In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, taught by Dr. Wind Goodfriend, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times. But unlike any standard news reporting or documentary, you’ll explore the psychology of these cults. Along the way, you’ll meet two former cult members who are willing to share their stories. They explain what led them to join these groups, what they had hoped to get from the organization versus the reality, and why they each stayed for over a decade before walking away. Ultimately, this deep dive into cults and the psychology of their leaders can help limit their control over our communities, loved ones, and ourselves.
Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults
Take a deep dive into the shadowy world of cults and reveal the psychology that creates charismatic leaders and their susceptible targets.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
neurologist again from
Unique
Key points in this course should be required in every junior high school curriculum - survival skills to recognize cults and steer clear. A fascinating course for anyone interested in psychology.
Date published: 2024-10-18
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Thanuja from
Interesting course!
It is always interesting to know why people join cults and cultish groups - this course provides a good overview, psychology, trends and stories about cults. I am very fascinated to learn personal stories of ex-Cult members which should be taken as cautionary tales.
Professor has good command in delivery for this subject matter which is heavy, sad and thought-provoking at the same time. Learning about "religious cults" is the highlight for me in this couse, as I have been reading on some of these recently; the line between an organized religion and a cult seems dimmer than I thought!
Thanks "The Great Courses" to produce this one and drop in the spooky season!
Date published: 2024-10-18
Rated 4 out of
5
by
EngineerinVA from
Good Niche Course
This is a niche course. It works well with those who have an interest in abusive relationships or with cults. It speaks heavily to the standard examples of cults including The People’s Temple (Jonestown), Heaven’s Gate, the Children of God, and the Unification Church (“Moonies”). Although it presents itself as a psychological take on cults, it is not nearly as heavy on psychology as I expected.
Dr. Goodfriend starts by addressing how to define “cult.” It turns out that this is too hard to answer definitively. Instead, Dr. Goodfriend describes eight characteristics of cults; the more characteristics that an organization has, the more cultish it is.
The course then turns to psychological/sociological questions. How do cults recruit members? How do cults retain members? How do cults motivate members to do what the leaders want? How do some members “escape” their cults? How might one help a friend who may have fallen victim to a cult? Dr. Goodfriend points out that these questions can generally be extended to an abusive relationship in general.
Although it may be unavoidable given the subject, I was a bit uneasy about how much of this course can be applied to organizations not normally considered cults, such as both major American parties, any traditional religious organization, a homeowners association, or the military. The inability to provide a clear-cut definition of cult blurs the line and allows extended application of the principles of this course perhaps beyond where they should be applied.
This course provides little experimental or analytical data on the subject. Instead, Dr. Goodfriend relies heavily on anecdotal evidence such as memoirs of former members of cults. She devoted much of two lectures to interviews with two such former members.
Dr. Goodfriend is a good lecturer with a solid presentation style. Other than the interviews, most of the lectures present her seated in a chair with cutaways to standard pictures of standard cults such as scenes from Jonestown.
The course guide is above average by The Great Courses (TGC) standards. It is written in narrative format as opposed to bullet format or outline format and it averages about 7 pages per lecture, which is typical for a TGC course guide. It has one useful graphic, the Wheel of Power and Control. It has an appendix with a bibliography.
As of 2024, the course is available in video streaming or DVD. I used the video version. However, there are few useful graphics so I believe it would work well in audio-only mode such as while driving or exercising.
The course was published in 2024.
My rating system:
5 Stars – Every TGC customer should take this course
4 Stars – Recommended
3 Stars – Go ahead and take it
2 Stars – Not recommended
1 Stars – Yuck
Date published: 2024-10-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dan61 from
Fascinating!
I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Dr. Goodfriend's delivery is captivating and eloquent. The guest speakers sharing their stories is also truly inspiring. The production team working on this course did a top-notch job, as well. Well done, Great Courses! More like this!
Date published: 2024-10-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
djc2020 from
Excellent Course on a Fascinating Topic
"Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults" is a fascinating window into cults and the psychological techniques used by cult leaders to attract and control cult members. This course is about a lot more than just cults, however. If you're interested in social psychology, human behavior or simply want to better understand the psychological techniques used by salesman, politician etc. to shape your beliefs you'll enjoy this course.
I didn't have a deep interest in cults prior to watching this series but I found the lectures and the experiences shared by lecturer and her 2 guest speakers interesting and enlightening. I look forward to exploring some of the additional resources on this topic mentioned during the course.
I would love to see a similar course that covers the key concepts of influence and persuasion covered by Robert B. Cialdini in "Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion".
Date published: 2024-10-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
russo2024 from
So Far, So Very Good
Just going through several lectures and the material is very relevant to understanding known cults and possible aspects of current "cultish" politics. Very timely and informative.
