Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 93
Jim Jones liked to display by revealing embarrassing facts about unfortunate followers at
group meetings.
Formal acknowledgement of totalist leaders, either by church ordination or media
recognition, helps establish the legitimate power of these individuals. Finally, such leaders
have a great deal of referent power. They are deeply admired by their followers who view
them with profound reverence. One reflection of multidimensional and unilateral power
enjoyed by totalist leaders is their ability to maintain group loyalty despite moving the
group through various transformations. The Peoples Temple, originally a fundamentalist
Christian Church, evolved into a socialist ―movement‖ complete with an armed security
force, a media specialist, etc. (Maaga, 1998). Synanon, initially a drug treatment program,
emerged after several years as a religious movement (Gerstel, 1982).
A Social Identity Model of Leadership
The social identity view of leadership (e.g., Hogg, 2001: Hogg, Haines, &Mason, 1998) also
offers a perspective that seems quite relevant to totalist groups. Hogg (2001) describes
leadership that is conferred upon those individuals who most closely adhere to prototypic
group norms. Such norms tend to be displaced away from outgroup positions in an attempt
to emphasize ingroup similarity while at the same time maximizing how the ingroup differs
from salient outgroups. This form of leadership emergence is thought to occur when group
identification and group salience is high (Hogg, 2001). Totalist groups clearly qualify. In
totalist groups, members draw on their affiliation as a primary source of self-definition (e.g.,
Hoffer, 1951). Moreover, in such groups, the salience of one‘s group membership is kept
extremely high by such means as physical separation, distinctive group dress, jargon, etc.
According to the social identity perspective (Hogg &van Knippenberg, in press), leaders
emerge in such settings because ―prototypic individuals‖ are viewed as models and are
accorded high sociometric status thereby enhancing their persuasive power. These leaders
are imbued by their followers with charismatic traits, due to the fundamental attributional
error of seeing individuals as the causes of action. This last phenomenon is well
represented in totalist groups in which leaders are literally deified by the membership. Hogg
recognizes, however, that leaders who receive such adulation will often be accorded a status
that marks them as ―different.‖ If so, they will increasingly have to maintain control of the
group by relying on coercive or reward power as they will forgo their status as in-group
prototypes. Hogg (2001) suggests that this pattern of leadership is particularly likely to
characterize cults in their later stages.
Transformation Theory
Theories emphasizing the charismatic features of leaders (see House &Shamir, 1993) are
highly relevant to totalist groups. A modern example of this category, Bass‘s theory of
transformational leadership (e.g., Bass, 1998), combines a transactional perspective
(focusing on exchange relationships between leaders and followers) with a charismatic
approach. The transactional aspect of this model is that leaders receive power, and status
in return for facilitating the goal attainment of followers. According to this model, if the
leader also has certain charismatic traits, she/he should be particularly adept at convincing
followers to work for common goals, while ignoring their own vested interests. Bass argues
that such a leader is well suited to evoking change or ―transformation‖ in groups,
particularly change motivated by needs for self-actualization.
Some charismatic elements mentioned by Bass include: (1) intellectual stimulation
(offering creative solutions and encouraging innovation in others), (2) individualized
reaction to member needs and abilities, and (3) the ability to inspire and motivate followers.
Effective transformational leaders should be innovative, should actively reward correct
action (as opposed to punishing incorrect behavior), and most crucially, should offer the
Jim Jones liked to display by revealing embarrassing facts about unfortunate followers at
group meetings.
Formal acknowledgement of totalist leaders, either by church ordination or media
recognition, helps establish the legitimate power of these individuals. Finally, such leaders
have a great deal of referent power. They are deeply admired by their followers who view
them with profound reverence. One reflection of multidimensional and unilateral power
enjoyed by totalist leaders is their ability to maintain group loyalty despite moving the
group through various transformations. The Peoples Temple, originally a fundamentalist
Christian Church, evolved into a socialist ―movement‖ complete with an armed security
force, a media specialist, etc. (Maaga, 1998). Synanon, initially a drug treatment program,
emerged after several years as a religious movement (Gerstel, 1982).
A Social Identity Model of Leadership
The social identity view of leadership (e.g., Hogg, 2001: Hogg, Haines, &Mason, 1998) also
offers a perspective that seems quite relevant to totalist groups. Hogg (2001) describes
leadership that is conferred upon those individuals who most closely adhere to prototypic
group norms. Such norms tend to be displaced away from outgroup positions in an attempt
to emphasize ingroup similarity while at the same time maximizing how the ingroup differs
from salient outgroups. This form of leadership emergence is thought to occur when group
identification and group salience is high (Hogg, 2001). Totalist groups clearly qualify. In
totalist groups, members draw on their affiliation as a primary source of self-definition (e.g.,
Hoffer, 1951). Moreover, in such groups, the salience of one‘s group membership is kept
extremely high by such means as physical separation, distinctive group dress, jargon, etc.
According to the social identity perspective (Hogg &van Knippenberg, in press), leaders
emerge in such settings because ―prototypic individuals‖ are viewed as models and are
accorded high sociometric status thereby enhancing their persuasive power. These leaders
are imbued by their followers with charismatic traits, due to the fundamental attributional
error of seeing individuals as the causes of action. This last phenomenon is well
represented in totalist groups in which leaders are literally deified by the membership. Hogg
recognizes, however, that leaders who receive such adulation will often be accorded a status
that marks them as ―different.‖ If so, they will increasingly have to maintain control of the
group by relying on coercive or reward power as they will forgo their status as in-group
prototypes. Hogg (2001) suggests that this pattern of leadership is particularly likely to
characterize cults in their later stages.
Transformation Theory
Theories emphasizing the charismatic features of leaders (see House &Shamir, 1993) are
highly relevant to totalist groups. A modern example of this category, Bass‘s theory of
transformational leadership (e.g., Bass, 1998), combines a transactional perspective
(focusing on exchange relationships between leaders and followers) with a charismatic
approach. The transactional aspect of this model is that leaders receive power, and status
in return for facilitating the goal attainment of followers. According to this model, if the
leader also has certain charismatic traits, she/he should be particularly adept at convincing
followers to work for common goals, while ignoring their own vested interests. Bass argues
that such a leader is well suited to evoking change or ―transformation‖ in groups,
particularly change motivated by needs for self-actualization.
Some charismatic elements mentioned by Bass include: (1) intellectual stimulation
(offering creative solutions and encouraging innovation in others), (2) individualized
reaction to member needs and abilities, and (3) the ability to inspire and motivate followers.
Effective transformational leaders should be innovative, should actively reward correct
action (as opposed to punishing incorrect behavior), and most crucially, should offer the
