Jonestown Massacre Psychology

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Recommended: The relationship between religion and society

Religion is considered to be among the strongest elemental factors that affect the overall being of the society. The capacity of humans to think matters through is what makes religions relatively affective especially when it comes to determining the most convening effects of how suspected reactions are pushed through especially through making a definite impact on how improved systems of determining social reactions is directed accordingly. In the case of the Jonestown massacre, the suicide of the masses specifically made a definite insistence on how mind-direction is used by a religious leader who has been noted for his power to affect the thinking pattern of his members, making it easier for him to insist on the people to react differently …show more content…

Among the theories of developmental behavior looked upon in this case includes the ideas behind conformity. Conformity basically insists on the manner by which human individuals involve themselves in the point of subjecting to group pressure; for instance, the most basic point of development seen to have followed such pattern of psychological development insists on the manner by which young children are conformed follow the religious beliefs of their parents [at times following the same thinking even when they are already all grown up]. In the same manner, the group of individuals following Jim Jones were not all there for the belief [instead, some were just giving in to the pressure of family, friends and community neighborhood who have convinced them that this was the right religion to trust]. The radical points of beliefs and principles that the sect promoted even made the invitation more effective and believable for most of the …show more content…

Noticeably, it could be realized that somehow, the case of the Jonestown massacre suggests that when it comes to suggestive brain training, people would tend to follow the power of the voice of the stronger individual who could command them to take actions that may not be fully accounted as normal reactions (Brailey, 1998). In the case of the Jonestown massacre, the people who got involved in the sect cannot be said to be stupid, the truth is, they are smart enough to understand and think rather deeply, which made them the easy prey for the concepts being passed on by the religion to the society that it intends to

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