CW: survivor topics, high-control groups, human rights (PG-13) Some of this may feel dense. That’s normal. If a sentence doesn’t land, ask for clarification—I’ll happily translate the jargon.

Plain-language definition Cognitive science studies how minds make sense of the world—how we perceive, remember, learn, decide, and communicate. It pulls tools from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, and computer science. In practice: we look at patterns in behavior and language, the representations behind them (mental “maps”), and the conditions that change those patterns.

What I focus on (public-safe overview) • Victim psychology: how people adapt under threat—attention, memory, decision-making, and recovery. • High-control groups & individuals: coercive control patterns (isolation, information control, forced “consent”), without naming actors. • Cults & cultic dynamics: group processes that shrink choice and punish dissent. • Human rights atrocities: how systems enable harm and how survivors persist; no case logistics posted here. • Safety language: building phrases and checklists that keep people safer without exposing anyone’s operations.

“World model explanations,” in one paragraph A world model is just a working map of how things tend to behave. An explanation is the story that connects the map to reality: why a tactic works, what predicts it, and which choices shrink risk. My goal is to publish explanations that are auditable, human-readable, and de-identified—useful to survivors and allies, not a playbook for abusers.

Why I share this publicly • To tune language that helps real people (Frequency Lab: keep what resonates, retire what wobbles). • To educate allies so they boost without harm. • To reduce mystique around control tactics by naming them at the pattern level.

Methods & ethics (what I will / won’t do here) Will: synthesize research, public sources, and lived survivor wisdom into principles, scripts, and checklists. Keep examples generic. Won’t: post names, timestamps, locations, code-words, escalation trees, screenshots, or rosters. Nothing here should give a hostile actor leverage within 30 days.

How to read / how to ask • Posts are labeled with archetype tags (e.g., [Leader], [Guardian]) to signal voice and context—they’re modes, not people. • If a term is fuzzy, quote the exact sentence and ask. I’ll define it in plain language. • Personal help doesn’t happen in public threads. Use Get help in the nav for the request format & crisis lines.

Micro-glossary (safe edition) • High-control group: a community that restricts behavior, information, thought, and/or emotion to enforce conformity. • Coercive control: a pattern of domination that erodes autonomy without needing constant physical force. • De-identified: stripped of names, dates, locations, or unique details that enable triangulation. • World model: a working mental map of causes, cues, and likely outcomes. • Frequency Lab: public, PG-13 tuning of language for clarity and care—principles only, no ops.

Bottom line: I study how control works so people can name it sooner, choose safer sooner, and keep more of their own lives. If a paragraph goes over your head, that’s on the writer (me), not you—ask and I’ll simplify. #greenlayer #cognitivescience #boundaries #worldmodels

✳️ Technical notes and structured reflections live on Megan’s blog →