Jehovah’s Witnesses and The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control™

August 2, 2018:

This past June, I did an online survey on influence to conduct, analyze and publish research on undue influence. Scientific data is required to help establish specific evaluation criteria to update legal and social policy in the United States and around the world. The initial results of my research show that former members of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses report many meaningful behavioral criteria. With over 700 respondents, there is significant preliminary evidence that both groups use specific methods and techniques that influence how a person thinks, feels, and acts to instill obedience over conscience.  I formulated the research questions from the four-component BITE Model. I developed this model over thirty years ago based on Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory, and Lifton’s and Singer’s models developed from studying brainwashing in the 1950s. “BITE” stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control.