While true experiments rely on random assignment to the treatment or control groups, quasi-experimental design uses some criterion other than randomization to assign people. Also, historically, most religions started off as personality cults, including Christianity, and some of the communities adopting these religions (especially as a result of the conversion of social elites), became high-control groups. Going against the grain could mean losing friends or being left on the periphery of your friendship group. Any leader who chooses to abuse their authority by making unwelcome sexual advances would be asked to leave the group immediately. In restriction, you restrict your sample by only including certain subjects that have the same values of potential confounding variables. Please do, Im happy for people to do that as long as its accredited to me and preferably linked to my article. Instead, they share alternative research and arguments from their own far less qualified and heavily biased sources, which would not stand up to rigorous external peer-review processes. in support of a wider campaign against oppression and injustice. In matching designs, the researcher matches individuals who received the treatment, or independent variable under study, to others who did notthe control group. Sometimes fear and dread is in relation to the groups theology, caused for example, by the constant threat of hell fire and eternal punishment for those who dont believe (or dont believe zealously enough), or for those who dont do exactly the right thing all of the time according to group rules and ideals. Safeguarding measures may be absent altogether. Outsiders and external groups are looked down upon to some degree as morally inferior. , Hello I found your article very Insightful but I would like to ask you if in the following 2 years after you wrote it, have you reconsidered your stance on mainstream sources considering it has become increasingly apparent that the majority of mainstream sources have been exhibiting many of the attributes you mention in your article ex: demonizing opposition labeling them as immoral (characterizing conservatives as racist and bigoted when they push back on things like crt, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and sexual topics like sexual orientation being discussed to elementary and middle school children in class , shaming people for what they are (having white privilege) etc. Chapter 1. they wont involve hard drugs, bodily harm or non-consensual/underaged sex) and will allow room for reflection, critical-thinking and individual expression. The group perpetuates a false narrative that former members were deceived, proud, immoral, or lazy. Thanks Rosser, Im glad it was helpful! They refuse to allow public access to their records or to involve external agencies and auditors. Please feel free to contact me if interested. Leaders teach the importance of sexual purity and fidelity but are unfaithful to their own partners and have sexual contact with vulnerable members who have no family or other looking out for them in the group, or with the wives and daughters of members, or with other vulnerable persons outside the group. Good leaders are modest about their knowledge and abilities, acknowledging those things that they do not know. The South Fork of Ogden River near Huntsville was placed on the National Weather Service's list of flood warning zones as Utah's snowpack melted mid high temper There are two groups in the experiment, and they are identical except that one receives a treatment (water) while the other does not. This will be alongside other organisations and groups who share their concerns but do not necessarily have anything else in common with the group. Their focus will be on the values, goals and activities of the group rather than on increasing the membership. When this article was first published, a couple of readers jumped to the conclusion that I dont count humanist/secularist groups as having the potential to be problematic. Osho preached that every human being is capable of unconditional love and Father Yod was an advocate for natural health and a utopian lifestyle. If members break group rules they receive a great deal of criticism or are shunned. They will harm others in all sorts of ways to achieve their ends, without feeling any guilt or remorse. Creating fear and dread of supernatural evils, and then claiming you can offer protection from it, is an excellent way of getting people to believe and do exactly what you want. Members are dependent upon the group or leader for problem solving, solutions, decision-making, definitions and even their self-worth. I am well aware of that! In a cult, the most devoted members are convinced that there is no worthwhile life outside the context of the group. Leaders use trickery in their public presentations. Published on Group leaders do this to keep members ignorant and suspicious of wider networks so that they can be more easily brainwashed and controlled. I have received many deeply humbling messages from people my article has helped. If former members speak out, they are dismissed as bitter, angry, dishonest or evil. Loyal cult members will perform any amount of mental gymnastics to justify, deny or ignore the leaders bad behaviour. Group members are likely to become angry and upset if you point out the cheapness and hypocrisy of these clichs in many of the contexts in which they are used. Potentially unsafe groups or leaders come across as very nice at first. other groups may be described in negative and derogatory terms), or they may be used to cover up internal crimes. They may also be closed to certain members, for example, women or minorities. Negative control groups. They