Are You Being Controlled? The BITE Model of Mind Control
1. Behavior control:
- Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
- When, how and with whom the member has sex
- Control types of clothing and hairstyles
- Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
- Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
- Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
- Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
- Permission required for major decisions
- Thoughts, feelings, and activities (of self and others) reported to superiors, Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
- Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
- Impose rigid rules and regulations
- Instill dependency and obedience
2. Information Control
- Deception: Deliberately withhold information, Distort information to make it more acceptable, Systematically lie
- Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including: Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, other media, Critical information, Former members, Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate, Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking
- Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines: Ensure that information is not freely accessible, Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when
- Encourage spying on other members: Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member, Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership, Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group
- Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including: Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media
- Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries, Withholding forgiveness or absolution
3. Thought Control
- Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth Adopting the group's ‘map of reality’ as reality, Instill black and white thinking, Decide between good vs. evil, Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
- Change person’s name and identity
- Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
- Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts
- Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
- Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
- Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
4. Emotional Control
- Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
- Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
- Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
- Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as: You are not living up to your potential, Your past is suspect, Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish, Social guilt
- Instill fear, such as fear of: Thinking independently, The outside world, Losing one’s salvation, Leaving or being shunned by the group, Other’s disapproval
- Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner
- Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
- Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
- No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
- Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family,
- Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
