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Summer 2024 study
Psychology of Cults  
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Email: yuti_ju@icloud.com 

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YUTI’S MASTERY
This is a site for displaying Yuti’s mastery project in 2024-2026.
My project in G11 is a cult study project that aims to understand the transformation and development of cults under social changes in our modern age.

Project Description
This project aims to explore the impact of social changes and environment on human behavior and beliefs. From both sociological and psychological aspects, the project explores why people do certain things, particularly toward the extreme. It addresses the cult’s identity in contemporary China. In addition, I hope to combine my interest in other fields, such as music and literature, to understand the influence of these groups on different fields.I started this project in April 2024, following my first project about the Beat Generation and the 1960s counterculture. This project started with the intention to reflect on the past three years of life—on the world wide impact brought by the pandemic and social conflicts that are climaxing.  
Project Motivation

The world is undergoing tremendous changes at a rapid pace, with many being detrimental. In the midst of these ongoing events, I play the role of witness and participator (whether conscious or unconscious). Experiencing these events, I spotted a resemblance of our age with similar others in the past. During these tumultuous times, cult groups were the signature social inventions. They formed as responses to social changes and magnifier of flawed human tendencies under times of social uncertainty. Following this logic, can one assume such groups are highly likely to be present in a modern environment?

I believe the adaptive nature of cults as a response to social changes requires a re-definition and re-examination of its structure and forms in modern times. National security and regulation on deviant group activities have been renovated from time to time, and humans have transitioned to the 21st century, with technological advancement being the center of scientific focus.

If we are to rethink the existence of cult groups in modern society, how can we identify and understand them in this era?




Project Goals

I hope to achieve by the end of the school year:

  • Explore the psychological mechanisms within cults (appeal, control of members, expansion of power, etc.)

  • Explore the social political background of China after 1949 in connection with cult formation

  • Conduct case analysis on Chinese and East Asian cults and how they demonstrate the psychological mechanisms used

  • Read Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism (2021) by Amanda Montell and apply content to understanding the use of language in cult. 

  • Work on a research that analyzes the social and political factors contributing to cult formation in contemporary China.