Before taking Scientology’s personality tests in Sydney and Brisbane, I knew the experience might be confronting. Nonetheless, my expectations were about to be exceeded.
Stepping inside Sydney’s Castlereagh Street headquarters, I was struck by images of erupting volcanoes, Egyptian-looking Scientology symbols, and Star-Trek-style video pods. It feels like a blend of a holistic healing centre and the control-deck of the Starship Enterprise.
Soon, I’m looking down at Scientology’s Oxford Capacity Analysis personality test: 200 often strangely worded questions, ask how I “feel RIGHT NOW” about a disparate range of issues.
"Does an unexpected action cause your muscles to twitch? "
"Do some noises ‘set your teeth on edge’?"
"Do you browse …show more content…
A couple of clicks later, I discovered the test was not developed by Oxford University at all, but by L. Ron Hubbard followers Julian Lewis and Ray Kemp in the 1950s. Rubbished by many psychology organisations as manipulative and unethical, the Oxford Capacity Analysis is not even scientifically recognised.
Phew, I guess.
From all reports, the test usually produces a disturbing negative assessment. L. Ron Hubbard advocated reinforcing the “ruin” of the subject’s personality, followed by advice on salvaging it by using Scientology. The test is the church’s main recruitment tool.
After a Daily Mail reporter undertook the test in 2003, she said felt like "curling up in a ball and never going out again."
As I left the Sydney building I noticed some Uni students in the lobby. I wonder how I’d have reacted to such a damning character assessment at such an impressionable age. Which of these wide-eyed young citizens will be told they are undependable or malicious, or have no real reason to live?
As worrying as the personality tests are, they are but the entrée to unscientific treatments. Spurning psychiatric drugs in favour of vitamin supplements, Scientology offers an alternative to the field of psychiatry, which it describes as “an industry of
Stepping inside Sydney’s Castlereagh Street headquarters, I was struck by images of erupting volcanoes, Egyptian-looking Scientology symbols, and Star-Trek-style video pods. It feels like a blend of a holistic healing centre and the control-deck of the Starship Enterprise.
Soon, I’m looking down at Scientology’s Oxford Capacity Analysis personality test: 200 often strangely worded questions, ask how I “feel RIGHT NOW” about a disparate range of issues.
"Does an unexpected action cause your muscles to twitch? "
"Do some noises ‘set your teeth on edge’?"
"Do you browse …show more content…
A couple of clicks later, I discovered the test was not developed by Oxford University at all, but by L. Ron Hubbard followers Julian Lewis and Ray Kemp in the 1950s. Rubbished by many psychology organisations as manipulative and unethical, the Oxford Capacity Analysis is not even scientifically recognised.
Phew, I guess.
From all reports, the test usually produces a disturbing negative assessment. L. Ron Hubbard advocated reinforcing the “ruin” of the subject’s personality, followed by advice on salvaging it by using Scientology. The test is the church’s main recruitment tool.
After a Daily Mail reporter undertook the test in 2003, she said felt like "curling up in a ball and never going out again."
As I left the Sydney building I noticed some Uni students in the lobby. I wonder how I’d have reacted to such a damning character assessment at such an impressionable age. Which of these wide-eyed young citizens will be told they are undependable or malicious, or have no real reason to live?
As worrying as the personality tests are, they are but the entrée to unscientific treatments. Spurning psychiatric drugs in favour of vitamin supplements, Scientology offers an alternative to the field of psychiatry, which it describes as “an industry of