February 24, 2020 by anastasia291 40 Comments. As a result of isolation, an understanding of individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence becomes increasingly blurred. Some psychologists even consider families with domestic abusers as a high control group. It is important to remember that we humans are social creatures. They become further entrenched in a shame cycle, making them even more susceptible to manipulation. These groups are often composed of one or a few forceful and predatory (usually male) leaders with many vulnerable women or men as followers. No other process of discovery is seen to be acceptable or credible. They will not seek to supervise this process. They refuse to allow public access to their records or to involve external agencies and auditors. Revised on Those having persistent doubts or considering leaving the group are told they have lost their faith because it was predestined and predicted in scriptures or teachings that some members would have a weak or superficial faith which would be taken away from them. Sweet-talk about love has often been used to trick women into unequal relationships and high-control groups because it sounds warm and fuzzy but is incredibly vague, emotional, and therefore changeable. The South Fork of Ogden River near Huntsville was placed on the National Weather Service's list of flood warning zones as Utah's snowpack melted mid high temper Cult leaders manipulate this sense of responsibility by coercing members into risky financial behaviour, free manual labour, sexual favours or heightened recruitment efforts in order to further the cause. Perpetrators often claim that the abuse is necessary for furthering the groups cause, and that in performing the acts of abuse, they are a conduit, channel, minister or vehicle for god to work on the member or to further gods plan. Only the elite or inner circle of the group holds meetings to discuss the dogma, theology and practice of the group and its overall direction. In other cases, they express sadness at your decision but they do not listen to or consider your reasons fully and fairly. Such meetings give prospective members a false sense of security because they may be persuaded that their questions have been properly considered. This means researchers can correctly measure the entire effect of the treatment without interference from confounding variables. If former members speak out, they are dismissed as bitter, angry, dishonest or evil. No group is perfect, and it would be unwise and counter-productive to run away from a group as soon as a problem arises. to be disruptive or promote your personal interests within the group) or that you are being disingenuous and trying to mislead people. For example, in many fundamentalist congregations, lots of young women and girls are in attendance due to the attractions of one or more handsome young male preachers. Doubting members are encouraged to focus solely on the doctrine of the cult and isolate themselves from outside influences. In a safe group, leaders will encourage members to question everything and will take time to answer directly, without preaching, becoming judgmental, or repeatedly failing to address the intended meaning of the question (if your politicians do this they are bad leaders as well!). Leaders use theology to undermine you and make you ashamed. Hypocrisy: There is one rule for the leader and another for everyone else. Safe groups may want to actively promote their community and agenda but it will not be their priority. Liberal societies demand that the laws that protect individual human rights are respected by all groups. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesiveness in the group produces a tendency among its members to agree at all costs. There is a dramatic loss of spontaneity, individuality and sense of humour in those who have become members. Since the only variable that differs between the three groups is the type of pill, any differences in average blood pressure between the three groups can be credited to the type of pill they received. Indoctrination or brainwashing is the process by which a group like this slowly breaks down a persons sense of identity and ability to think rationally and independently. There is zealous commitment to the leader, whether he or she is living or dead, which goes far beyond mere admiration or fondness. In other words, safe groups and safe group leaders are authentic in the way they treat you they have nothing to hide! other groups may be described in negative and derogatory terms), or they may be used to cover up internal crimes. It does not matter what the evidence or logic suggests, members always find ways to defend the leader and justify his/her misdeeds. Here is a list of some issues reported by former members of destructive groups: Extreme Identity Confusion Dissociative States Having unwanted triggers Panic and Anxiety attacks Anger Guilt and Shame Sexual Dysfunction Eating Disorders Sleep Disorders / Nightmares Depression Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Grooming is in evidence: Many high-control/cult group leaders exploit young and otherwise vulnerable people, especially those craving love, attention and affection because they have experienced neglect, loneliness and loss etc. Group members may have to make other drastic changes to their lives. This creates the ideal conditions for groupthink, which is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. This could mean not engaging with outsiders anymore in your everyday life or even choosing to live among members and refusing to acknowledge there is an outside world at all. A safe group is completely transparent regarding its internal problems and engages openly with the press and law enforcement. The group does not admit openly to having any internal problems, for example, financial issues or issues of misconduct and abuse. In safe groups, victims of sexual harassment and abuse are encouraged to speak up and are supported wholeheartedly if they want to press charges. I wanted to write this blog on how some high control groups