Who leads a cult?
Undoubtedly there are as many profiles for cult leaders as there are diagnoses in the psychologist’s DSM-IV. But a large number appear to be sociopathic (with narcissistic and paranoid elements). In plain English look for: • intense self-absorption • profound lack of empathy for others; • a disrespect for social norms and accepted rules of behavior; • a tendency to project one’s own faults on other people; • a lack of interest in anyone else’s feelings or beliefs; • a high degree of dishonesty and manipulation in interpersonal dealings; • a tendency to see others strictly in terms of one’s own needs. Tobias and Lalich add some further details to the picture: • the tendency to hierarchy; • the drive for power and wealth; • hostility, hatred, prejudice; • superficial judgments of people and events; • a one-sided scale of values favoring the one in power; • interpreting kindness as weakness; • the tendency to use people and see others as inferior; • a sadistic-masochistic tendency; • inca
