Mind manipulation is a word that had been used carelessly these days. This is because people do not know how it had been used in the past. There are many different ways of manipulating the mind: brain washing, lack of sleep.
Repetition is one of the best way of manipulating the mind, by repeating an idea or an act it gets stuck in the brain longer. This method is used in Jonestown and Scientology cults. Jim Jones lured vulnerable people to his cult, the people he lured were from different races and backgrounds who are insecure. He promised his cult that he will lead a society free of discrimination, which was ideal for a large number of his followers since they were Africian Americans. In addtion, he repetitively made them "rehearse" the act
…show more content…
Sleep is essential for thinking clearly and decision making therefore most cults do not allow its members to sleep properly. This method had been used in Jonestown and Scientology cults. Jim Jones made his followers work long hours and rest less so that eventually they did not think for themselves and rely on him to make decisions: " Being in an environment where you are constantly up, constantly busy and you’re made to feel guilty if you take too many luxuries like sleeping, you tend to not to think for yourself and I allowed Jones to think for me, because I figured he had the better plan. I gave my rights up to him, as many others did." (Hue Fortson Jr.). Similarly in Scientology cult such as the Sea Org, Hubbard's followers, such as Adam Holland, were forced to do chores:"His fellow members washed dishes, ironed superior's clothing and swept floors." Also they had to sell his books. "Above all, they sold Hubbard's books." With long hours Adam Holland had lost track of time and did not contact his parents that he had safely arrived in L.A.: " I'd been in such a state of mind that I never even bothered to tell my parents, 'Hey, I'm in L.A., I've been here for 2½ months,'
First, people slowly started to realize this may not be what they want yet have no option, leading to psychological torture. It was said to be that if anyone was caught running away Jim Jones and his guards would use tactical skills to torment the people into staying, basically scaring them into any other idea. Also, Jones convinced his people that they were under attack by the government and that the US wanted to shut them down, using brainwash. After hundreds of nights practicing the suicide he finally called the actual drinking of the cyanide-laced kool aid (Jonestown and peoples temple, chidster). The people of Jonestown were manipulated and brainwashed into thinking that the life they were living was a hell and that suicide would bring them to peace. Jim Jones had implanted false thoughts in their heads causing emotional distress and ultimately leading to the mental break down of killing their children and themselves. The people of Jonestown were taken to the level of abnormal living and held high reliance on Jim. It was because of all these adaptions that Jim forced on these people that they became a cult (Cult, Gallagher). Jim Jones is one of the main and biggest examples of the difference between a religious leader and a cult leader. Another key example of a cult that used psychological techniques to persuade people
Annie Moore one of the people who died in Jonestown said these last haunting words: “We died because you would not let us live”. That chilling sentence says so much about the grip Jim Jones had on his followers. Once he had them under his control they weren’t even allowed to think for themselves let alone do anything else freely. Jim Jones started to lose it when the congressman, the relatives, and the media began to question what was going on in Jonestown.
In “Brave New World,” Huxley creates a world that is complete and utterly disturbing to what humanity could become. The people in the World State are controlled through psychological conditioning on a ground breaking scale. They are made to have a low intellectual rating, and one acts more of an animal than as a human. One of the most effective psychological tests that take place during this book is sleep teaching, which is a practice that makes the brain learn things that are being repeated while the body sleeps. This method is very effective because the individual doesn’t realize what is happening, so one wouldn’t be against it and one couldn’t try to stop it.
A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. There are usually many people in these societies. In Jim Jones’s cult, there were at least one thousand people in this community.
While many may believe humans are inbreeded with certain believes and morals, they automatically diminish the probability of being brainwashed. Literary works as Brave New World, and the government of North Korea, prove controlling the mind to be possible.
Jim Jones and his infamous cult entitled, “The People’s Temple,” holds an interesting value to social psychology. Jonestown is a topic that can relate back to many sociology terms and ideas. Jonestown can be related to social deviance, the effect of American culture on social groups, labelling theory, charismatic authority, and even shows how societal history often repeats itself. American society during the late 60’s-70’s is what led to the creation of Jonestown. Jonestowns downfall provided a lot of insight to the American public of how society needed to change, proving that the deaths of about 900 people weren’t for nothing.
The history of Scientology shows its persistence to keep their members with the promise of spiritual enlightenment. Scientology was founded in the mid-twentieth century by renowned science-fiction author L Ron Hubbard. (Sweeney) The basic foundation of the church stems from the ideas of his best-selling book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. (Anderson) Dianetics was published on May 9, 1950, and the date would become recognized among Scientologists as a religious holiday. Hubbard claimed that the discovery of the science of dianetics is “a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his inventions of the wheel and the arch” (Reitman 58). The book’s ideas encourage humanity to rid the individual of any of their mental weaknesses (18). It went on to make its way up the bestseller list by the summer o...
Jim Jones was “a self-proclaimed messiah in a polyester suit, a man who played God from behind mysterious dark glasses that gave his followers the impression that he was omniscient”( Axthelm 54). Born in 1931 in Lynn, Indiana to James Thurmond and Lynetta Jones, he was looked upon by his parents as a gift from Saint Francis. Jim’s father was white and an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. His mother was part Cherokee which lead Jim in later years to refer to himself with pride as an “ All-American mongrel”
During the dawn of the mid 20th century a new idea began to formulate within the mind of L. Ron Hubbard that would later give birth to what is known today as one of the fastest growing religions of the 21st century; this controversial religion is called Scientology. Scientology has acquired many individuals from all walks of life, ethnicities, and International regions of the world into its membership.
…groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership’s demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of deep-seated anxious dependency on the group and its leaders (Salande, and Perkins 382).
Manipulation can be interpreted in only one definition; an unrighteous act. Manipulation is which that corresponds to the concept of falsehood. It is the state that we arrive upon when we dexterously control others’ minds. In addition, manipulation can be very successful if handled in the correct manner. An exemplar which portrays molding children’s minds is described in a short story named, "The Children's Story" by Jame Clavell. The short story is about a teacher negatively influencing her pupils in order for them to learn how and what the reality is, based upon on what their teacher thinks. Therefore, she gives the students erroneous information, knowing that they can be very easily manipulated and are incapable of understanding her technique
Mind Control? What if you were able to tell someone a command while they were sleeping and when they woke up they would follow your orders? This is known as a form of behavioral conditioning. Throughout Huxley’s book Brave New World, the whole society goes through behavioral conditioning to make a “perfect” world.
Furthermore, the film is highly inclusive, giving the viewer thorough detail not only about the religious organization, but also Jones himself. To start off, the film gives detail of Jones’ upbringing, how he behaved as a child, and certain psychological traits that could potentially explain why the incident happened. For instance, it was stated within the film that Jones grew up in a very poor family. His father, James Jones was an alcoholic, leaving his mother to provide for the family alone. As a result of his dysfunctional home-life, Jones grew to be
Sleep and dreams have defined eras, cultures, and individuals. Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams revolutionized twentieth-century thought. Historical archives record famous short sleepers and notable insomniacs—some accounts reliable, some not. When Benjamin Franklin counseled, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” he was using sleep habits to symbolize his pragmatism.
Manipulation is a powerful tool often used in an unfair manner to control the influence of someone or something. Gillian Flynn incorporated the most important theme of manipulation in Gone Girl to occur through Amy, Nick, and the media. Amy manipulates everyone into believing Nick is guilty, Nick manipulates Amy to come home, while the media influence the public opinion. The theme of manipulation is mainly shown through the character Amy Dunne.