PSYCHIC CONDITIONING - Imitation
The guru, or the supreme initiate, or “the enlightened one,” rules the group from the top of a pyramidal system. This system works on three principles:
x culpabilization of (putting the blame on) those who are at the bottom of the pyramid, far from the Master and the truth and therefore impure;
x the promise of obtaining powers or absolute knowledge by the
observance of the rules;
x elitism and isolation from the external world: the truth belongs
to the elite, and is reserved for beings able to devote themselves to the steeping themselves in the truth.
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CONDITIONING - Imitation
Imitation is a factor of social training. In normal “society,” the phe-
nomenon is limited by the multiplicity of choices and models suggested. In the CC (Coersive Cult), choice no longer exists and only one model is offered. Imitation of the other, or of the guru, takes on a character of ineluctability that blends into the process of indoctrination.
Bandura described two phases in the process of imitation: a phase of observation and a phase of performance. Jointly, four sub-processes come into play during imitation. Attention, or sensory recording of the behaviors to be acquired; retention, which results in a mnemonic representation of the elements to be reproduced; physical replication, which has to do with repeating and integrating the behaviors to be acquired; and finally motivation, which influences the three preceding sub-processes.
One can easily see that all the sub-processes are reinforced in the cult. The process of attention is covered by the selection or absence of information. The intensity of cult life is like “being hit over the head,” saturating the follower’s perceptive and sensory system. The processes of retention and motor replication are constantly stimulated by rituals — repeating “holy” words, memorizing texts, reciting prayers — which lead to automatic behavior and thought. Motivation is supported and strengthened by the obligation to produce results.
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