Open Minds Blog
Get news and views on the latest and greatest in the fight against undue influence and coercive control.

Manipulation at its Best (or Worst)
Few groups manipulate their members to act against their own best interests more [...]
Are We More Vulnerable to Manipulation in Groups?
“Humans are tribal. We need to belong to groups. We crave bonds and attachment, [...]
Teaching Teenage Students about Undue Influence
We are always on the lookout for best practice examples of educating teenage students [...]
Authoritarian Beliefs: How Dangerous Are They?
The dictionary defines authoritarian as unquestioning obedience to authority. The authors of The Guru [...]
Nothing but PRAISE for Educated
USA Today praises it, saying, “Educated is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding [...]
Questioning our Unquestionable Assumptions
If we can be patient with our feelings of unease, and learn to question [...]
15 Years Later – Undoing the Undue Influence
I was a Jehovah’s Witness from childhood to my late twenties. I officially disassociated [...]
The Overwhelmed Brain
I read Oliver Sacks’ seminal The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat [...]
Cognitive Dissonance, Revisited
Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most fundamental concept for an understanding of undue influence [...]
The long history of undue influence
Undue influence has been recognized in law for more than 500 years. It is [...]
When the Alarm Sounds
Imagine you are at work. You are sitting at your desk, engrossed in a [...]
Building a Life after Leaving a High-Control Religion
Amber Scorah’s “Leaving The Witness” A good writer can hook and hold you from [...]