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Hypnosis is classed as a psychological rather than a physiological method because it is essentially a form of highly focused mental concentration in which one person allows another to structure the object of the concentration and simultaneously suspends critical judgment and peripheral awareness. When this method is used in a cultic environment, it becomes a form of psychological manipulation and coercion because the cult leader implants suggestions aimed at his own agenda while the person is in a vulnerable state.--Margaret Thaler Singer with Janja Lalich. Cults in Our MidstOn the basis of the evidence in the passage, label these statements as follows: PA (probably accurate); PI (probably inaccurate); or NP (not in the passage).