Reading along with Prudence, Part 5: Who is the only genuinely brainwashed person at Chapman Farm? The answer will surprise you.

Chapter Four of Hassan's Combating Cult Mind Control aims to explain how mind control works, and how genuine "brainwashing" differs from undue influence. Hassan states that, as a member of the Unification Church who regarded communism as the enemy, he was ultimately inspired to leave the group when he saw that they used techniques similar to those used by Communist China in the 1950's. He was advised by his deprogrammers to read another of Prudence's book recommendations, Lifton's Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, and recognized that all eight techniques (milieu control, mystic manipulation, demand for purity, confession, sacred science, loading the language, doctrine over person and dispensing of existence) described in that book were part of Moon's recruiting strategy. As we will see, they were also part of Jonathan Wace's toolkit, as he disrupted the authentic identity of his followers and made them ever more dependent on the UHC. Readers of The Running Grave can certainly see this influence in characters like Will Edensor and Emily Pirbright. 

Most ominously for Robin in her undercover mission, Hassan says:

Even if the person gets along with deliberate play-acting at first, the act eventually becomes real. They take on a totalistic ideology, that, when internalized, supersedes their prior belief system. 

Hassan also speaks of children born into such organizations:

Children unfortunate enough to be born to members of a destructive cult are deprived of a healthy psychological environment in which to mature optimally. That said, children are remarkably resilient, and I have met many who described never completely buying into the crazy beliefs and practices. Most ran away or found a way to escape before they became an adult. Yet, for others, it took decades to find the strength and the courage to be true to themselves. 

Kevin Pirbright was probably the best example of such a resilient character in TRG, although we also see echoes of that trait in Linn Doherty, with her wish to run away with Qing and Emily Pirbright, who was ready to leave the group to be with her lover. 

What is true brain-washing?

Hassan cautions that using the terms "mind control" and "brainwashing" synonymously is a mistake, although many do, including Strike and Robin in this book: for instance, when Robin calls the education of the cult children, "being brainwashed."  Ironically, there is only one character who briefly can be considered "brainwashed" and that is Robin herself.  How can that be?  Find out after the jump. 

Before you go onto the rest of this post, I urge you to listen to the latest Strike and Ellacott Files podcast, Episode #27, "Robin Is Freeeee!" Pay particular attention to the ladies' analysis of Chapter 84, and Robin's behavior with the distressed Louise, where they correctly point out that, "This is not our Robin." Never before have we seen Robin, when confronted by a person in danger or distress, choose to save her own skin. Between that and her expression of fear at the thought of her agency friends rescuing her, when previously that had been her strongest desire, shows us how much her core identity has been disrupted. 

The term "brainwashing" was coined in reference to the forced conversions to communism in China and later expanded to include allegiance changes and false confessions seen in Korean War prisoners It is derived from a Chinese word meaning "wash brain." It is considered the most injurious form of mind control, on the extreme end of the spectrum of Hassan's "influence continuum."  It differs from other forms of mind control by much more explicit coercion. 

The person being brainwashed knows from the outset that they are in the hands of an enemy. The process begins with a clear demarcation of the respective roles: who is prisoner and who is jailer, and the prisoner experiences a absolute minimum of choice. Abusive mistreatment, even torture and, sometimes, rape are involved. 

Robin alone among the Chapman Farm residents never wavered in her belief that Jonathan Wace was her enemy. His unwanted sexual advances (which could well have progressed to rape had Mazu and Emily not interrupted) and his physical torment, both with the baptismal pool and the box, gave him the potential to be a genuine brainwasher to Robin. Other UHC members, even those who experienced the box or other forms of harsh punishment, had come to see Jonathan Wace as a messiah or father figure first. 

Robin has ten horrible days between her dinner and sexual assault by Jonathan Wace and the torment that begins in the manifestation and ends with her vigil by Jacob's deathbed. During that tine, she lived in near-constant fear that suspicions had been aroused, that her identity was about to be unmasked, and even that the cult leadership might be planning to dispose of her through some sort of freak temple-decorating accident. The torture of the box completely breaks her spirit and reduces her to someone whose top priority was compliance to the Waces for the sake of her own safety. Like Patty Hearst, another brainwashing victim described by Hassan, "She was convinced her safety depended on her remaining with the group, rather than seeking rescue." Why did Robin not forsake her friends and family and join her captors, as Patty Hearst did?  Robin mercifully experienced only eight hours of torture, while Patty was locked up for weeks.  Fortunately for Robin:

On the whole, the coercive approach has not had an outstanding success rate. Once people are away from the controllers and back in familiar surroundings, the effects tend to dissipate.

Given a full day of solitude with a child that re-awakened Robin's compassionate nature, and access to newspapers that "pulled her mentally back towards the outer world," the brain-washing effect lessened, and Robin found the courage to make one final escape attempt. 

Brainwashing is especially effective at producing compliance to demands, such as signing a false confession or denouncing one's government. People are coerced into specific acts for self-preservation, then, once they have acted, their beliefs change to rationalize what they have done. But, these beliefs are usually not well-internalized. 

