Thought Reform
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Keep the person unaware of what is going on
and how she or he is being changed a step at a time. Potential new
members are led, step by step, through a behavioral-change program without
being aware of the final agenda or full content of the group. The goal may be
to make them deployable agents for the leadership, to get them to buy more
courses, or get them to make a deeper commitment, depending on the leader's
aim and desires.
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Control the person's social and/or physical
environment; especially control the person's time. Through various
methods, newer members are kept busy and led to think about the group and its
content during as much of their waking time as possible.
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Systematically create a sense of
powerlessness in the person. This is accomplished by getting
members away from the normal social support group for a period of time and
into an environment where the majority of people are already group members.
The members serve as models of the attitudes and behaviors of the group and
speak an in-group language.
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Manipulate a system of rewards, punishments
and experiences in such a way as to inhibit behavior that reflects the
person's former social identity. Manipulation of experiences can be
accomplished through various methods of trance induction, including leaders
using such techniques as paced speaking patterns, guided imagery, chanting,
long prayer sessions or lectures, and lengthy meditation sessions.
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Manipulate a system of rewards, punishments,
and experiences in order to promote learning the group's ideology or belief
system and group-approved behaviors. Good behavior, demonstrating an
understanding and acceptance of the group's beliefs, and compliance are
rewarded while questioning, expressing doubts or criticizing are met with
disapproval, redress and possible rejection. If one expresses a question, he
or she is made to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them to
be questioning.
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Put forth a closed system of logic and an
authoritarian structure that permits no feedback and refuses to be modified
except by leadership approval or executive order. The group has a
top-down, pyramid structure. The leaders must have verbal ways of never
losing. (Singer, 1995).
Dr. Margaret T. Singer's
6 Conditions for Thought Reform
These conditions create the atmosphere
needed to put a thought reform system into place:
Keep the person unaware of what is
going on and how she or he is being changed a step at a time
Potential new members are led, step by
step, through a behavioral-change program without being aware of the final
agenda or full content of the group. The goal may be to make them deployable
agents for the leadership, to get them to buy more courses, or get them to make
a deeper commitment, depending on the leader's aim and desires.
Control the person's social and/or
physical environment; especially control the person's time
Through various methods, newer members
are kept busy and led to think about the group and its content during as much of
their waking time as possible.
Systematically create a sense of
powerlessness in the person.
This is accomplished by getting members
away from the normal social support group for a period of time and into an
environment where the majority of people are already group members.
The members serve as models of the
attitudes and behaviors of the group and speak an in- group language.
Strip members of their main occupation
(quit jobs, drop out of school) or source of income or have them turn over their
income (or the majority of) to the group.
Once stripped of your usual support
network, your confidence in your own perception erodes.
As your sense of powerlessness
increases, your good judgment and understanding of the world are diminished.
(ordinary view of reality is destabilized)
As group attacks your previous
worldview, it causes you distress and inner confusion; yet you are not allowed
to speak about this confusion or object to it -- leadership suppresses questions
and counters resistance.
This process is speeded up if you are
kept tired -- the cult will keep you constantly busy.
Manipulate a system of rewards,
punishments and experiences in such a way as to inhibit behavior that reflects
the person's former social identity
Manipulation of experiences can be
accomplished through various methods of trance induction, including leaders
using such techniques as paced speaking patterns, guided imagery, chanting, long
prayer sessions or lectures, and lengthy meditation sessions.
Your old beliefs and patterns of
behavior are defined as irrelevant or evil. Leadership wants these old patterns
eliminated, so the member must suppress them
Members get positive feedback for
conforming to the group's beliefs and behaviors and negative feedback for old
beliefs and behavior.
Manipulate a system of rewards,
punishments, and experiences in order to promote learning the group's ideology
or belief system and group-approved behaviors
Good behavior, demonstrating an
understanding and acceptance of the group's beliefs, and compliance are rewarded
while questioning, expressing doubts or criticizing are met with disapproval,
redress and possible rejection. If one expresses a question, he or she is made
to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them to be questioning.
The only feedback members get is from
the group, they become totally dependent upon the rewards given by those who
control the environment.
Members must learn varying amounts of
new information about the beliefs of the group and the behaviors expected by the
group.
The more complicated and filled with
contradictions the new system in and the more difficult it is to learn, the more
effective the conversion process will be.
Esteem and affection from peers is very
important to new recruits. Approval comes from having the new member's behaviors
and thought patterns conform to the models (members). Members' relationship with
peers is threatened whenever they fail to learn or display new behaviors. Over
time, the easy solution to the insecurity generated by the difficulties of
learning the new system is to inhibit any display of doubts -- new recruits
simply acquiesce, affirm and act as if they do understand and accept the new
ideology.
Put forth a closed system of logic
and an authoritarian structure that permits no feedback and refuses to be
modified except by leadership approval or executive order
The group has a top-down, pyramid
structure. The leaders must have verbal ways of never losing.
Members are not allowed to question,
criticize or complain -- if they do, the leaders allege that the member is
defective -- not the organization or the beliefs.
The individual is always wrong -- the
system, its leaders and its belief are always right.
Conversion or remolding of the
individual member happens in a closed system. As members learn to modify their
behavior in order to be accepted in this closed system, they change -- begin to
speak the language -- which serves to further isolate them from their prior
beliefs and behaviors.
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