The Psychology Of Sects: Investigating Their Mental Traps
The study of sects is one of the most interesting fields of study within the branch of social psychology. But… what does the psychology of sects consist of?
In the late 1960s, an Ohio musician named Charles Manson established himself as a guru in San Francisco during the “Summer of Love,” a festival and rally. hippie. His aspirations were to be famous and a millionaire, and it did not take long for him to gain his first group of followers, who formed a sect called “The Manson Family.”
Soon they all went to live on a ranch where Manson instructed them on what he called Helter Skelter (term taken from the song with the same name by the Beatles ), a supposed race war between blacks and whites that was looming.
In the sect there used to be five women for every man, and they held weekly psychedelic orgies with marijuana, peyote, LSD, and child rape included. Manson ensured that his followers lost their sexual taboos, inducing them to behave in ways related to homosexuality, anal sex, etc.
Charles Manson never killed anyone with his own hands, but several murders are attributed to his acolytes among them that of Sharon Tate, the then wife of Roman Polanski
This introduction leads us to ask ourselves several questions. What leads someone to join a sect and take obedience to extremes such as murder? What happens within sects? What is the psychological profile of your leaders?
Cults and their mental traps
Cults are complex groups, formed by a hierarchical and pyramidal structure, led by a charismatic guru who demands exploitative devotion and dedication that usually ends up leading to emotional, social or economic damage to people.
Psychological profile of a cult leader
The psychological profile of a cult guru is highly complex These are people with great abilities to seduce and entangle group participants, so their personal characteristics include talkativeness, glibness, and a high degree of social skills. Cult leaders are capricious, tyrannical, and even despotic, and end up verbally, physically, or sexually abusing their members.
They cannot stand their authority being questioned and seek to parasitize their members to extract all their resources. They are driven by narcissism and the need to control others to achieve their own goals.
They are fueled by excessive egos and shape the world according to their own vision , manipulating individuals. They are specialists in capturing people’s weaknesses to provide them with what they need and thus attract them even more to them.
At what point does a person decide to join a sect?
Entry into these groups usually occurs smoothly and progressively Through a process of seduction, people are enthralled with promises. Normally this point coincides with a moment of personal crisis of the individual that increases his vulnerability and his need to find “magical” or “divine” solutions to his problems.
Likewise, people with a strong degree of loneliness or an existential crisis that prevents them from finding meaning in their lives are vulnerable.
What happens within sects?
Within the sects mundane social influence tactics are used taken to an extreme that is neither permissible nor ethical.
The ideology imparted by the leader is the only valid one, and any hint of doubt that appears in the mind of the follower will be nullified through verbal abuse, humiliation, humiliation or ridicule. It is interesting that the individual bends his personality and ends up complying with all the leader’s instructions. Therefore, an emotional destabilization occurs in the members.
The secrecy
Within the sects there is a lot of secrecy What happens inside cannot be told outside under any circumstances. Furthermore, members are made to believe themselves lucky for knowing such secrets, and play on the feeling of exclusivity. The acolytes must feel important and lucky for receiving this information.
The ultimate objectives of the sects
Cults are not always after sex or money. Most of them seek to gain power and control of the members’ minds. The money comes later, once the will has been controlled.
The individual believes that the donations he makes are voluntary, is not aware of the previous brainwashing to which he has been subjected
Basic characteristics of sects
According to the British sociologist Brian Wilson some characteristics common to all sects would be the following:
Dangers of entering a sect
Usually people do not realize the danger of what they are getting into until they are already inside. Joining a sect can cause serious damage in various areas of the followers’ lives.
As in the case we talked about at the beginning about Charles Manson, people become so emotionally and financially involved that They can commit crimes simply by obeying the leader’s instructions And human beings can do unimaginable things because someone tells them to do them.
To know more
There are two theories that explain the behavior of followers within sects:
