Clinical psychologist.

Willamette Week, 1985: "Scientology on trial"

Margaret Singer, a clinical psychologist from the University of California at Berkeley and one of the world's leading experts in the field of thought control, testified for the plaintiff and described what she referred to as the "5 Ds" used by groups that practice "the systematic manipulation of social and psychological influence." According to Singer, deceit is first practiced on individuals coming into such a group and latersuch individuals.

Dependency on the group, she said, is the second characteristic fostered by such groups, and it is accomplished in a variety of ways, including forced isolation from outside contacts and later, financial need. Singer described debilitation of members, both physical and mental, as another common group feature, often accomplished and maintained by long hours of work, lack of sleep, and extremely harsh mental therapies or counseling.

Dread was the fourth of Singer's common denominators, and she said it is typified by the fostering of an "us versus them" attitude that permeates the group. The dread, added Singer, is two-fold in that the members also learn to fear and mistrust people in the group's hierarchy, and are kept -- through an ever-changing system of rewards and punishments -- in a position of not knowing what is expected of them.

Finally, Singer discussed the desensitization so common in thought control groups, noting how members lose the ability to think critically or to react to negative things they might see in the group, such as widespread deceit and callous treatment of other members and outsiders.

Singer said that Scientology displayed all the characteristics she described and should be considered a thought-control group. Much of the evidence that followed seemed to confirm her theory.