ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the different pathways by which people find themselves in totalist groups: born in, pressganged, living in a totalitarian state, or recruited. I detail the steps in recruitment that lead to isolation from prior social ties, and engulfment in the new environment. The chapter briefly describes the social influence mechanisms involved and discusses how deceptive propaganda contributes to the initial disabling of critical thinking. I address the myth of the “seeker”, showing how anyone can be vulnerable to recruitment given the right appeal and timing, and how it is situational rather than personality variables that are decisive.
