Exhorted by their leader, some 900 members of the Reverend Jim Jones' People's Temple picked up paper cups and drank purple Kool-Aid laced with the deadly poison cyanide. Psychologically, the mass suicide at Jonestown in 1978 is not so incredible as it might seem. The inhabitants of Jonestown were isolated in the jungles of Guyana, intimidated by guards, and lulled with sedatives. They were also cut off from friends and relatives and totally accustomed to obeying rigid rules of conduct, which primed them for Jones' final loyalty test. Of greater psychological interest is the question of how people reach such a state of commitment and dependency. Why do people join groups such as the People's Temple? The People's Temple was a classic example of a cult. A cult is a group in which the leader's personality is more important than the beliefs she or he preaches. Cult members give their allegiances to this person, who is regarded as infallible, and they follow his or her dictates without question. Almost always, cult members are victimized by their leaders in some way or another. Psychologist Margaret Singer has studied and aided hundreds of former cult members. Her interviews reveal that in recruiting new members, cults use a powerful blend of guilt, manipulation, isolation, deception, fear, and escalating commitment. In this respect, cults employ high-pressure indoctrination techniques not unlike those used in brainwashing. In the United States alone, an estimated 2 to 5 million people have succumbed to the lure of cults. The second sentence of paragraph one is a statement of
a. opinion.
b. fact.
Question 2
Exhorted by their leader, some 900 members of the Reverend Jim Jones' People's Temple picked up paper cups and drank purple Kool-Aid laced with the deadly poison cyanide. Psychologically, the mass suicide at Jonestown in 1978 is not so incredible as it might seem. The inhabitants of Jonestown were isolated in the jungles of Guyana, intimidated by guards, and lulled with sedatives. They were also cut off from friends and relatives and totally accustomed to obeying rigid rules of conduct, which primed them for Jones' final loyalty test. Of greater psychological interest is the question of how people reach such a state of commitment and dependency. Why do people join groups such as the People's Temple? The People's Temple was a classic example of a cult. A cult is a group in which the leader's personality is more important than the beliefs she or he preaches. Cult members give their allegiances to this person, who is regarded as infallible, and they follow his or her dictates without question. Almost always, cult members are victimized by their leaders in some way or another. Psychologist Margaret Singer has studied and aided hundreds of former cult members. Her interviews reveal that in recruiting new members, cults use a powerful blend of guilt, manipulation, isolation, deception, fear, and escalating commitment. In this respect, cults employ high-pressure indoctrination techniques not unlike those used in brainwashing. In the United States alone, an estimated 2 to 5 million people have succumbed to the lure of cults. In the United States, there are
a. a relatively small number of lower-class individuals in cults.
b. over 2 million people in cults.
c. only a few young people who are involved in cults.
d. about 10 of the entire population in cults.
This image captures a protest of people who want the privilege of “naming” themselves.
Faith Ringgold, God Bless America, No. 13 from the series American People.
Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People.
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