Cult literacy · S.R. Kade
The Vocabulary of Control
The Mirror Test, Book One
A working instrument for telling a demanding group from a controlling one, built from the clinical literature and tested against four documented cases.
The Vocabulary of Control is the first book in The Mirror Test, a series that applies a single instrument to a different subject in each volume. This book builds the instrument: a seven-question Mirror Test, six red flags, four green flags, and five self-traps.
The material is assembled from the clinical literature on thought reform and coercive control, including Robert Jay Lifton’s conditions of thought reform, Margaret Singer’s conditions, Steven Hassan’s BITE model, and the work of Janja Lalich. It is tested against four documented cases: Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate, NXIVM, and Steven Hassan’s own recruitment into the Unification Church.
The book describes patterns, not people. Every named living source appears through their own on-record words, and the questions are offered as criteria a reader can apply, not as verdicts about any group or person.
Where to buy
Buy on Amazon. Archive House sells books through retailers and nothing else.
Specifications
| Format | Kindle and paperback |
|---|---|
| Words | About 84,000 |
| Imprint | Archive House |
Review copies
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How to cite
Kade, S.R. The Vocabulary of Control: The Mirror Test, Book One. Archive House.