Inquiry Argumentative Essay

My Original Thoughts and  Idea:

          

       The inquiry topic I am proposing is “The Use of Language in the Art of Brainwashing”.  Brainwashing truly is an art and I find it fascinating how complete mind control of another human being can be achieved without too much effort at all.  Brainwashing has been used for centuries as a means to make a person believe, live, and even die for something.  Even here in the United States, the liberal media will attempt to brainwash you into believing conservative politics is evil.  And that goes the other way around as well, just look at Fox News vs. CNN and the biased approaches that generate from each program.  Brainwashing is used in political ads, religions and cults, and even used for genocidal purposes.  The greatest example of the art of brainwashing being used for mass genocide is the Nazi propaganda during WWII.  Hitler and his party used signs, posters, radio broadcasts, and even laws to dehumanize the Jews and many other races and classes of people.  He brainwashed the German people into believing they were superior to every other race and class of people on the planet, therefore he convinced them that the “weaker” classes must be destroyed before they took over the world and continued to pass on their negative traits and genes.

            I really need to explore other examples of brainwashing and all of the different tactics used to do so.  Also, I would not have any personal examples except for some of my friends who believe they are ugly because they do not look exactly like the model on the magazine cover or the guys/girls on the television.  I believe the use of photoshop and makeup to make pretty people look perfect is an act of brainwashing as well.  All of my examples would most likely come from my research. I have a mild understanding of them, but I could learn more about the tactics and the complete process of brainwashing.  Initially, I introduced this topic in the inquiry forum and it really spawned a lot of attention and conversation.  I have always loved history and I have always thought mind control was very interesting as well so I feel that this topic suits me and I feel that I will enjoy researching it.  My research will obviously come from the internet, and I plan to explore the library as well.  I am positive that numerous books, articles, etc. have been written about this topic.  My inquiry question would be introduced as “How is Language Used in the Art of Brainwashing?”

My New Idea:

       My research topic I am proposing involves the brainwashing tactics of religious cults.  Many cult leaders incorporate techniques of mind control to gain followship and support.  I know that the use of religion comes into play, so some cult authorities may twist religious ideas and thoughts to perform their task at hand.  I believe language will also play a huge role in the way of repetition and word choice.

       My inquiry question will look like this: 
What is the most effective technique used by the leaders of religious cults to brainwash their followers?

http://www.phinnweb.org/neuro/brainwash/
-This site provides a great list of brainwashing techniques used by numerous organizations.  Also included is a short description of each.

http://www.cultfaq.org/cultfaq-answers-brainwashing.html
-This site is completely dedicated to answering the most popular questions associated to religious cults.  It also addresses what exactly a cult is and explains the different types of cults.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/brain_wa.htm
- This site provides numerous articles pertaining to world religions, witchcraft, and cults.

- This man, a former member of a cult, describes being brainwashed as being locked inside of a box and not being able to think outside of that box.  He says it is nothing less than captivity.

http://www.allaboutcults.org/religious-cult-leaders-faq.htm

-This site explains different definitions of cults as well as gives examples of popular cults and cult leaders.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ex_moonie_diane_benscoter_how_cults_think.html

- Diane Benscoter, a former moonie, discusses her past experience and explains how cults rewire the brain and can force you to believe anything.

Thoughts on Class Presentation

    

     On Thursday, 11/7, I presented my inquiry topic to my class.  I felt very comfortable with my topic and felt I obtained a fair amount of knowledge pertaining to religious cults and their brainwashing techniques.  I was very appreciative of the feedback I received from my classmates who most kindly introduced some new ideas and tips that I can include in my research and in my paper as well.  My inquiry question going into the presentation was "What different techniques are used by the leaders of religious cults to brainwash their followers?" but I may be veering towards something more specific now after hearing the critiques of my clasmates.  Something like "What is the most effective technique used by the leaders of religious cults to brainwash their followers?" may very well be my new inquiry question.  I am going to begin researching verbal brainwashing techniques vs physical brainwashing techniques.

Annotated Bibliography

Benscoter, Diane. “Diane Benscoter on how cults rewire the brain.” TED Conference Feb 2009.

Lecture. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED, June 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

-          Diane Benscoter, an ex-Moonie, discusses her experiences as a cult member.  She gives her audience an idea of what her mentality was as she was taking part in a large and highly influential religious cult.  She gives examples of cult practices and shows pictures comparing Moonies to the followers of Adolf Hitler.  She also shows a photo of the leg of a suicide bomber.  Diane has come to the conclusion that her brainwashing experience was like a viral infection of the brain where an idea is passed from mind to mind like a virus. She claims that circular logic takes over the brain and you are much more liable to be a victim of this virus when you are vulnerable and “lost in your own world”.  Diane says that the first steps to solving the problem is realizing that there is a problem and that everyone must work together to solve it.  This TED talk was educational, but it was very simplistic and redundant.  She doesn’t go into a lot of detail about the actual neurology of the brain.  Also, I would have liked to hear her ideas of some solutions to this problem.

