Social Psychology in Peoples Temple

 

by Oriana Ward, Ellen Hollins, and Bari Anue

 

    What would cause someone to join a cult and do crazy things to honor their membership within it? Well ultimately, most people who join cults due so because of manipulation by a single leader. Most groups, both cult and non-cult, offer their members a sense of family, identity, friendship, and respect. They also offer structure. We humans are drawn to this and most leaders of these types of groups use this to their advantage.

 

What We Read

 

The article my group read talked about Peoples Temple and its leader Jim Jones. Initially, Peoples Temple wasn’t a cult. It  started out as a seemingly good organization. As the leader of Peoples Temple, Jim Jones believed in socialism and communalism. He wanted to create an environment good for all people, including the African American movement. During the 70’s his church was one of the only to be desegregated in his town and offered a place where both African Americans and Caucasian people, as well as other races could come together and bridge a gap. His church also made a way for people to do lots of good for the community. Besides that, it offered them a father figure, someone they could look up to and come to for guidance. This was all great but it quickly turned into a nightmare.

 

Once Jim Jones got a large following he moved the group to Guyana. Those that followed him there did so as a symbol of their alliance to his group and his teachings. Although he seemed one way he quickly changed. If any of his members could be punished for things such as trying to leave, not performing to his standards, or even just for the fun of others. To add to this he  would have “White Nights” and “Suicide Drills.” He would do this when he felt there was crisis in the town and that his members were in danger. He would give the members poison and then only after they drank it would he tell them that it was fake and that they weren’t going to die. All of these actions and events were tactics he used to make sure his members remained loyal to him and fearful of him. On November 18, 1978 Jones conducted a real Suicide Drill. The children were given the poison first and then all the adults and anyone who tried to escape was still forced to take the poison. Many people believe Jones conducted this mass killing because he got too caught up in control and had lost his mind.

What We Know

 

Why was Jones able to have so much control over his members? Social Psychology can explain this. Initially when people joined Peoples Temple it was not a cult. It was a safe community.

• Jones drew people in with what they wanted to hear.
• He used the norm of reciprocity which states that if someone does something nice for you, you’ll feel obligated to do the same for them. Peoples Temple ran many different programs such as drug rehabilitation programs and medical programs for the needy. Everybody helped everybody.
• Jones used the foot in the door technique where he would make a small demand, then gradually increase to larger demands. Jones did this until he finally convinced his members to move to another country where they lived in the middle of nowhere and were eventually murdered. People will continue to comply in order to honor their original agreement
• Many people probably experienced  post decisional cognitive dissonance which is when you make a decision and realize it was stupid but can’t change it. You will then do anything to justify your decision. Many of the members gave up their homes, families, and money. They probably didn’t want to leave because they didn’t want to have to deal with the fact that they made a terrible decision.
• Jones used operant conditioning (reward and punishment). If any of the members questioned Jones they would be punished with things such as beatings. This created guilt and made them feel like they deserved it.
  • They didn’t leave after they were punished because of normative social influence (peer pressure) and because of informational social influence which is when people are uncertain so they look to the group for guidance and then conform to that.
• Another huge thing that was taking place in this situation was groupthink. People desire harmony and peace which can result in incorrect decision making within a group. Members will try to lessen conflict without having any outside influence or decisions. This can lead the group to overestimate its power and morality, to be closed minded, and to feel strong pressure to conform even when they want to deviate.

 

These along with many other social factors played apart in the success of Jim Jones and Peoples Temple.

The Social Psychology of Cults, The People’s Temple

Success in the Peoples Temple Cult