Psychology of Cults

Harvard FAS

David Berg convinced his followers to abandon their monogamous marriages, encourage pedophilia, and allow their children to be sex trafficked. How do certain groups persuade people to harm and even kill themselves and their children? This course will explore the psychological mechanisms that enable cults to form and to take human belief and behavior to such extremes. What do cults share with other groups (mainstream religions, social movements, everyday relationships, etc.), and what makes…