Recruitment

There is a misconception that people join cults! People do not join cults! Cults use deceptive tactics to attract people to their ideology over time. Each cult has an outer cover supporting a righteous cause. 

Self development cults are a more recent approach to expanded reach. When unsuspecting people follow along to learn new skills, they may be told certain things are unique to them alone. However, they are also fed ideas about what the leader thinks. New recruits are told that they are talented, intelligent, and will do very well if they participate more. These strong emotions shut down people's critical thinking and stop them from analyzing exactly what is going on. New recruits will interact with a front group unaware that it is related to a cult. Cults encourage members to confess traumas and create an "us versus them" mentality. Two-thirds of cult members are recruited by a friend, family member, or co-worker whose invitations are harder to refuse. 

Unsure if you are in a cult, check out Decision- making- confidence, by Dr. David Mcdermott who shares a quiz at the bottom of the page to help you examine the situation you are in.