Biderman, Albert D. The Image of "Brainwashing." The Public Opinion Quarterly 26.4 (1962): 547-563. Print.

-          Biderman begins his article by giving knowledge of the history of the term “brainwashing”.  Also, he explains the event that coined the term and brought its popularity to the western hemisphere, which was Red China.  He then proceeds to discuss the sheer power of brainwashing and mind control and what these things can make you capable of.   Biderman also critiques previous works pertaining to brainwashing like biographies, articles, and even novels.  After his critique, he offers a flipside to the brainwashing theory and attempts to “debunk” the theory with examples.   This will be a great source to seek other opinions and maybe include various opinions in my paper.  I wish Biderman discussed the subject on a more local and state level (like a religious cult) as opposed to national ideas and examples like governments, militaries, POW’s, etc.  He claims that brainwashing doesn’t really exist but he gives no alternatives to it.  I would like to see him answer the questions of those who claim to have been brainwashed and try to tell them it was “all in their head”.  Overall, I think I can use excerpts and information from this piece to my advantage and make my paper a strong and informed piece of writing.

Long, Theodore E. & Hadden, Jeffrey K. “Religious Conversion and the Concept of

Socialization: Integrating the Brainwashing and Drift Models.” Journal for the Scientific

Study of Religion 22.1 (1983): 1-14. Print.

-          This article compares the two argued explanations of why people join unconventional religious groups (aka cults).  The types, one being brainwashing which is preferred by the psychologist and the other being social drift which is preferred by the sociologist.  Most consider the models contradictory, but the authors attempt to detail the similarities of the methods and how they can both work together to produce the same effect.  The ultimate purpose of the paper is to provide a guide for future research on the subject.  The article proceeds to go into details of social norms and what drives certain types of people towards certain crowds, as well as explaining the idea behind brainwashing and the results of the practice.  This is a very educational article displaying two very valid sides to an extremely real problem.  The main issue though is the fact that there are not many real life examples provided which I can correlate to my topic and possibly produce further research.

Robinson, B.A. Religious Tolerance. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 22 Aug. 2007.

                Web.  12 Nov. 2012.

-          Religious Tolerance is a website dedicated to world religions, beliefs, spirituality, and religious cults.  The site offers an abundance of quotations, statistics, and information pertaining to all of these topics.  More importantly, the site discusses the techniques of brainwashing as well as beliefs of ACM’s (Anti-Cult Movements), as well as suggested methods to “deprogram” a victim of brainwashing.  Also, the site portrays the beliefs of different ACM’s and how they were widespread and largely expressed 1980’s and 90’s. Unfortunately, Religious Tolerance does not compare and contrast different methods and techniques of brainwashing.  The site also does not discuss the practices and brainwashing techniques of different cults specifically.  I believe I can use the statistics included in the site to increase the standing and knowledge applied to the writing of my paper.

Rough Draft 11/28/12:

Todd Arnette

Professor Andrews

English 1102-008

26 November 2012

Brainwashing is a very real and horrifying tactic used by the leaders of religious cults to influence others to join their alternative societies.  Among a sample of 383 adults from a western U.S. state, 78% said that they believed that brainwashing exists and 38% agreed that "brainwashing is required to make someone join a religious cult" (Robinson).  If being a victim of brainwashing is a requirement  to actually become a member of a cult, then there must be many different brainwashing techniques used by religious cults.  The various tactics used by these notorious cult leaders can be categorized into three separate sections which include verbal techniques, mental techniques, and physical techniques.  Obviously, all of these techniques have proven successful in the past, but the question remains as to exactly which category of brainwashing techniques has yielded the greatest results.  Through my research, I have concluded that the most successful form of brainwashing is produced through verbal practices, like for example, repetition.[KA3] 

Diane Benscoter, an ex-Moonie , describes her brainwashing experience as being comparable to a viral infection.  Only this infection is of the brain, and it spreads in the form of ideas where they are passed from mind to mind like a virus.  This virus can be contracted by anyone at any time, usually when they least expect it.  Diane says that circular logic takes over the brain and you are much more liable to be a victim of this virus when you are vulnerable and “lost in your own world.”  She goes as far as to compare the brainwashing effectiveness of a cult to that of the Nazi party during WWII and to a modern day suicide bomber as well.

