Reflection

Week 9: Cult Analysis

I always found cults to be fascinating but I couldn’t imagine how people were

brainwashed into staying. From this project, I learned that social influence is a very powerful

tool. Many factors play a role in the cult formation such as conformity, compliance, and

obedience. The individual members of the cult are brought together by a cult leader. This creates

a unique group dynamic. The groups thrive on groupthink where creativity is often discouraged.

Often, cult leaders have likable characteristics that members find appealing and they are drawn

in.

This project helped me apply the chapter concepts to an actual cult. It was a weird, but

very eventful analysis. I would see cults in movies, but analyzing a real one brought the textbook

concepts to life. After this project, it’s hard for me to forget about the cult leader Applewhite and

Heaven’s Gate. This project contributed to my learning processes because I am a visual learner.

The cult I choose was unique and very abnormal. I integrated the cult’s traditions and ideas with

the concepts used in the textbook. If I can word things and apply the material from the text, I am

actively learning instead of mindlessly reading and forgetting.

The feedback I received emphasized how well I integrated chapter concepts and provided

a good prevention plan idea. The feedback was positive and it motivated me to put the same

amount of work into my future projects. I can use the same integration techniques to apply

information from a textbook to life. Once you make the connections, it’s easier to process

information into your long-term memory. Since this project was later in the semester, I was able

to incorporate information from earlier chapters into my work. This project gave me a chance to

use prior information and apply it to the new. This is very important to use in other courses
because we need to hold on to older information and continue to apply it throughout the

semester.