In the following series of six points, Dr. Margaret Singer, a psychologist and researcher who has done some of the seminal work in the field of mind control, describes how an abusive group establishes mind control over its members. Keep the person unaware of what is going on and how she or he is being changed a step at a time. Potential new members are led, step by step, through a behavioral-change program without being aware of the final agenda or full content of the group. Through various methods, newer members are kept busy and led to think about the group and its content during as much of their waking time as possible. In the ICC, members are kept so busy with church activities that most report being chronically short of sleep.
Many experience drops in work performance or lower GPAs at school.
Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person. This is accomplished by getting members away from their normal social support group for a period of time and into an environment where the majority of people are already group members. The members serve as models of the attitudes and behaviors of the group and speak an in-group language. Once stripped of their usual support network, the member's confidence in their own perception erodes. As their sense of powerlessness increases, their good judgment and understanding of the world is diminished.