Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change

Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change is a 1978 book written by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman which describes the authors' theory of religious conversion. They propose that "snapping" is a mental process through which a person is recruited by a cult or new religious movement, or leaves the group through deprogramming or exit counseling. Political ideological conversions are also included, with Patty Hearst given as an example.[1]

Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change
First edition
AuthorFlo Conway
Jim Siegelman
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectReligious conversion, Mind control
Publisher1st ed. Lippincott,
2nd printing Dell,
2nd ed. Stillpoint Press
Publication date
1978 ( 2005 )
Media typePaperback
Pages380 ( 365 )
ISBN0-397-01258-6 (1st ed.);
ISBN 0-440-57970-8 (2nd printing);
ISBN 0-9647650-0-4 (2nd ed.)
155.2/5
LC ClassBF698.2 .C66

Two editions of the book were published, the first (1978) by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins[2] and reprinted in 1979 by Dell Publishing.[3] A second edition (1995) was printed by Stillpoint Press, a publishing company owned by the authors.[4][5]

Conway and Siegelman wrote an article in Playboy and Science Digest in 1979 and 1982 respectively to advertise and discuss their book and findings.[6][7]

Concept

Conway and Siegelman describe snapping as:

an experience that is unmistakably traumatic ... Sudden change comes in a moment of intense experience that is not so much a peak as a precipice, an unforeseen break in the continuity of awareness that may leave them detached, withdrawn, disoriented – and utterly confused.[4]

Snapping has been said to create the effect of an entirely new person, often completely different and unrecognizable.[8]

Conway and Siegelman further proposed that a disorder which they named "information disease" was caused by alteration of the neurological pathways of the brain by group indoctrination and mind control activities.[9]

Scholarly reception

The scholarly reception to the book is mixed.

Michael Rogers, writing for Library Journal, believes that the work is important for public and academic libraries.[10] Reverend Mark L. Middleton, though noting that he does not fully endorse the views of the book, believes its an important contribution to "religious and mental health literature".[11]

Brock K. Kilbourne, a social psychologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno, criticized the methodology and analysis in the book and accompanying articles. He argues, through analysis of Conway and Siegelman's data, that there was "no support" for their conclusions, and in some cases the data showed the opposite of what they argued (i.e. cult participation might have positive benefits).[12] In a response, Michael D. Langone and Brendan A. Maher argued that Kilbourne's statistical analysis is flawed and that no conclusions can be made, though they concede that Conway and Siegelman have a lack of statistical analysis of their data.[13] In a rejoinder, Kilbourne reasserted his findings.[14] Additionally, Religion scholars James R. Lewis and David G. Bromley argue that there are significant methodological problems in research including anti-cult or anti-religious bias, predominance of deprogrammed individuals in the sample, and the fact that some of the people in the sample were receiving therapy while in the clinical trial.[15]

References
  1. The A to Z of New Religious Movements, George D. Chryssides, Scarecrow Press, Jan 1, 2006, page 301
  2. Siegelman, Jim; Conway, Flo (1978). Snapping: America's epidemic of sudden personality change. Philadelphia: Lippincott. ISBN 0-397-01258-6.
  3. Siegelman, Jim; Conway, Flo (1979). Snapping: America's epidemic of sudden personality change. New York: Dell. ISBN 0-440-57970-8.
  4. Siegelman, Jim; Conway, Flo (1995). Snapping: America's epidemic of sudden personality change. Stillpoint Press. ISBN 0-9647650-0-4.
  5. Stillpoint Press; 20 Park Ave., New York, NY, United States,; Corporate officers: Siegelman, James; Conway Flo. Source: Company Intelligence Database, Thomson Gale;
  6. Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, "Information Disease: Have the Cults Created a New Mental Illness?", Science Digest (January 1982): 86–92.
  7. Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, "Snapping: Welcome to the Eighties," Playboy (1979): 59, 217–9.
  8. Undying Love: The True Story Of A Passion That Defied Death, Ben Harrison, Macmillan, Feb 15, 2001 page 26
  9. Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy, William F. Williams, Routledge, Dec 2, 2013, page 319
  10. Michael Rogers, "Book Reviews: Classic Returns," Library Journal 120, no. 20 (1995): 165.
  11. Mark L. Middleton, "Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change," Journal of Religion and Health 19, no. 3 (1980): 251–2. Quotation on 252.
  12. Brock K. Kilbourne, "The Conway and Siegelman Claims against Religious Cults: An Assessment of Their Data," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 22, no. 4 (1983): 380–5. Quotation on 383.
  13. Brendan A. Maher and Michael D. Langone, "Kilbourne on Conway and Siegelman," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 24, no. 3 (1985): 325–6.
  14. Brock K. Kilbourne, "A Reply to Maher and Langone's Statistical Critique of Kilbourne," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 25, no. 1 (1986): 116–23.
  15. James R. Lewis and David G. Bromley, "The Cult Withdrawal Syndrome: A Case of Misattribution of Cause?", Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 26, no. 4 (1987): 508–22. Esp. 510n2.
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