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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Cults: A Psychological Perspective, Jonica V. Carlton Best
Cults: A Psychological Perspective, Jonica V. Carlton Best
Theses and Dissertations
Cults are communities that are seen as odd or strange. Lack of research done on cults makes it a phenomenon in society. With the help of evolutionary, social, and cognitive psychology, this phenomenon was analyzed and the behavior of the cult and its members were explained. Analysis of cults showed that there is an evolutionary need for them, for they are used as a means for social bonds and resources. Next, the identity of cult members was analyzed using a conveyor belt type method starting with social-identity followed by self-categorization and ending with deindividualization. Cult members then make decisions using …