Compared to brainwashing, less extreme forms of mind control, such as those as practiced by the UHC, 

are much more subtle and sophisticated. The victim typically regards the controllers as friends or peers, and so is much less on guard...Mind-control involves little or no physical abuse. Instead, hypnotic processes are combined with group dynamics to create a potent indoctrination effect. The individual is deceived and manipulated , but not directly threatened, into making the prescribed choices. 

The overwhelming majority of the Waces' converts are recruited and ensnared through this less abusive (though no less unethical) approach. 

Elements of mind-control

Hypnotism: According to Hassan: meditation in religious cults is often a means through which members are put into the trance-like stage of consciousness known as hypnosis, in which they are vulnerable to suggestion. The UHC's chanting during meditation sessions put Robin into a "pleasant, trance-like state which left her with an increased feeling of well-being." This is consistent with Hassan's description: "being in a trance is usually a pleasant, relaxing experience, so that people wish to re-enter the trance as often as possible." 

Influence processes:  The psychological processes of behavior modification (changing behavior with reinforcement and punishment,) group conformity, and obedience to authority are also key to understanding abusive cults like the UHC. Rewards and punishments can be subtle (such as assignment to high- and low-status activities and groups) or much more explicit (the public praise of Danny Brockles, the beatings and torture experienced by rule-breakers). Henry Worthington-Fields described the intense pressure from the group to join the cult at the end of the week of service and was grateful that one other person said no, uncertain of whether he could have resisted the pressure if he hadn't had an ally. Once in, there is intense pressure to submit to the authority of group leaders; this coerces people into doing things they otherwise would not. For instance, Will Edensor had "spirit-bonded" with the underage Lin and fathered her child; something he clearly regretted and for which he thought he should be jailed. Perhaps the most Milgrim-like moment in the book is the overheard conversation in the farmhouse, where Giles Harmon, who clearly had ethical concerns about Jacob's treatment (or lack thereof), nonetheless submitted to Zhou and Becca's plans to let the child die, yielding to their medical and spiritual authority. 

The BITE model: 

Hassan developed this model as a means of evaluating group practices and recognizing mind control.  It includes the manipulations of the three components of cognitive dissonance theory (behavior, thoughts, feelings) plus control of information. A group that can gain control of one of these elements can exploit that advantage to unduly influence the others. 

Behavior control: In the UHC, behavior control is established by controlling the environment, which "includes where they live, what food they eat, what clothes they wear, how much sleep they get, and what jobs, rituals and other actions they perform." The UHC exercises strict control of all these factors; members dress alike, eat and sleep together and exist in isolation, with every moment of their day strictly scheduled. 

Rewards and punishments are handed out contingent on how well the individual follows the group's prescribed practices. Ritual behaviors help bind the group together; for example, the daily kneeling and anointing oneself from Daiyu's fountain. As Hassan says, "Cult leaders cannot command someone's inner thoughts, but they know that if they command behavior, hearts and minds will follow." 

Information control: Destructive cults use deception to render recruits from making sound judgements. The UHC lies about multiple issues: claiming to do charitable work they do not do and claiming to feed its members organically farmed produce even as cheap tinned tomatoes and dehydrated noodles line their pantry shelves. The UHC leadership controls all access to communication, media and other information from outside the group; the newspapers lining Jacob's floor provided Robin with her first "information unfiltered by Jonathan Wace's interpretation;" this was key to shaking off the brainwashing that was urging her to comply fully and give up plans to leave. Hassan also lists prohibition of critical discussion between members and requirements that members spy and report on each other as means of information control. Robin certainly learned the firsthand effects of this practice at her Revelation.  Other information control practices seen in the UHC are screening members' letters and forbidding contact with ex-members, who are considered deviants or "agents of the Adversary." 

According to Hassan:

Destructive organizations also control information by having many levels of truth. Cult ideologies often have "outsider doctrines" and "insider doctrines." The outsider material is relatively bland stuff for the general public or new converts. The inner doctrines are gradually unveiled, as the person is more deeply involved and only when the person is deemed "ready" by superiors...A member can believe that the outer doctrines are not really lies, just anther level of truth. 

This principle is exemplified by the UHC's nine-step process towards "pure spirit." the last three of which were kept "shrouded in mystery" until recruits were judged to have completed the first six. To complete step six, members were required to put doctrinal acceptance before understanding; something the very literal-minded Will could not do. "Higher-level truths"--- such as why Jonathan Wace was allowed multiple "spirit-wives" while romantic relationships were forbidden among rank-and-file members, are withheld from newer members, as were the "Divine Secrets." In contrast, the information provided at public events seems deceptively harmless; Robin describes it as "wall-to-wall social justice and being free to have doubts."

Thought control: Totalistic cult members are trained to manipulate their own thought processes. 

Usually the doctrine is absolutist, dividing everything into black versus white, us versus them. All that is good is embodied in the leader and the group; all that is bad is on the outside.... A destructive cult inevitably has its own loaded language of unique words and expressions.  Since language provides the symbols we use for thinking, using only certain words serves to control thoughts....Loaded language helps them learn how not to think or understand. They learn that understanding means accepting and believing.