Physical  brainwashing techniques include any form of brainwashing that involves physical action performed either by the victim or the perpetrator.  One of the main roles of physical brainwashing techniques is to eliminate the idea of individualism.  Peer group pressure is one tactic in particular that teaches the importance of belonging to a group.  By performing physical actions and motions together as a group, the leaders of a cult are exploiting to their members the need to belong (phinnweb.org).  Peer group pressure also puts a major emphasis on reliance to the group as a whole, while other practices like isolation and physical abuse are used to teach the victim that they are incapable of continuing on their own.  They are taught that they need the other members to survive.  In psychology, extraordinary external influences like that of a cult, emphasizes reliance on the group as well as the willful deviation of its followers (Long and Hadden 4).  Another act, known as disinhibition, encourages child-like obedience by orchestrating child-like behavior (phinnweb.org).  When a mature adult is subjected to actions comparable to that of a child, they begin to operate, function, and follow orders in a manner similar to that of a child.  This is one of the main tools used by the cult authorities to effectively control their members.

Another form of brainwashing known as mental brainwashing includes any mind control tactic that promotes the disruption of previous known thoughts and beliefs.  By instilling the emotions of guilt and fear into an individual, the leaders of a cult increase their chances of manipulating the individual.  These emotions are introduced to the victim by the usage of threats, discouraging the asking of questions, and the rejection of old values.  Threatening the individual promotes a high level of two different types of fear.  The first is a fear to leave the group and the second is a fear to undermine the beliefs and practices of the group.  The emotion of guilt is introduced to the victim by reinforcing the need for 'salvation' by exaggerating the sins of their former lifestyles (phinnweb.org).  By constantly denouncing the victim’s former beliefs and values, the brainwashers are successfully accelerating the acceptance of the new lifestyle being promoted by the cult authorities.  In a controlled setting, consent by the individual being brainwashed must be given before the practice can be performed.  Legally, if a person is mentally unstable or even underage they will not be allowed to provide that consent.  For this exact reason, brainwashing tactics are becoming illegal in some places of the world and many families, especially in the United States, are conducting lawsuits against a select number of organized religious cults for allegedly brainwashing a member of their family (Poythress 242). 

Brainwashing, in its most dangerous form, comes from the use of very specific verbal practices and wordplay.  Verbal brainwashing involves two tactics that when used in conjunction can absolutely dismantle a person’s mindset and make them believe anything.  These two techniques are singing and chanting used alongside with the classic repetition method.  Repetition is used almost everywhere to teach a variety of subjects ranging from mathematics to the learning of the English language.  TO BE CONTINUED...

FINAL TOPIC CHANGE:  In order for a cult leader to be successful, three different types of brainwashing techniques must be employed including physical, mental, and verbal brainwashing techniques.

New Inquiry Question:  Does a cult leader have to employ physical, mental, and verbal brainwashing techniques in order to have long term success?

FINAL DRAFT 12/9/12

Todd Arnette

Professor Andrews

English 1102-008

9 December 2012

Brainwashing is a very real and horrifying tactic used by the leaders of religious cults to influence others to join their alternative societies.  Among a sample of 383 adults from a western U.S. state, 78% said that they believed that brainwashing exists and 38% agreed that "brainwashing is required to make someone join a religious cult" (Robinson).  If being a victim of brainwashing is actually a significant factor in becoming a member of a cult, then there must be many different brainwashing techniques used by religious cults.  The various tactics used by these notorious cult leaders can be categorized into three separate sections which include verbal techniques, mental techniques, and physical techniques.  Obviously, all of these techniques have proven successful in the past, but when used in conjunction with one another a setting of complete brain manipulation has been produced which, in some cases, is nearly irreversible.  In order for a religious cult and its leaders to be successful and operate as a unified group, they must incorporate all verbal, mental, and physical aspects of brainwashing into their arsenal of tools used to recruit new members.

In our current society, the term “cult” has adopted numerous meanings including, but not limited to: a system of religious beliefs and ritual land its body of adherents, a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious and its body of adherents, and a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work.  Positive, negative, and neutral positions can be taken in regards to cults, but history has proven that most people see cults as a negative influence on society (Hein-Hudson).  A prime example of a large, mature, and unified cult is Reverend Moon’s Unification Church.  Moon founded the Unification Church in South Korea in 1954, and since, the movement has spread across the world and even into the United States.

