TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Janja Lalich: Why do people join cults?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

When Reverend Jim Jones fneudod the polepes Temple in 1955, few could have imagined its horrifying end. This progressive religious movement rose in popularity and gained support from some of San Francisco's most ponmerint politicians. But in 1977, amidst revelations of brainwashing and abuse, Jones moved with several hundred followers to establish the commune of joeosnwtn in Guyana. Billed as a utopian paradise, the colony was more like a prison camp, and when a congressional delegation arrived to investigate its conditions, Jones executed his fainl plan. On November 18, 1978, 909 men, wemon, and children died after being forced to dinrk poisoned Flavor Aid. That grizzly imgae has since been irematmilozd as shorthand slang for single-minded cult-like thinking, "They drank the Kool-aid." Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. It's important to note two things about them. First, not all cults are religious. Some are political, therapy-based, focused on self-improvement, or otherwise. And on the flip side, not all new religions are what we're rnfierreg to as cults. So what exactly dfeneis our modern understanding of cults, and why do people join them? Broadly speaking, a cult is a gourp or meeomnvt with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that's typically embodied in a charismatic leader. And while few turn out as deadly as Jonestown or Heaven's Gate, which ended in a mass sucidie of 39 people in 1997, most cults share some basic characteristics. A typical cult requires a high level of commitment from its members and maintains a strict hierarchy, snaaitrpeg unsuspecting suproerpts and recruits from the inner workings. It claims to provide answers to life's bseiggt questions through its doctrine, along with the reriueqd reicpe for change that spaehs a new mmeber into a true believer. And most importantly, it uses both formal and inofarml systems of influence and control to keep members obedient, with little tolerance for internal disagreement or external scrutiny. You might wonder whether some of these descriptions might also apply to established religions. In fact, the world "cultus" originally described people who cultivated the worship of certain gods by performing rituals and maintaining temples. But in time, it came to mean esesicvxe devotion. Many religions began as ctlus, but integrated into the fabric of the larger society as they grew. A modern cult, by contrast, separates its members from others. Rather than providing guidelines for members to live better leivs, a cult seeks to directly cnorotl them, from personal and family rspneloiitahs, to financial astses and living arrangements. Cults also dnmaed obedience to human leadres who tend to be hglhiy persuasive people with authoritarian and narcissistic streaks motivated by money, sex, pewor, or all three. While a cult leader uses personal charisma to attract initial followers, further expansion wroks like a pyramid scehme, with early members recruiting new ones. Cults are skilled at knowing whom to target, often focusing on those new to an area, or who have recently uonrdegne some personal or professional loss. Loneliness and a desire for mnianeg make one susceptible to friendly people offering community. The recruitment process can be subtle, sometimes taking months to eilbatssh a relationship. In fact, more than two-thirds of cult members are recruited by a frnied, family member, or co-worker whose itontiniavs are harder to ruesfe. Once in the cult, members are subjected to multiple forms of indoctrination. Some play on our natural inclination to mimic social behaviors or follow orders. Other methods may be more intense using techniques of coercive persuasion innviolvg gluit, shame, and fear. And in many cases, members may willingly submit out of desire to belong and to aaittn the promised rewards. The cult environment dgisreocaus critical thinking, making it hard to voice doubts when everyone around you is modeling absolute faith. The resulting internal ccoinflt, known as cognitive dissonance, keeps you trapped, as each croimmopse makes it more painful to admit you've been deceived. And though most cults don't lead members to their death, they can still be harmful. By denying basic freedoms of thought, speech, and association, cults snutt their members' psychological and emotional growth, a particular problem for crhldien, who are deprived of normal deovmplneetal activities and milestones. Nevertheless, many cult meerbms eventually find a way out, whether through their own realizations, the help of family and friends, or when the cult falls apart due to external persusre or scandals. Many cults may be hard to identify, and for some, their beliefs, no matter how satnrge, are protected under religious freedom. But when their practices ionvlve harassment, threats, illegal activities, or aubse, the law can intervene. Believing in something should not come at the cost of your family and friends, and if someone tells you to sacrifice your relationships or morality for the greater good, they're most likely exploiting you for their own.