 The UHC claims they alone truly grasp the reality of the Blessed Divinity; anything contrary to them is "of the Adversary." The UHC separates its own community and their aspirations to implement "the Lotus Way" from the materialist  "bubble world." Re-defining family members as "flesh objects" and forced sex as "spirit bonding" or "the Loving Cure" changes people's thoughts about those concepts. It is little wonder that Robin, isolated with Jacob in the attic, began to long for the outer world, "where no one knew what 'flesh objects' were, or dictated what you wore or ate, or attempted to regulate the language in which you thought and spoke." Adopting the UHC's unique language seems a prerequisite for their "step six" to pure spirit: "acceptance before understanding."

Another thought control method described by Hassan is thought stoppage. 

Whenever cult members experience a bad thought, they use thought stoppage to halt the negativity and center themselves, thus shutting out anything that threatens or challenges the cult's view of reality. Different groups use different thought stopping techniques, which can include concentrated praying, chanting aloud or silently, meditating, speaking in tongues, singing or humming...  they become quite mechanical, because a person is programmed to activate them at the first sign of doubt, anxiety or uncertainty... After leaving a cult that employs extensive thought-stopping techniques, a person normally goes through a difficult withdrawal process before they can overcome this addiction. 

Kevin Pirbright recalled chanting to try to block the accusations of rape that he had heard being made against Jonathan Wace. Dr. Zhou explicitly gave this advice to Robin; "Now, if you have negative thoughts, you know what to do, yes? You have your chanting meditation and your joyful meditation." Robin was "alarmed to find the unconscious habit of chanting under her breath becoming more frequent" in the UHC, and, in the attic, felt an "urge to chant to drive everything else from her mind." Likewise, Will continued his habit of chanting even after he had left the cult, and seemed to find it difficult to give up the practice.

Emotional control: Guilt and fear are the main emotional weapons wielded by cults. The UHC employs a lot of social guilt, for instance, by showing multiple pictures of starving and injured children, and stressing environmental destruction. Fear is used to unite the group by creating outside enemies; which, according to the UHC, were under control of the ultimate enemy, the Adversary. 

Some groups require members to deny or suppress sexual feelings, which can become a source of bottled-up frustration that can be channeled into other outlets, such as harder work. Other groups require sexuality, and a member who hangs back is made to feel selfish. Either way, the group is exercising emotional control.

The UHC was obviously in the second category, with intense pressure, particularly on young, attractive women of child-bearing age, to "spirit bond" with any man who asks. There did not seem to be many offers for older ladies like Marian or Louise. 

Another emotional control technique is to demand confession of past sins, as seen in the UHC's Revelation practices. Still another is phobia indoctrination:

Members will have a panic reaction at the thought of leaving the group. They are told that if they leave, they will be lost and defenseless in the face of dark horrors. They'll go insane, be killed, become drug addicts, or commit suicide. Such tales are repeated often, both in lectures and in hushed tones, through informal gossip.

According to Kevin Pirbright, before they were promoted to prophets, stories about Rust Anderson and Alexander Graves were used as warnings about the dangers of leaving the UHC. Both Kevin and Will were convinced horrible fates would befall them once they left; they'd die, be jailed, or be taken by the Drowned Prophet. Suicides were certainly common among ex UHC members, with Alexander Graves, Jordan, Cherie, Louise and Flora all attempting or succeeding in killing themselves. 

Even Robin briefly succumbed to irrational fears, though more from forces within than from outside the UHC: 

She was now scared of somebody from the agency arriving to get her out, because if they did so, Robin might be shut up in the box again and hidden away. She wanted to be left where she was; she dreaded the agency endangering her safety further. 

The fear continues even after she escapes: 

Her sudden re-emergance into freedom was too massive for Robin to absorb in a few seconds. Waves of panic kept hitting her; she was imagining what was happening back at Chapman Farm, wondering how soon Jonathan Wace would know she'd gone. She found it almost impossible to grasp that his jurisdiction did not extend to this dark, narrow road bordered with trees, or even to the interior of the car, 

 By instilling such fear, the UHC provides an example fitting Hassan's description of the illusion of freedom. 

When cult leaders tell the public, "Members are free to leave anytime they want; the door's open," they give the impression that members have free will, and are simply choosing to stay. Actually, members may not have a real choice, because they have been indoctrinated to fear the outside world. If a person's emotions are successfully brought under the group's control, their thoughts and behavior will follow.  

As with Robin's "choice" to enter the box, remaining in a cult can be "a choice that was really no choice at all." This process also reminds us of Lupin's line from The Prisoner of Azkaban: "They don't need walls or water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought." As Hassan says, "it becomes nearly impossible for indoctrinated cult members to feel they can have any happiness, security or fulfillment outside of the group."

Chapter 4 of Hassan's book is pretty lengthy, so I'll pause here and continue in a future post. As always, comments are welcome.