may be violent, sexually deviant and abusive, with the excuse that this is necessary to achieve the groups ultimate goals. Control groups are the customers who don't receive that campaign or go through a new customer journey. You may even be ostracised for showing negative thoughts or feelings towards the leader/leaders, even if these are very mild. ""My life was narrated for me by others. There is a strict hierarchy in which some members are trusted as leaders because they are more dogmatic about group doctrine and steadfastly loyal to the overall leader, and others are kept at arms-length from the leader/leaders and out of the inner circle. Randomized control group: This type of control group involves using random selection to help ensure that the participants in the control group accurately reflect the demographics of the larger population. Doctrines include beliefs in divine beings, gods, angels, supernatural forces, demons, dominions, realms, spirits, devils and other mythical creatures which they claim interfere with our lives and world. This unfortunately blinds people to serious errors, contradictions and other problems with the leaders message. A safe group or leader will not become angry and impatient if you say you want to leave or are thinking about leaving. Leaders behave in ways that they may have previously condemned and/or which they have condemned in others. Here, researchers change the independent variable in the treatment group and keep it constant in the control group. And women, especially, are tightly controlled. As a general rule, if any of the characteristics of high-control and cult groups listed below are relevant to your group, and despite your best efforts, nothing changes, it is time to make your escape! One common example from high-control Christian groups is that you are told the groups God loves all people or that God is love but soon you are also told that he hates gay people and/or infidels. This is why it is often artistic, creative and intellectual types who challenge high-control groups and leave them. Thus, a groups belief and tradition in which, for example, men are permitted to beat their wives and children may be considered more important by members of the group than a woman or childs right not to be physically abused! High-control groups do this because women are an important resource for the continuation of the group, and guarding them from outside influences (including a proper education), infantilising them, and denying them their autonomy, even over their own bodies, is crucial for these harmful groups to maintain and increase their numbers into the future. They will reassure members that doubts and questions are normal and should be pursued. A High Control Group is any group that controls the behaviors, information, thoughts, and emotions of its members. Those having persistent doubts or considering leaving the group are told they have lost their faith because it was predestined and predicted in scriptures or teachings that some members would have a weak or superficial faith which would be taken away from them. Control groups help ensure the internal validity of your research. Ascetic practices and repetitive behaviours like excessive fasting, prayer, hypnosis, scripture reading, chanting, meditation, or drug use are used to increase peoples vulnerability to the leaders suggestions. Safeguarding is tokenistic. If criticism of your leader is forbidden, however justifiable it is, you are in a cult. moving job, moving home, getting married, or becoming the member of other groups etc. Groups have a preoccupation with new members and proselytising; They target the vulnerable with love-bombing and idealistic goals. They often target vulnerable people who are looking for answers or lonely, and are very good at making people feel they really care about them and even love them. Loss of identity. Those who reject the groups message are seen to be ignorant, deceived, un-elect, prideful, evil, or stupid. They are routinely unfaithful to their partners and sleep with vulnerable or very young members. Perpetrators often claim that the abuse is necessary for furthering the groups cause, and that in performing the acts of abuse, they are a conduit, channel, minister or vehicle for god to work on the member or to further gods plan. Would you mind if I quoted your work on my own blog? Leaders then position themselves as the unique remedy to these feelings of guilt, which they themselves created! Members must abide by guidelines set forth by the leader regarding aspects of life that are normally private e.g. Scribbr. There are group activities, events and teachings centred on negative thoughts, emotions and punishment. The hallmark of this practice is the use of thought-terminating clichs and religious platitudes; general, vague and overused statements that may contain a grain of truth but which in reality, are only true in certain contexts or metaphorically speaking. The leader is very often male and targets vulnerable women or men, such as young women or boys, or they target people with poor mental and/or physical health, emotional issues and other vulnerabilities. Security groups are used to manage user and computer access to shared IT resources, such as data and applications. Scepticism is a healthy trait when it comes to making decisions that affect a large group of people. They claim the end goals of the group justify their actions. Safe and healthy groups will help you to grow in character and understanding. And group identity takes precedence over (or replaces) individual identity. Much of the guilt and shame arises in these groups from the suppression of members true natures. It can do wonders for our sense of identity, purpose and