I am a cult member and am attempting to indoctrinate new cult members - Essay Example

Indoctrinating New Cult Members The process of indoctrinating new cult members in my group will involve the application of various tools of influence. The tools of influence that I will focus on when indoctrinating new members in my cult are conformity, persuasion and group influence. The tools of influence are psychological. This paper describes how I will apply the tools of influence conformity, persuasion and group influence to indoctrinate new cult members. The first tool of influence that I will use to indoctrinate new cult members is conformity.

I will make the new members conform within my cult by exposing them to the cultic preferences and beliefs. They, in turn, change their behavior to adapt with the cult’s preferences and beliefs. The new cult members’ show of obedience and commitment, to the cult’s norms and rules, will achieve conformity within the cult. Normative influence, will further direct the new members to act, as other members of the cult act resulting in obedience and commitment to the cult. The new members’ personalities will adapt with the cult’s norms and rules (Cialdini 59).

The second tool of influence that I will use to indoctrinate new cult members is persuasion. When applying persuasion as the tool of indoctrinating new cult members, central route to persuasion will be more efficient than peripheral route to persuasion. Through central route of persuasion, I will be able to convince the new members to join my cult by presenting them with facts, which relate to the benefits they stand to achieve if they become cult members. I will motivate the new members to listen to the facts that I will present to them, which are relevant to their lives; all of these will be in accordance to the central route of persuasion.

When persuading I will also employ sleeper effect and credibility. The new members who might not at first agree with the cult’s norms and rules, will eventually over time come to agree with the norms and rules, due to the discounting cue. The sleeper effect method of persuasion will require time in order for it to achieve positive results (Cialdini 93). Group influence is the third tool of influence, which I will employ when indoctrinating new cult members. Through group influence, the new members will be inclined to act the way other group members tend to act, this is because they share common beliefs.

I will instill a strong leadership within the cult that will ensure unity among the members. Leadership will be the unifying factor in the cult. The new members will have to follow the commands that I will give as their leader. The act of following my commands will be a demonstration of consistency among the members towards the cult. Ultimately, group influence will ensure that individual group members change and adapt their beliefs in accordance with the cult’s norms and rules. Additionally, group influence makes individual group members adapt with the expectations of other cult members.

The process of indoctrinating new members in my cult will also involve the idea of members brainstorming and interacting among themselves. Brainstorming and interacting will guarantee that members focus their beliefs on the cult among each other. This will further exert group influence within the cult (Cialdini 101).ConclusionThe main method of making individuals become part of a group or a cult is through influence. Influence can take a variety of ways such as conformity, persuasion and group influence.

As a cult member, I used the above three tools of influence to indoctrinate new members in my cult. Firstly, through conformity members will be forced to psychologically change their beliefs and attitudes to adapt with the cults norms and rules. Secondly, in persuasion, central route and sleeper effect will be the best ways to persuade new cult members. Finally, through group influence, new members will act in accordance with the leader’s commands and the way other group members’ behavior within the cult.

Works CitedCialdini R. INFLUENCE. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2007. Print.