International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM)
Vol. 8 (2025). Published January 15th, 2025.
DOI: 10.54208/1000/0008/001
Cults and Persuasion: Submission as Preference Shifting
Luigi Corvaglia
Abstract
The literature on mind manipulation is often spoilt by the specious use of the metaphor of “brainwashing”. This is sometimes done under the guise of emphasising the irrationality of manipulation and showing that it lies outside the realm of science. This paper will instead show how the findings of experimental psychology and behavioural economics lead to the identification of a process of change in thinking and behaviour that can be described in scientific terms. This process is achieved through a slow self-selection of recruits and an equally gradual increase in requirements. The classic Milgram experiment is a suitable instrument for explaining this. The framing effect identified by Tversky and Khaneman, which is so important in marketing, can bring about counterproductive decisions in a context that makes them reasonable for those who make them. This is to show that there is nothing magical or metaphysical about mind control, as long as it is understood as a process of conditioning that works through progressive selection and leads to an increase in conformism in a closed environment. Instead, the idea of rational choice, on which the defence of manipulative cults is based, is displaced from the scientific realm.
Keywords: Cults, Rational Choice Theory, Behavioural Economics, Tversky, Kahneman, Social Psychology, Milgram, Persuasion, Brainwashing, Mind Control