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Draft:BITE Model of Authoritarian Control

  • Comment: Needs information and sources that show this is now independently notable from Steven Hassan's work. AngusW🐶🐶F (bark • sniff) 17:50, 4 November 2024 (UTC)


The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control.[1], developed by American mental health counselor Steven Hassan[2], is a framework designed to analyze the methods used by authoritarian groups[3] to exert control over their members. BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional Control, representing the four domains that leaders manipulate to gain influence over individuals, often within high-control[4] or cult-like[5] organizations. Hassan, a former member of the Unification Church, created the model to help people identify and understand patterns of manipulation in groups that may be harmful or exploitative[6][7][8].

Components of the BITE Model

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The BITE Model categorizes the methods of control into four primary areas:

  1. Behavior Control: Dictates what members do, where they live, whom they interact with, and regulates their routines and personal autonomy. Strict behavioral control can include restrictions on clothing, diet, relationships, and use of time.
  2. Information Control: Involves restricting or distorting access to information. This control can manifest as censorship, selective release of information, and discouragement of outside or critical sources of knowledge. Members are often told what to believe or are shielded from differing perspectives.
  3. Thought Control: Uses indoctrination[9][10], loaded language, and discouragement of critical thinking[11] to shape members' beliefs and values. By managing thoughts and limiting internal dialogue, groups instill conformity and dependency on the group's ideology.
  4. Emotional Control: Manipulates emotions to create loyalty or fear, often using guilt, fear, and shame to discourage dissent. Emotional control may also involve phobia indoctrination, making members afraid of leaving the group[12] or defying its rules.

Purpose and Application

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The BITE Model is widely used to understand and evaluate groups suspected of employing coercive tactics, including religious cults, political groups, and extremist organizations. It serves as a tool for therapists, former members, and family members of individuals in high-control groups to recognize signs of psychological manipulation[13][14] and authoritarian influence.

Criticism and Impact

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While the BITE Model is influential in studies of authoritarianism and cults, some critics argue that it may be too broadly applied, potentially encompassing a wide range of organizations not traditionally considered cults. Despite this, Hassan's model has become an important resource in the field of psychology and cult recovery, offering a systematic approach to identifying coercive control[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "BITE Model of Authoritarian Control". Freedom of Mind Resource Center. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  2. ^ "Steven Hassan". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  3. ^ "Responding to Authoritarian Cults and Extreme Exploitations: A New Framework to Evaluate Undue Influence". Psychiatric Times. 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  4. ^ "Am I Working for a Cult? 5 Signs You Are Working in a Corporate Cult and 7 Tips to Avoid Joining One". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  5. ^ "Working with cult survivors". www.bacp.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  6. ^ Jackson, Sean (2023-10-16). "How being in a cult can affect your mental health". MentalHealth.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  7. ^ "Mental Health, Suicidal Feelings, and Authoritarian Cults | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  8. ^ Psychotherapy, Brighton and Hove (2023-08-06). "The psychological impact on children who grow up in cults". Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  9. ^ "The Psychological Effects Of Indoctrination". FasterCapital. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  10. ^ Calleja, Mirja Pérez de (July 2019). "Autonomy and Indoctrination: Why We Need an Emotional Condition for Autonomous Reasoning and Reflective Endorsement". Social Philosophy and Policy. 36 (1): 192–210. doi:10.1017/S026505251900027X. ISSN 0265-0525.
  11. ^ "The Science Behind Critical Thinking and Its Role in Mental Health". BenjaminBonetti. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  12. ^ Story, Inside. "Why do people join cults and why is it often hard to leave?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  13. ^ Mayer, Beth Ann (2024-08-19). "10 Early Signs of Emotional Manipulation To Look Out For". Parade. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  14. ^ vzaichenko (2023-02-24). "Signs of Emotional Manipulation: How to Recognize Red Flags? - Australia Counselling Directory". www.australiacounselling.com.au. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  15. ^ "Coercive Control | Impact on the Victim". coercivecontrol. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  16. ^ Justice, Department of Communities and (2023-07-10). "What are the impacts of coercive control? | NSW Government". www.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
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