program their members away from mental health help. 10 Examples of a Control Group 3 Examples of a Negative Control Extraneous Variables The common types of extraneous variables. Youre encouraged to learn about the group from leader-approved sources which are notably positive and uncritical of the group. People become victims of cults, often without being aware of it at first. It is important to note that while we tend to associate the terms cult or high-control group with religious or spiritual movements, there are many political groups with similar characteristics to those listed below. Members may be engaged in activities that constitute unpaid labour and even hard labour without pay, which is of course a form of financial exploitation and abuse. Many safe groups use mind-altering practices for real benefits, practices such as meditation, chanting, prayer, rituals and movements or dance. Ascetic practices and repetitive behaviours like excessive fasting, prayer, hypnosis, scripture reading, chanting, meditation, or drug use are used to increase peoples vulnerability to the leaders suggestions. Members who question the group leader or group tenets are considered to be traitors and a danger to the group as a whole. Many of the books, authors and other sources will have been critiqued and discredited by subject experts at mainstream academic and research institutions and by the free investigative press. Magical abilities, events, beings and places, by very definition, cannot be tested, measured or proven using our senses. They try to justify keeping their dirty linen hidden by arguing that airing it in public would bring unnecessary disrepute to the group and its cause. This may apply to decisions about whether or not to get married or whether or not to marry a specific person, deciding where to live or deciding what job to do etc. Many people have their little superstitions, whether they are religious or not and whether they are members of a group or not. Moreover, we were all young, nave and no doubt fairly idealistic at one time. July 3, 2020 The group uses thought-reform methods of indoctrination. If criticism of your leader is forbidden, however justifiable it is, you are in a cult. I would certainly like to hear more about your research and any evidence or explanations of high-control characteristics in the HE sector. They may call themselves a prophet, an enlightened teacher, a messenger, a messiah, or even claim to be divine. Safe groups include individuals and families with a wide range of lifestyles and cultures. And women, especially, are tightly controlled. they may claim to be the kingdom of God on earth, the only good people on earth, and the community that will save the world. Some groups start out well and remain an overwhelmingly positive influence, or at least a benign one. (for a quick reference summary go the bottom of the article), Extra Characteristics of Full-Blown Cults. Mutual respect and kindness are much clearer and healthier terms upon which to build a relationship or form a group! If you are held to a different moral standard, especially in regard to sex, you are in a cult. Here, researchers change the independent variable in the treatment group and keep it constant in the control group. Osho preached that every human being is capable of unconditional love and Father Yod was an advocate for natural health and a utopian lifestyle. A confounding variable is related to both the supposed cause and the supposed effect of the study. Many young people join these groups when they have little or no experience of how quickly and how horribly things can go wrong in a group, and no knowledge of the warning signs to look out for. You might see a difference over time in your dependent variable in your treatment group. A fundamentalist preacher once told me that wives need to be loved and husbands need to be respected. The leader or leaders regularly whip up the crowd or congregation into a feverish emotional frenzy with commanding oratory or intense ritual. Creating fear and dread of supernatural evils, and then claiming you can offer protection from it, is an excellent way of getting people to believe and do exactly what you want. For a full list of URIs, see the URI scheme reference section in Launch the Windows Settings app. It respects the range of spiritual/psychological experiences (or lack of them) among people, and leaders/members do not expect others to share in their own particular experiences. Safe group leaders respect individual autonomy and recognise reasonable boundaries and limitations when dealing with others. Outsiders are demonised and dehumanised to the extent that their lives are considered of much less worth than the lives of members (or of no worth at all). Inner circles or leadership groups routinely mislead, deceive and lie to ordinary members, and this is not considered to be immoral or a problem. You are encouraged to see them as having a much greater ability to discern the truth than you do. You can see no real evidence, for example, that proclaimed historic supernatural occurrences or miracles are anything but mythical stories all cultures have their myths and legends after all or that the proclaimed contemporary miracles are anything but illusions brought about by mass hysteria or hallucinogenic drugs. Safe groups will never foster feelings of shame, fear and guilt by telling members they deserve to or should feel that way. It is considered acceptable for outsiders to be sacrificed for the cause of the group. For example, you are told that everything good in you is from God alone and that everything bad in you is from you alone and therefore entirely your fault! This elitism is maintained with subtle methods of exclusion based on unspoken prejudices, including passive aggression (indirect aggression) and micro-aggressions. If you use a control group that is identical in every other way to the treatment group, you know that the treatmentthe only difference between the two groupsmust be what has caused the change. If you are expected to accept dogma about the supernatural and your group leaders emphasise this in ways that make you feel shameful or afraid, you may well be in a cult or high-control group. So while I sympathise with white individuals who dont feel privileged, I also sympathise with people of colour who often suffer racism and discrimination on top of poverty and deprivation. Thus, members are persuaded to harm or sacrifice their relationships and their own long-term interests for the groups ultimate goals. Members frequently experience feelings of shame, guilt, fear and dread. Distribution groups (distribution lists) are used for sending emails to a set of . you didnt feel intense emotion or connection with God when you recited scriptures or prayed, you cannot speak in tongues, you didnt get healed when the leader laid hands on you etc) are held in suspicion as not being true believers or are even seen as a pernicious influence. 