 In the Part I of the book , titled : " Torture and seduction " , Taylor analyzes how various parties have used certain techniques in influencing and brainwashing others , including a restriction of individual freedoms , deception , and methods that conflict with one 's decision @-@ making processes . She utilizes case studies including Patty Hearst , the Manson Family , and the mass murder / suicide of members of Peoples Temple at Jonestown to illustrate the neurology she explains in Part II , " The traitor in your skull " . In the case of the Manson Family followers of Charles Manson carried out multiple murders in 1969 , and with Peoples Temple over 900 followers of charismatic leader Jim Jones died in 1978 in Jonestown , Guyana after consuming cyanide . Taylor asserts that the techniques used by cults to influence others are similar to those used by other social groups , and compares similar totalitarian aspects of cults and communist societies . These techniques include isolating the individual and controlling their access to information , challenging their belief structure and creating doubt , and repeating messages in a pressurized environment . 