Open Cloze

When Reverend Jim Jones _______ the _______ Temple in 1955, few could have imagined its horrifying end. This progressive religious movement rose in popularity and gained support from some of San Francisco's most _________ politicians. But in 1977, amidst revelations of brainwashing and abuse, Jones moved with several hundred followers to establish the commune of _________ in Guyana. Billed as a utopian paradise, the colony was more like a prison camp, and when a congressional delegation arrived to investigate its conditions, Jones executed his _____ plan. On November 18, 1978, 909 men, _____, and children died after being forced to _____ poisoned Flavor Aid. That grizzly _____ has since been ____________ as shorthand slang for single-minded cult-like thinking, "They drank the Kool-aid." Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. It's important to note two things about them. First, not all cults are religious. Some are political, therapy-based, focused on self-improvement, or otherwise. And on the flip side, not all new religions are what we're _________ to as cults. So what exactly _______ our modern understanding of cults, and why do people join them? Broadly speaking, a cult is a _____ or ________ with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that's typically embodied in a charismatic leader. And while few turn out as deadly as Jonestown or Heaven's Gate, which ended in a mass _______ of 39 people in 1997, most cults share some basic characteristics. A typical cult requires a high level of commitment from its members and maintains a strict hierarchy, __________ unsuspecting __________ and recruits from the inner workings. It claims to provide answers to life's _______ questions through its doctrine, along with the ________ ______ for change that ______ a new ______ into a true believer. And most importantly, it uses both formal and ________ systems of influence and control to keep members obedient, with little tolerance for internal disagreement or external scrutiny. You might wonder whether some of these descriptions might also apply to established religions. In fact, the world "cultus" originally described people who cultivated the worship of certain gods by performing rituals and maintaining temples. But in time, it came to mean _________ devotion. Many religions began as _____, but integrated into the fabric of the larger society as they grew. A modern cult, by contrast, separates its members from others. Rather than providing guidelines for members to live better _____, a cult seeks to directly _______ them, from personal and family _____________, to financial ______ and living arrangements. Cults also ______ obedience to human _______ who tend to be ______ persuasive people with authoritarian and narcissistic streaks motivated by money, sex, _____, or all three. While a cult leader uses personal charisma to attract initial followers, further expansion _____ like a pyramid ______, with early members recruiting new ones. Cults are skilled at knowing whom to target, often focusing on those new to an area, or who have recently _________ some personal or professional loss. Loneliness and a desire for _______ make one susceptible to friendly people offering community. The recruitment process can be subtle, sometimes taking months to _________ a relationship. In fact, more than two-thirds of cult members are recruited by a ______, family member, or co-worker whose ___________ are harder to ______. Once in the cult, members are subjected to multiple forms of indoctrination. Some play on our natural inclination to mimic social behaviors or follow orders. Other methods may be more intense using techniques of coercive persuasion _________ _____, shame, and fear. And in many cases, members may willingly submit out of desire to belong and to ______ the promised rewards. The cult environment ___________ critical thinking, making it hard to voice doubts when everyone around you is modeling absolute faith. The resulting internal ________, known as cognitive dissonance, keeps you trapped, as each __________ makes it more painful to admit you've been deceived. And though most cults don't lead members to their death, they can still be harmful. By denying basic freedoms of thought, speech, and association, cults _____ their members' psychological and emotional growth, a particular problem for ________, who are deprived of normal _____________ activities and milestones. Nevertheless, many cult _______ eventually find a way out, whether through their own realizations, the help of family and friends, or when the cult falls apart due to external ________ or scandals. Many cults may be hard to identify, and for some, their beliefs, no matter how _______, are protected under religious freedom. But when their practices _______ harassment, threats, illegal activities, or _____, the law can intervene. Believing in something should not come at the cost of your family and friends, and if someone tells you to sacrifice your relationships or morality for the greater good, they're most likely exploiting you for their own.

