Manipulative influence strategy used by totalitarian sect members on the Internet

• Main Authors: Smirnova N.S., Dvoryanchikov N.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2015-08-01
• Series: Психология и право
• Subjects: psychological manipulation; manipulative psychological influence strategy; communication settings; non-traditional religious organization; activities of non-traditional religious organizations on the Internet
• Online Access: http://psyjournals.ru/psyandlaw/2015/n2/77051.shtml

The paper studies the effects of manipulative psychological strategies implemented by non-traditional religious organizations (NRO) on the Internet. NRO members improve the methods and tactics of recruiting so this topic is relevant. The paper describes the components and implementation methods of the concept of "manipulative psychological influence strategy". Content analysis of the texts posted on the NRO Internet resources and a comparative analysis of the results are produced. We believe that the structure of the texts posted on the NRO online resources contains specific psychological settings that encourages the individual to form a victimization installation. In addition, each NRO has a universal set of the most commonly used settings. Our data give a more accurate picture of the manipulative psychological influence strategies used by NRO on the Internet, as well as offer opportunities for further research in this area.