How cult leader Charles Manson was able to manipulate his ‘family’ to commit murder

Dubrow-Marshall, LJ; Dubrow-Marshall, R

Abstract

On the occasion of Charles Manson's death, this blog analysed the coercive control exerted by Manson on his followers which resulted in them committing numerous murders upon his instructions but without him being present when they occurred. Factors including Manson's charisma, optimism bias, drug-induced altered states of consciousness, and the promise of a revolution in which the followers would hold privileged status were considered.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Nov 20, 2017
• Publication Date: Nov 20, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2018
• Journal: The Conversation
• Publisher URL: https://theconversation.com/how-cult-leader-charles-manson-was-able-to-manipulate-his-family-to-commit-murder-70961
• Related Public URLs: https://theconversation.com/uk