This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1990, Volume 7, Number 2, pages 174-216. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.

 

Deprogramming: A Case Study Part II: Conversation Analysis

Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D.

Abstract

This article continues the examination of a successful deprogramming of an International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) devotee (cultist) described in Cultic Studies Journal Special Issue Vol. 6, No. 2. The deprogramming was observed and audiotaped. A sample consisting of 1,938 speech fragments (3.8% of all "thoughts') drawn from three audiotape segments representing the beginning, redecision ('snap'), and ending phases were coded using the Deprogramming Statements Checklist DSC). The cultists receptivity and integration of new information was assessed using the Experiencing (EXP) Scale. Results suggested that this deprogramming was a persuasive conversation and moral discourse in which the primary activities were asking for and receiving information (education), and self- disclosing (affiliation). The cultist's decreased attentional motility and increased ideational activity suggested improved concentration and implied a change in consciousness. Qualitatively, the deprogramming had distinct 'formal' (cultist-focused) and 'casual" (subgroup-focused) modes. Three change process dimensions were identified (Communicative, Cognitive, and Social-Affiliative).
 

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