Wasn't it the Knorr era that the real power of disfellowshipping came to the fore? I think it was Ray Franz that said the majority of the GB meetings was to discuss whether something was a "disfellowshipping offence" or not.
Ever since then, the need to keep the rank and file under control is just the same but has to be done more subtly. People are more clued up and cynical now, they have more info at their fingertips, so the Society have had to learn the art of careful manipulation and sophistry to keep the level of control they once had. Also life is more complicated now, there are so many variables in peoples lives to keep track of that the Society have a plethora of rules for virtually every circumstance. For these rules to be accepted, they have to be delivered in a palatable manner that won't arouse suspicion that they don't know what they're talking about.
I don't believe the techniques of mind control haven't been sat down and deliberately learned, but they've evolved out of the need to keep that control. The techniques have to be employed more and more often as the Witnesses become more savvy. That's why I believe the Governing Body have "a tiger by the tail" in this organization. They've created a monster that'll one day turn round and destroy them. It'll implode up its own arse as more and more witnesses gradually realise they're being duped by the man behind the curtain.