Diane Benscoter, a former member of Moon’s Unification Church, describes her brainwashing experience as being comparable to a viral infection.  Only this infection is of the brain, and it spreads in the form of ideas where they are passed from mind to mind like a virus.  This virus can be contracted by anyone at any time, usually when they least expect it.  Diane says that circular logic takes over the brain and you are much more liable to be a victim of this virus when you are vulnerable and “lost in your own world”.  She goes as far as to compare the brainwashing effectiveness of a cult to that of the Nazi party during WWII and to a modern day suicide bomber as well (How Cults Rewire the Brain).

To begin with the most recognizable form of brainwashing, physical brainwashing techniques include any form of brainwashing that involves physical action performed either by the victim or the perpetrator.  One of the main roles of physical brainwashing techniques is to eliminate the idea of individualism.  Therefore, it is very important for cult leaders to employ this method.  Peer group pressure is one tactic in particular that teaches the importance of belonging to a group.  By performing physical actions and motions together as a group, the leaders of a cult are exploiting to their members the need to belong (Brainwashing & Mind…).  Peer group pressure also puts a major emphasis on reliance to the group as a whole, while other practices like isolation and physical abuse are used to teach the victim that they are incapable of continuing on their own.  They are taught that they need the other members to survive.  In psychology, extraordinary external influences like that of a cult, emphasizes reliance on the group as well as the willful deviation of its followers (Long and Hadden 4).  Another act, known as disinhibition, encourages child-like obedience by orchestrating child-like behavior (Brainwashing & Mind…).  When a mature adult is subjected to actions comparable to that of a child, they begin to operate, function, and follow orders in a manner similar to that of a child.  The child-like behavior induced by this method is used to persuade the members of the cult to perform tasks and duties that they normally would not pursue, so this act is very important as it ensures the obedience of the cult members to their leaders. This is one of the main tools used by the cult authorities to effectively control their members.

Another form of brainwashing known as mental brainwashing includes any mind control tactic that promotes the disruption of previous known thoughts and beliefs.  By instilling the emotions of guilt and fear into an individual, the leaders of a cult increase their chances of manipulating the individual.  These emotions are introduced to the victim by the use of threats, discouraging the asking of questions, and the rejection of old values.  Threatening the individual promotes a high level of two different types of fear.  The first is a fear to leave the group and the second is a fear to undermine the beliefs and practices of the group.  The emotion of guilt is introduced to the victim by reinforcing the need for 'salvation' by exaggerating the sins of their former lifestyles (Brainwashing & Mind…).  By constantly denouncing the victim’s former beliefs and values, the brainwashers are successfully accelerating the acceptance of the new lifestyle being promoted by the cult authorities.  In a controlled setting, consent by the individual being brainwashed (or hypnotized) must be given before the practice can be performed.  Legally, if a person is mentally unstable or even underage they will not be allowed to provide that consent.  For this exact reason, brainwashing tactics are becoming illegal in some places of the world and many families, especially in the United States, are conducting lawsuits against a select number of organized religious cults for allegedly brainwashing a member of their family (Poythress 242). 

Brainwashing, in its most dangerous form, comes from the use of very specific verbal practices and wordplay.  Verbal brainwashing involves two tactics that when used in conjunction can absolutely dismantle a person’s mindset and make them believe anything.  These two techniques are singing and chanting used alongside with the classic repetition method.  Repetition is used almost everywhere to teach a variety of subjects ranging from mathematics to the learning of the English language.  Even Sam Myung Moon’s Unification Church has been known to practice repetition as a procedure used during their indoctrination process (Poythress 241).  Not only does speaking words and phrases potentially rework the brain, but hearing others say these things also reinforces the victims trust and commitment to the cult.  Cult authorities use a process where they make promises to the victim as a means to make them feel comfortable, welcome, and assure them that they are doing the right thing and making the correct decision.  They will promise things like salvation, a new and better family, and protection from the outside world and its sinful ways.  These promises give the cult authorities an upper hand on the other members because they feel they must stay and become involved with the cult if they want to receive these blessings. On the other hand, the language used by the brainwashers can be very harsh as well.  This normally occurs later in the process after the victim is comfortable with their surroundings, and it is simply known as verbal abuse.  Verbal abuse is used to desensitize the victim through the bombardment of foul and abusive language.  Once desensitized, the victim is much more liable to fall prey to the cult authorities and take heed to their every word (Brainwashing & Mind…).  As a brainwashed member of a large group, it would be considered wrong not to listen to the leaders of the cult and do exactly as they say, no matter how ridiculous and insane the claims or orders may be (Benscoter).

