Understanding Cultic Influence on Crime: Psychological Manipulation, Group Dynamics, and Forensic Implications

Cults present a unique intersection of social psychology, deviant group dynamics, and criminal behaviour. While scholarship in criminology has traditionally focused on sociological and structural explanations for group crime, recent attention has highlighted the distinct psychological processes within cults that drive harmful or illegal acts. Notably, mechanisms such as mental manipulation, coercive control, obedience to authority, and indoctrination raise questions about individual agency, group cohesion, and culpability. However, despite growing public concern and notable criminal cases involving cults, the nuanced interplay between psychological influence and criminal action remains underexplored. Recent forensic psychological studies have begun to unpack how cognitive dissonance, groupthink, and trauma bonding can motivate ordinary individuals to participate in or conceal cult-related crimes, and yet there remain significant gaps in systematically linking these mechanisms with criminological patterns, legal responsibility, and intervention strategies.This Research Topic aims to bridge forensic psychology and criminology by investigating how cultic mental manipulation influences criminal involvement and complicity. It seeks to clarify the psychological techniques used by cult leaders, examine the processes by which members come to justify or perpetrate crimes, and evaluate how these dynamics challenge traditional notions of agency, culpability, and legal responsibility. By integrating forensic assessment tools, criminological theory, and qualitative accounts from former cult members and professionals, the research strives to illuminate both individual-level and group-based pathways to crime within high-control environments. Key objectives include identifying manipulation tactics, tracing their impact on attitudes and behaviour, and informing forensic and legal practice in the context of cult-related offenses.This Research Topic focuses on the psychological mechanisms of manipulation in cults and their impact on crime, with attention to both theoretical and applied perspectives. It does not address non-criminal cult activity or purely sociological accounts of group behaviour. To gather further insights in this area, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Psychological techniques of indoctrination, coercive control, and thought reform in cults• Pathways from manipulation to criminal involvement and concealment• The effect of mental manipulation on agency, moral reasoning, and legal responsibility• Patterns and typologies of cult-related crime, including organisational structures and victim selection• Forensic assessment, risk evaluation, and intervention for former cult members in the legal system• Comparative analysis of different cults or high-control groups and their approaches to manipulation and crime• Ethical and legal challenges in research, assessment, and practice involving cult-related offenders• Theoretical integration of forensic psychological and criminological models for understanding group crime Topic editors: Cristina Scarpazza, Antonietta Curci, Janja Anne Lalich Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76452/understanding-cultic-influence-on-crime-psychological-manipulation-group-dynamics-and-forensic-implications