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Paranoid pseudocommunity beliefs in a sect milieu

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Summary

A shared paranoid belief system was identified among members of a sect-like group. The imagined “paranoid pseudocommunity” includes both persecutorial conspiracies and networks extending and supporting the group. Delusional hypotheses are frequently reorganized within this paradigm, as are accompanying verbal styles. A paranoid perceptual and cognitive style is maintained by leader influence, information-processing roles of members, and the dogmatic, insular, elitist, and antagonistic qualities of this encapsulated subculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alcoholism and Substance abuse Services, Essex County College, 303 University Avenue, 07102, Newark, NJ, USA

    Peter L. Myers Ph.D.

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  1. Peter L. Myers Ph.D.
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Myers, P.L. Paranoid pseudocommunity beliefs in a sect milieu. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 23, 252–255 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01787827

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01787827

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