11 control group examples Here are 11 examples of common control groups that different industries may use in their research: 1. It is of great concern to me that things have become so polarised in our society, and that on the one hand, many people have fallen for the devious arguments of conspiracy theorists, while on the other, little care was taken by those in positions of power and influence to understand the reasons why so many people in our society feel disaffected, and so those people just ended up being ridiculed and looked down upon. While some of the signs may not, in and of themselves, indicate the group is a cult or high-control group, they may do when taken together with other signs. Studies can also include more than one treatment or control group. Well I have just seen your reply, and realise I am only 2 years late in replying I am soooo sorry! If such a forum exists but is only accessible to certain members e.g. The group has no official forum or channel for critical enquiry or for formally raising concerns, complaints and grievances. It has no credible evidence to back up its claims. Sometimes, the shame following a single mistake is enough to keep them in line forever. In a June 25 press release, the CDC said a review of reports and data sources prompted the update. High Control Groups Katherine M. Schneider, LCSW High Control Groups* * This also includes high-demand or high-pressure groups/teams/programs/organizations, cults, narcissistic abuse, etc. The group produces or makes use of fake news and inaccurate/fake historical accounts which appear to support its dogma. There may well be records, books, news articles, or television programmes that document the abuses of the group and its leader. Viewing the Control Group Hierarchy You will notice that there is a great deal of overlap between extremist and high-control groups. For example, they will fail to empathise with the feelings of others. Scepticism is a healthy trait when it comes to making decisions that affect a large group of people. Using libcgroup Tools", Expand section "4. only male members or long-term members, this is just as concerning, since it is a clear admission on the part of the leadership that they are unwilling to hear or value the voices of many of their members. Increase visibility into IT operations to detect and resolve technical issues before they impact your business. Cult leaders increasingly claim knowledge outside their own experience and expertise. If members break group rules they receive a great deal of criticism or are shunned. They claim the end goals of the group justify their actions. Peoples private lives and personal issues, originally disclosed with the expectation of confidentiality, are shared and discussed at these meetings behind their backs. danwatt.org, Pingback: : ( 5 6) , Pingback: : ( 5 6) , Pingback: The Book of Boba Fett eRecap: And Now For Something Completely Different (Episodes 5 & 6) news.berlinstockexchangelistings.com, Pingback: The Book of Boba Fett Recap: And Now For Something Completely Different (Episodes 5 & 6) NEW.ASHNEWS.ORG, Pingback: The Book of Boba Fett Recap: And Now For Something Completely Different (Episode 5 & 6) Metz Gaztte News. In a way, most human groups have a tendency to go that way, unless there are inbuilt protections, check and balances. Some group members may even have deceived themselves into thinking they really do love the people they are targeting, by trying hard to engineer the feeling over time. Praise and admiration for the group leader exceeds that given to others in the community. A confounding variable, also called a confounder or confounding factor, is a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship. There is a reluctance to see any weaknesses or flaws in a group leader or in his or her teaching. Those feelings and concerns are then fully addressed and where possible alleviated. He claimed that women didnt much crave respect and men didnt much crave love, as if you could ever have genuine love for someone you didnt hugely respect! If you are not allowed to know exactly what the group does with its money, you are in a cult. Youve been trained to view even valid criticism as invalid and sourced by enemies of the group. Negative Triggers (in any or all of the five senses - e.g. They do not answer to any other authorities, not even state/national law enforcement, and when investigated by the police or other legal representative, they will typically be uncooperative and resistant. Some will have sexual relations with underaged boys and/or girls. Others are born into the community and know nothing different. A safe group or safe group leader will expect and encourage members to remain in communication with their families and friends outside the group to the same extent as before they joined. Members may even collect money for bogus causes and charities, having convinced themselves that lying and fraud is necessary to accomplish the groups goals. Initiation into these rites usually only comes after a member has undergone certain tests or made adequate financial contributions. In matching, you match each of the subjects in your treatment group with a counterpart in the comparison group.

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