Physical, mental, and verbal brainwashing techniques all three have their perks and pros, but individually, they all have their cons as well.  When used together as a team, though, the power behind these mind control tactics is beyond what our minds can comprehend, and definitely imposes a greater threat on the human mind than we are able to sense and defeat.  For example, physical brainwashing techniques eliminate the idea of individualism and promote the idea of belonging to a group, but verbal brainwashing teaches the victim to practice total commitment to the group and its values and beliefs.  Also, realizing that if a cult authority can instill fear into a person as well as persuade them to be obedient to their every word, they can be manipulated into believing the most absurd idea and performing the most ridiculous tasks.  Not surprisingly, physical brainwashing works to promote obedience whereas mental brainwashing techniques instill fear into the hearts of the mind control victims.  On their own, these various brainwashing tactics could never hold up in the long run because too many loopholes appear whenever any one of the techniques are left out of the equation.  Verbal brainwashing reworks the brain and introduces new vocabulary that, when repeated numerous times, becomes a part of you and you subconsciously begin to believe it (Long and Hadden 7).  Desensitizing a victim is one of the main roles of verbal brainwashing, and used alongside mental brainwashing practices that denounce old values and introduce new ones, a new person is created.  Unfortunately, this new person is now at the mercy of the cult and its authorities.

Ultimately, it is apparent that in order for a cult leader to be successful they must employ the use of all three different types of brainwashing.  Physical, mental, and verbal brainwashing tactics are all very complicated forms of art within themselves, and they each compliment the others extremely well.  If the main goal of a cult leader is to brainwash others into joining their movement, then it would be a huge mistake not to reap the manipulating benefits of all three tactics when used in conjunction with one another.  Brainwashing is a real intention of many organizations.  The practice is very subtle and those who perform the task are trained professionals, so becoming a victim of strategized mind control can very well happen to anyone at any time. 

Works Cited

Benscoter, Diane. “Diane Benscoter on how cults rewire the brain.” TED Conference Feb 2009.

Lecture. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED, June 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

Brainwashing & Mind Control Techniques. pHinnWeb. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

Hein-Hudson, Anton and Janet.  Cults: Brainwashing and Mind Control. Cult & Ex-Cult

Frequently Asked Questions. 28 Aug. 2004. Web.  12 Nov. 2012.

Long, Theodore E. & Hadden, Jeffrey K. “Religious Conversion and the Concept of

Socialization: Integrating the Brainwashing and Drift Models.” Journal for the Scientific

Study of Religion 22.1 (1983): 1-14. Print.

Poythress, Norman G.  “Behavior Modification, Brainwashing, Religion, and the Law.” Journal

Of Religion and Health 17.4 (1978): 238-243. Print

Robinson, B.A. Religious Tolerance. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 22 Aug. 2007.

            Web.  12 Nov. 2012.
Inquiry Reflective Commentary
     When I began writing this essay, I had already adopted a great deal of knowledge pertaining to my topic.  This was mostly due to all of the research I had been required to complete in the weeks prior to starting my essay.  I began with informal research and then proceeded to pursue more formal, academic sources.  This knowledge really helped my first draft to flow effectively.  Since I already had a vast amount of research under my belt, it was very easy to figure out where and when to apply my sources.  I was very pleased that I was able to use multiple types of sources ranging from websites to academic journals.  My writing process was potentially the same as it has been all semester and it works great for me.  I am a huge fan of music, so I always plug in the headphones and play some of my favorite hip hop or rock songs and just write away.  I also try to get as comfortable as I possibly can so I usually end up in my pajamas with a snack and a soda placed nearby.  The strongest moments in my essay were when I related to my audience by referencing an actual former cult member, as well as saying things like "brainwashing can happen to anyone at any time".  I try to be as rhetorical as possible in my essays because that is what I believe writing is all about.  I was also very pleased that I was able to effectively link psychological facts as well as legal information to my final argument.  I had the most difficulty with the end of my paper because I wasn't sure how I wanted to tie everything together.  I ended up re-stating my thesis and attempting to relate with my audience one last time, which I am very pleased with the outcome.  This entire writing process was sort of skeptical to me due to the fact that there was very little instruction at first and we all had so much freedom in our topic choice, research, etc.  Still though, Professor Andrews was very welcome of questions and extremely helpful whenever I had questions.  My classmates also helped me to get pointed in the right direction when I presented my topic to the class.  I felt they all supported my topic and that further assured me of my decision to write about brainwashing in religious cults.  As a writer, I enjoyed my experience while writing this paper.  I learned a lot about brainwashing and the many techniques used to complete the process.  I am a Christian, so it was interesting to research these cults and get to understand some of their beliefs, but it was difficult not to have a biased voice when talking about the cult's beliefs and just brainwashing in general.  Just completing this essay and being pleased with the outcome is an accomplishment within itself and I am very proud to be one step closer to that Bachelor's Degree.