Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Copyright © 2003 University of Maryland.
All rights reserved.
Revised: June 30, 2003
CHARACTERISTICS OF DANGEROUS GROUPS
Despite the great variation among dangerous groups, certain characteristics
are common among them, although not every dangerous group necessarily has all
of the characteristics listed below.
This is the short list of the more common characteristics:
Leadership - A close allegiance to a charismatic leader (usually living).
Hidden Purpose - An inordinate preoccupation with the attainment of money.
Recruitment - The employment of deceptive and high pressure practices in
recruiting new members.
Retention Techniques - The use of behavior modification practices and
brainwashing techniques to convert members, usually coupled with some form of
separation from family, friends and the mainstream of society.
Lifestyle Demands - The requirement of total obedience within confining and
enforced boundaries of membership, abdication of the right to leave the group
and to say no, and widespread suspicion of and hatred for those outside the
group.
Comprehensive environment of lifestyle that occupies all the person’s attention,
monitors activities such as food and sleep, and defines all activities by
absolute principles.
Here is the more detailed list:
Absolute Obedience To Leaders
It is more important to obey the leaders than to question. Obedience must be
total, whole-hearted.
Charismatic, Inspired, and Dogmatic Leader
Leader demands total devotion, and may claim supernatural power and unique,
simple solutions to world’s problems.
Preoccupation with Fundraising and Recruiting
Two main objectives of dangerous groups are fundraising and recruiting; often
members are persuaded to donate earnings and savings and even inheritances. The
work day can be incredibly long.
Deceit
Vagueness and secrecy about beliefs and goals of the group, belief that the
group’s end justify any means; this deception is sometimes called “heavenly
deception”.
Confession
Members are required to share their innermost feelings and secrets; these
“secrets” are not kept confidential, and are employed by the leaders to
humiliate members and to dissuade members from leaving the group.
Guilt and Shame
Corollary to confession; guilt is employed to force members to work harder for
the group and to be more dependent on the group.
Fear
Employed in order to instill group loyalty; the group predicts tragic
consequences to the member or the member’s family if the member were to leave.
Coercive Persuasion
Pressure for the recruit to be subservient to the group and submit totally to
the group’s ideals; then coercive persuasion through fear, guilt and dependence
in order to keep the member in the group.
Love Bombing
New recruits are touched, hugged, flattered (e.g., “You are so worldly,” or “You
are so spiritual”).
Retention Techniques
Members find it hard to leave the group because the group renders them dependent
on it through confession, guilt, and fear.
Alienation from Family, Friends and Society
The recruit’s family and friends and their value systems are renounced; often
those outside the group are said to interfere with the members’ spiritual path,
and are referred to as “satanic”. Group-arranged marriages are not uncommon.
Emotional Highs and Lows
Alternate highs and lows produce confusion, disorientation, and added dependence
on the group. The group leaders are normally untrained and unprepared to deal
with psychological consequences of highs and lows.
Chanting and Singing
Constant, repetitive chanting tends to be quasi-hypnotic
and inhibits critical thinking.