Solution

final
power
prominent
jonestown
developmental
informal
stunt
recipe
friend
drink
excessive
highly
invitations
abuse
leaders
group
immortalized
referring
involving
image
relationships
defines
peoples
compromise
guilt
lives
involve
meaning
movement
supporters
demand
strange
women
pressure
assets
member
refuse
members
required
establish
children
scheme
shapes
cults
founded
suicide
works
discourages
attain
biggest
undergone
conflict
separating
control

Original Text

When Reverend Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in 1955, few could have imagined its horrifying end. This progressive religious movement rose in popularity and gained support from some of San Francisco's most prominent politicians. But in 1977, amidst revelations of brainwashing and abuse, Jones moved with several hundred followers to establish the commune of Jonestown in Guyana. Billed as a utopian paradise, the colony was more like a prison camp, and when a congressional delegation arrived to investigate its conditions, Jones executed his final plan. On November 18, 1978, 909 men, women, and children died after being forced to drink poisoned Flavor Aid. That grizzly image has since been immortalized as shorthand slang for single-minded cult-like thinking, "They drank the Kool-aid." Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. It's important to note two things about them. First, not all cults are religious. Some are political, therapy-based, focused on self-improvement, or otherwise. And on the flip side, not all new religions are what we're referring to as cults. So what exactly defines our modern understanding of cults, and why do people join them? Broadly speaking, a cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that's typically embodied in a charismatic leader. And while few turn out as deadly as Jonestown or Heaven's Gate, which ended in a mass suicide of 39 people in 1997, most cults share some basic characteristics. A typical cult requires a high level of commitment from its members and maintains a strict hierarchy, separating unsuspecting supporters and recruits from the inner workings. It claims to provide answers to life's biggest questions through its doctrine, along with the required recipe for change that shapes a new member into a true believer. And most importantly, it uses both formal and informal systems of influence and control to keep members obedient, with little tolerance for internal disagreement or external scrutiny. You might wonder whether some of these descriptions might also apply to established religions. In fact, the world "cultus" originally described people who cultivated the worship of certain gods by performing rituals and maintaining temples. But in time, it came to mean excessive devotion. Many religions began as cults, but integrated into the fabric of the larger society as they grew. A modern cult, by contrast, separates its members from others. Rather than providing guidelines for members to live better lives, a cult seeks to directly control them, from personal and family relationships, to financial assets and living arrangements. Cults also demand obedience to human leaders who tend to be highly persuasive people with authoritarian and narcissistic streaks motivated by money, sex, power, or all three. While a cult leader uses personal charisma to attract initial followers, further expansion works like a pyramid scheme, with early members recruiting new ones. Cults are skilled at knowing whom to target, often focusing on those new to an area, or who have recently undergone some personal or professional loss. Loneliness and a desire for meaning make one susceptible to friendly people offering community. The recruitment process can be subtle, sometimes taking months to establish a relationship. In fact, more than two-thirds of cult members are recruited by a friend, family member, or co-worker whose invitations are harder to refuse. Once in the cult, members are subjected to multiple forms of indoctrination. Some play on our natural inclination to mimic social behaviors or follow orders. Other methods may be more intense using techniques of coercive persuasion involving guilt, shame, and fear. And in many cases, members may willingly submit out of desire to belong and to attain the promised rewards. The cult environment discourages critical thinking, making it hard to voice doubts when everyone around you is modeling absolute faith. The resulting internal conflict, known as cognitive dissonance, keeps you trapped, as each compromise makes it more painful to admit you've been deceived. And though most cults don't lead members to their death, they can still be harmful. By denying basic freedoms of thought, speech, and association, cults stunt their members' psychological and emotional growth, a particular problem for children, who are deprived of normal developmental activities and milestones. Nevertheless, many cult members eventually find a way out, whether through their own realizations, the help of family and friends, or when the cult falls apart due to external pressure or scandals. Many cults may be hard to identify, and for some, their beliefs, no matter how strange, are protected under religious freedom. But when their practices involve harassment, threats, illegal activities, or abuse, the law can intervene. Believing in something should not come at the cost of your family and friends, and if someone tells you to sacrifice your relationships or morality for the greater good, they're most likely exploiting you for their own.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
cult members	2

Important Words

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