Mind control
After the Korean War, mind control theories shifted in focus from politics to religion. From the 1960s an increasing number of youths started to come into contact with new religious movements (NRM). Some who converted suddenly adopted beliefs and behaviors that differed greatly from those of their families and friends; in some cases they neglected or broke contact with their loved ones. Those against cults explained these sudden and seemingly dramatic religious conversions as due to mind control. The media was quick to follow suit, and social scientists sympathetic to the anti-cult movement, who were usually psychologists, developed more sophisticated models of brainwashing. While some psychologists were receptive to these theories, sociologists were for the most part skeptical of their ability to explain conversion to NRMs.