Everyone is vulnerable to persuasion given the right circumstances. Every day we can find examples of deceit, deception and trickery working effectively within society. There are numerous examples such as people duped into paying for unnecessary auto repairs or being persuaded to have costly surgical procedure not really required for their health. Salesmen, advertisers, lawyers and politicians and even some doctors--expend great effort developing their abilities to persuade others.
However, for cult recruiters the stakes seem higher than the material world--their frequent belief is that they are vying for souls and essentially providing salvation. Many people join cults at a very young age when they are naive and ill equipped to face the cold realities and deception of the world. Moreover, when people are in transitional periods in their lives they are more vulnerable. That is--someone who is essentially in great shape psychologically may be approached during a major life transition or during a crisis. They might be recruited more easily after the death of a parent, after moving to a new and unfamiliar location or perhaps after a major relationship breaks up. We should not blame cult victims for their naivete or temporary vulnerability--certainly not when there is little education in our society about the dangers of destructive cults. Many people who have previously held that cult members must be weak or disturbed people--suddenly change their mind when a close friend or family member joins such a group.
Anyone who is experiencing a vulnerable phase in their life can fall victim to a cult or a guru. Humans have emotional needs such as significance, attention, a safe, secure environment to mature and develop; an emotional connection to other people; acceptance, a connection to the wider community, and; meaning & purpose. When these needs are not met or if we feel lost, are searching for meaning or an answer, we become highly vulnerable, and then when someone comes along claiming, ‘I can help you, I can give you what you need; I am the only one who has the answer’, he appeals to our missing needs and it’s very easy to persuade us or brainwash us. Our grave mistake is that we too often look for someone else to solve our problems. We don’t just look for hope; we look to a God-like kind of person – the person that has the secret to what we need.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general431.html