fulfilment. As well as drama and theatrics, leaders use rhetorical skills in their speeches and preaching in order to circumvent peoples critical faculties, and persuade them to believe the group dogma. Either that, or they are told they never had genuine faith in the first place, even when the person had clearly been extremely devout. Using a control group means marketing teams can measure the impact of a new campaign and evaluate whether it's a useful strategy. Thanks! However, they will never pressure members to pay more than they are able. No other process of discovery is seen to be acceptable or credible. They will be willing to receive external audit and advice, and will seek to combine forces with other groups whenever possible, to tackle shared problems and meet common goals. Control Groups provide a mechanism for aggregating/partitioning sets of tasks, and all their future children, into hierarchical groups with specialized behaviour. Since then, I have uncovered huge amounts of studies and reports that reinforce the view that in all 12 identifying areas, the academy operates in ways that clearly identify it as a cult or harmful high control group. For example, in many fundamentalist congregations, lots of young women and girls are in attendance due to the attractions of one or more handsome young male preachers. There is extreme obsessiveness regarding the group and leader, resulting in the exclusion of almost every other practical consideration, including personal goals, relationships and former commitments. Unwitting cult members may watch documentaries and read about other cults without realising they too are victims. 11 control group examples Here are 11 examples of common control groups that different industries may use in their research: 1. Positive control group A positive control group is one that receives samples or treatments that the researchers running the study already know work. Relationships between members, even those in the same family, are often strained, complex and unhappy beneath the veneer of closeness. It is also still arguable, that a poor white person is still privileged over a poor black person because he/she is statistically less likely to be stopped and searched and less likely to receive poor treatment in hospital and die in childbirth etc. You experience fear and dread of the leader or other members when you do not feel comfortable with something the group is teaching or doing because you feel that speaking out or not participating fully would be dangerous. Initiation into these rites usually only comes after a member has undergone certain tests or made adequate financial contributions. If you spoke from an unbiased perspective, readers might take you more seriously. The Secular Liturgies Network is itself an organisation which seeks to bring together people who share a progressive and humanistic outlook, and to explore how this worldview can be applied to improve human well-being, meet our sustainable living goals and build cohesive communities. For example, they deny the overwhelming evidence for climate change and evolution. Control groups in non-experimental research, Frequently asked questions about control groups. Clearly the group considers itself the ultimate authority on truth and cannot imagine anybody leaving it with their integrity intact. If you belief Christian churches are the best example of a cult you can come up with, youve never seen a real cult (or were a part of one and didnt realize it). You stand to lose money you invested or other privileges, or you are socially penalised with members saying they can no longer be your friend if you leave. Many fundamentalist religious and political extremists believe that they truly love humanity. Members are made to believe they are insufficient or unworthy on their own, and that the only way to become worthy is to confess their shortcomings to the group or leader. The group will set itself above those outside the group as being more holy, wise, enlightened, righteous. Although control groups are more common in experimental research, they can be used in other types of research too. The group has been set up by someone with no relevant or widely respected qualifications, accreditations or formal memberships/associations with established organisations and institutions. Negative Triggers (in any or all of the five senses - e.g. It is exactly the same for nations ruled by one dictator or one party with an extreme political ideology the dogma doesnt have to be religious! It is important to note that while we tend to associate the terms cult or high-control group with religious or spiritual movements, there are many political groups with similar characteristics to those listed below. The leader is unusually certain and dogmatic about this supposed knowledge, whether it originates with the leader him/herself, and is presented through his/her own preaching or writings, or whether it is revealed through the leaders interpretation of existing scriptures, teachings and traditions. Often, these initiations are confusing, bizarre and offensive. The group and its leaders consider themselves to be holier, wiser, special, enlightened, righteous, elect and/or superior to those outside the group. I am also interested in the psychology angle of why certain behaviours emerge in leaders and members. In statistical control, you include potential confounders as variables in your regression. If you cannot think of a legitimate reason for leaving your group, you are probably in a high-control group or cult. These clichs are repeated over and over again so that members dont have to critically analyse complex issues and are likely to become complacent.
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