Open Minds Blog
Get news and views on the latest and greatest in the fight against undue influence and coercive control.
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 [...]
Authoritarian Groups in our Midst
The techniques of the scam artist has been elevated to new heights in destructive, [...]
The Journey of the Lost
Many people leaving cults or high-pressure groups understandably say they feel lost. How could [...]
Cognitive Dissonance at Work
Knowing how cognitive dissonance works is the key to understanding why the human [...]
The Dynamics of Authoritarianism
In this new century, the most notorious form of authoritarianism is the terrorist group, [...]
Potential Recruits for Authoritarian Groups
There is a general belief that only weak people are taken in by authoritarian [...]
The Process of Undue Influence
The process of undue influence follows a predictable series of steps. First comes contact. [...]
No Safety in Numbers with Undue Influence
Any examination of history shows that people can be brought to believe almost anything. [...]