From a TA perspective, each person is in charge of his/her own thoughts, feelings, and actions, yet a substantial body of evidence suggests that victims can be processed without their knowledge by the systematic manipulation of social psychological influence in controlled setting (brainwashing). This has implications for us as behavioral change technicians, as citizens, and as human beings. This author discusses those implications from the standpoint both of TA theory and of current data concerning how people get caught up in cults.
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