Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 96
Leck, 1998) and the more confident one feels about the decision (Baron, Van Dello, &
Brunsman, 1996).
Thus, cult leaders have access to a double-edged sword. They use various techniques to
assault the members‘ individual sense of self-adequacy while at the same time offering the
group‘s messianic purpose as a means of transcending these feelings of doubt,
meaninglessness, and low self-worth. In accord with this view, Galanter (1989) reported
that established members of totalist groups report lower levels of neurotic distress than
neophyte members. Thus, group identification offers members more than just the simple
social benefits of affiliation and acceptance. It provides a means of alleviating anxiety,
reducing decisional conflict and elevating feelings of uniqueness and self-worth. In
summary, the low attentional capacity engendered by the features of life in many totalist
groups not only heightens the impact of persuasive manipulations, but it elevates the power
and allure of those in a position of leadership. This will be evident in the discussion we
present below of leadership within three totalist groups.
The Peoples Temple
Background
Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1955. By 1965, he had moved the
church with about seventy followers to the San Francisco Bay Area where most lived in a
communal compound (Maaga, 1998). From its earliest days, Jones‘s ministry combined
elements of fundamentalist Christianity (e.g., faith healing) with progressive positions on
racial and economic issues (Maaga, 1998). As a result, by 1967 Jones was a politically
connected and well-known public figure in Bay Area politics. In California, Jones began to
exert wide control over the personal decisions of those in his congregation. Monies and
property were donated to the Temple, parents complied with Jones‘ direction that they allow
their children to be raised by other parishioners, and married couples discontinued living
together if so ordered (e.g., Layton, 1998 Weightman, 1983). Church meetings often
became forums for public criticism of parishioners which were punctuated with physical and
psychological discipline (Layton, 1998). Jones regularly engaged in extramarital
heterosexual and homosexual liaisons with group members. (Maaga, 1998 Layton, 1998).
In the period from 1976-77, Jones had almost all members of the Peoples Temple move to
the jungle compound that was Jonestown, Guyana. In Guyana, Jones showed increasing
evidence of paranoid ideation, depression, and bizarre behavior (Layton, 1998). Group
members regularly worked twelve-hour days at arduous tasks on a protein deficient diet.
Workdays were followed by prolonged group meetings after which loudspeakers would
broadcast Jones‘ harangues long into the night. The group‘s commitment to ―revolutionary
suicide‖ was discussed and practiced in several all night sessions. This ―practice‖ turned
into reality when Jones ordered a group suicide shortly after his security personnel
assassinated visiting Congressman Leo Ryan. Over 900 individuals perished. Audio tapes
made that night indicated that there was high initial group commitment for this action
(archives: npr.org).
Theoretical Analyses of the Peoples Temple
Social Identity Theory
In accord with the social identity view of leadership (Hogg, 2001) group salience in the
Peoples Temple was quite high, as were levels of group identification. There is little doubt
that Jones‘ attitudes on everything from religion to socialism were admired, and almost by
definition viewed as prototypically normative by the group. A key feature of Temple norms
involved disparaging views of various out-groups (fascists, CIA, etc.). This all echoes social
identity theory‘s emphasis on ingroup members maximizing their differences from
outgroups. Over time Jones‘ redefined the social identity of the group. This entailed
Leck, 1998) and the more confident one feels about the decision (Baron, Van Dello, &
Brunsman, 1996).
Thus, cult leaders have access to a double-edged sword. They use various techniques to
assault the members‘ individual sense of self-adequacy while at the same time offering the
group‘s messianic purpose as a means of transcending these feelings of doubt,
meaninglessness, and low self-worth. In accord with this view, Galanter (1989) reported
that established members of totalist groups report lower levels of neurotic distress than
neophyte members. Thus, group identification offers members more than just the simple
social benefits of affiliation and acceptance. It provides a means of alleviating anxiety,
reducing decisional conflict and elevating feelings of uniqueness and self-worth. In
summary, the low attentional capacity engendered by the features of life in many totalist
groups not only heightens the impact of persuasive manipulations, but it elevates the power
and allure of those in a position of leadership. This will be evident in the discussion we
present below of leadership within three totalist groups.
The Peoples Temple
Background
Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1955. By 1965, he had moved the
church with about seventy followers to the San Francisco Bay Area where most lived in a
communal compound (Maaga, 1998). From its earliest days, Jones‘s ministry combined
elements of fundamentalist Christianity (e.g., faith healing) with progressive positions on
racial and economic issues (Maaga, 1998). As a result, by 1967 Jones was a politically
connected and well-known public figure in Bay Area politics. In California, Jones began to
exert wide control over the personal decisions of those in his congregation. Monies and
property were donated to the Temple, parents complied with Jones‘ direction that they allow
their children to be raised by other parishioners, and married couples discontinued living
together if so ordered (e.g., Layton, 1998 Weightman, 1983). Church meetings often
became forums for public criticism of parishioners which were punctuated with physical and
psychological discipline (Layton, 1998). Jones regularly engaged in extramarital
heterosexual and homosexual liaisons with group members. (Maaga, 1998 Layton, 1998).
In the period from 1976-77, Jones had almost all members of the Peoples Temple move to
the jungle compound that was Jonestown, Guyana. In Guyana, Jones showed increasing
evidence of paranoid ideation, depression, and bizarre behavior (Layton, 1998). Group
members regularly worked twelve-hour days at arduous tasks on a protein deficient diet.
Workdays were followed by prolonged group meetings after which loudspeakers would
broadcast Jones‘ harangues long into the night. The group‘s commitment to ―revolutionary
suicide‖ was discussed and practiced in several all night sessions. This ―practice‖ turned
into reality when Jones ordered a group suicide shortly after his security personnel
assassinated visiting Congressman Leo Ryan. Over 900 individuals perished. Audio tapes
made that night indicated that there was high initial group commitment for this action
(archives: npr.org).
Theoretical Analyses of the Peoples Temple
Social Identity Theory
In accord with the social identity view of leadership (Hogg, 2001) group salience in the
Peoples Temple was quite high, as were levels of group identification. There is little doubt
that Jones‘ attitudes on everything from religion to socialism were admired, and almost by
definition viewed as prototypically normative by the group. A key feature of Temple norms
involved disparaging views of various out-groups (fascists, CIA, etc.). This all echoes social
identity theory‘s emphasis on ingroup members maximizing their differences from
outgroups. Over time Jones‘ redefined the social identity of the group. This entailed
