A method called "forced persuasion" or "ideological reform" is adopted, and leaders and dominant groups exploit their members economically, sexually and otherwise.
Margaret Singer, a psychologist, expounded her views in her influential book "Cult among Us" (1992), and expanded Lifton's views. For the definition of cult, she summarized various elements based on organizational behavior and structure.
Singh believes that to evaluate whether a group is a cult, we should focus on the following three main aspects: the origin of the group and the role of leaders, the power structure or the relationship between leaders and believers, and adopt a coordinated persuasion plan (also known as "ideological reform").
Singh's method is mainly to comprehensively examine the relationship between cult leaders and believers and explain why people stay in cults, even if it is not in their own interests.
In 1985, Louis Joe West, head of the School of Neuropsychiatry at UCLA, put forward a new definition of cult: "A cult is a group or movement that shows great or excessive worship or belief in someone, an idea or something, and uses immoral manipulation techniques such as persuasion and control.
For example, keeping people away from their former friends or family makes people weak, using special means to improve people's suggestive psychology and compliance, strengthening group pressure and information control, restraining people's personality and critical judgment, and strengthening dependence on groups and fear of leaving groups.
In order to achieve the goal of the group leader, thus causing actual or possible harm to its members, their families and communities. "West's definition can basically be regarded as an inference of the three cores that Livton identified to distinguish cults.