Date published: 2024-10-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Chuck W from
Recommended for Jehovah's Witnesses
With Jehovah's Witnesses and their headquarters, Bethel, 45 years in my rear-view mirror, I still found this course both enlightening and validating. I appreciated the points made about what constitutes a cult and what makes a cult harmful. The recommendations for recovery and re-building one’s life are spot-on. My deepest thanks go to Prof. Goodfriend, her friends, and to The Great Courses for giving this topic the balanced and scholarly treatment it deserves.
Is your life on-hold for a coming earthly paradise that is - just around a corner that doesn’t seem to end? Could it be that God is not limited by, or beholden to, the current sensibilities of the governing body of “Jehovah’s organization” or any other religion? There are good spiritually-awakened and principled people doing great work to improve our lives in deeply meaningful ways that will not leave you wondering why you must shun family members or sacrifice your life instead of accepting the mercy of appropriate medical treatment. This course is a beautiful example of this.
Date published: 2024-10-15
Overview
About
Wind Goodfriend is a Professor of Experimental Psychology and the Assistant Dean for the School of Liberal Arts at Buena Vista University. She has a PhD in Psychological Sciences from Purdue University. At Buena Vista University, she received both the Faculty of the Year Award and the prestigious George Wythe Award for her teaching excellence. She also won the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. She has authored, coauthored, or edited more than 100 academic publications and numerous textbooks, and her Great Courses audiobook The Science of Love made Audible’s Best of 2021 list.
Trailer
01: Introduction to Infamy: Famous Cults
Thousands of cults exist in the world right now and they fall into five major categories: religious, political, self-help/pseudo therapy, commercial/business, and cults of personality. Explore seven of the most notorious cults in modern history—from NXIVM, most recently in the news, to the Peoples Temple, which culminated in the murder and suicide of 900 people.
29 min
02: What Defines a Cult: The Eight Deadly Sins
Many scholars believe there is no clean and neat definition of a cult. Instead, you’ll learn why they judge eight specific characteristics of an organization as being on a spectrum of less cultish or more cultish. You’ll also meet two individuals, each of whom was in an organization for 10 years before recognizing it for what it was—a cult—and eventually leaving.
32 min
03: The Destructive Nature of Cults
Continue to explore the eight characteristics of cults and learn why your professor adds one more criterion to that classic list. Explore the importance of describing cults as groups that are at least ultimately destructive—physically harmful or psychologically coercive—whether to their own members or to outsiders.
32 min
04: The Psychology of Cult Leaders
Stereotypes tell us that cult leaders are fanatical, evil, power-hungry, sex-obsessed men. Explore a more nuanced and expanded psychological profile of cult leaders. These are the personality traits or circumstances that contribute to the cult leaders’ rare ability to amass a loyal following and their malevolent mindset.
34 min
05: The Psychology of Cult Members
And what about the characteristics of cult members? Are they a fairly homogenous group? Is there one particular type of person who is most likely to fall prey to the psychological manipulation of a cult leader? As you explore the common traits of cult members, you might be surprised by how many of them are usually considered by society as positive attributes.
31 min
06: Cult Recruitment and Seduction
Learn how cult leaders take advantage of the kindness and sincerity of their recruits by using tactics of manipulation and indoctrination. After promising that the cult will provide seemingly everything the recruits were searching for and welcoming them with effusive “love bombing,” what specific steps do the leaders use to manipulate both their newest and long-term members?
31 min
07: Obedience and Commitment inside Cults
What are the indoctrination strategies that keep people committed to an organization that abuses them, sometimes for years? How can the leaders keep their members once they are on the inside and see the cults’ true behaviors? Explore three of the main techniques used by NXIVM, the Unification Church (“Moonies”), and Heaven’s Gate.
31 min
08: Having Your Sense of Self Stolen
Cult leaders change their members’ identity, loyalty, and behaviors. Explore the four specific tactics cult leaders use to accomplish their goal—to steal each person’s sense of self. You’ll also learn about the social psychology theory called self-discrepancy theory and how it was used in the Heaven’s Gate cult.
31 min
09: Cults as Abusive Love
Could an abusive romantic relationship be thought of as a “cult for two,” with one leader and one member? Explore the specific aspects of power and sexual abuse that are employed by both intimate abusers and cult leaders—in particular, by the leaders of Children of God, NXIVM, and the Branch Davidians.
31 min
10: Escaping a Cult
Cult members do not easily walk away from the cult—even when they decide they want to. Explore the deep-seated fears cult members grapple with when leaving and the psychological processes that most cult members go through. And once they do break free? You might be shocked to hear what surprises them the most.
29 min
11: Aftershocks: Healing and Finding Closure
What is life like for individuals who leave cults and move back into the normal world, possibly reconnecting with their families and living as independent adults? Explore the aftershock model and what it suggests about short- and long-term experiences after cult life. And learn the important differences between post-traumatic stress disorder and post traumatic growth.
30 min
12: Stories of Cult Survivors
Here, you’ll hear again from Alexandra and Tom, two former cult members you met earlier in this course. Learn more about how they became enmeshed in their respective cults; why they each stayed for a decade; and, for each of them, what was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back” that pushed them to finally leave.
34 min
