- Dependency (the desire to belong, lack of self-confidence)
- Unassertiveness (inability to say no or express criticism or doubt)
- Gullibility (impaired capacity to question crotically what one is told, observes, thinks, etc.)
- Low tolerance for ambiguity (need for absolute answers, impatience to obtain answers)
- Culteral dissillusionment (alienation, dissatisfaction with the status quo)
- Naïve idealism
- Desire for spiritual meaning
- Susceptibility to trancelike states (in some cases, perhaps , because of prior hallucinogenic experiences)
- Ignorance of the [sic] how groups can manipulate individuals
I'd like to add to the idea of dependency -- the desire to please. I think it's tied in with idealism in a sense, in that there is this feeling that if we follow the rules, do it right, get the good grade we will achieve nirvana (which in many cases is approval from a parental figure).
Also I'd like to point out that 'suspceptibility to trancelike states' is very often a sign of abuse. The term for this is called dissociation. (Defintion: A psychological defense mechanism in which specific, anxiety-provoking thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations are separated from the rest of the psyche.)
Ever stared at something without thinking anything at all? That's dissocation. Many victims, particularly sexual abuse victims report this state; some report feeling so separated from their rape that they see what is happening as if they floated above and were looking down from the ceiling.
I've been out of therapy for 15 years and yet even now I'll get triggered over something (that's a whole other topic) and I find myself going numb, without thought or feeling and while in that state I'm very open to what others say to me. Not to say that I am able to be programmed, but to one coming out of a dysfunctional home, living in nonstop dissociative state (i.e., separated from feelings), yearning for something better (idealism) mixed with a strong desire to please -- and then meeting up with a sect like Jehovah's Witnesses which offer simple solutions to people's pain.
Well it's no wonder such ones are sucked in.
