Glen said:
In [Sarbajit's example of cult indoctrination], there is still a missing piece between the social comfort brought by the increasing participation in various activities versus some belief ascribed to the cult members. I would posit that a mole/infiltrator could participate in a cult quite a long time, dancing, changing, murdering starlets in their homes, etc. _without_ actually believing the doctrines of the cult (much like most Catholics I've met). So, what we need is an idea of how we get to belief from these actions. How do we distinguish "lip service" or facetious dancing and chanting from the chanting and dancing of the true believers? ----- But Glen, when you talk about the infiltrator, or the person "paying lip-service", you are just appealing to a larger pattern of behavior. Agreeing with your assertion, "faking belief" looks different than "belief"... if you can see enough of the person's behavior and/or see a close enough level of detail. We distinguish the two exactly by determining which larger pattern of behavior exists. This is not proposing some radically new way of thinking about psychology... it is proposing that we deal with psychology the same way any other science deals with its special subject matter. Take Chemistry: There are many, many chemicals that look the same to the human eye, and which react the same under many conditions (for example, when a set volume is put on a scale), but which react differently under other conditions (for example, when put in a particular solution). The chemicals are distinguished by observing a variety of ways in which the chemicals interact with the world. Similarly, a person who believes X and a person faking belief in X are distinguished by observing a wide variety of ways in which the people interact with the world. Also, for the record, one of the problems with using "moles" is that it is very difficult to get people capable of participating in cultural practices of these sorts over extended periods without becoming believers. The practices become normal to you, the group becomes "your group", and even if you can still turn them in/report on them/whatever you are supposed to do, you become sympathetic.
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