In global issues, we have looked at many aspect of why humans, by view of history and natural and abnormal reaction, behave in terms of global conflicts. I have studied four events of mass suicide in the world’s history. Usually when we think of mass suicide we think cults, but another term of human behavior to act such ways could be fear and hopelessness. The first question all commonly must ask is how is it possible for people who are normal citizens at first, change and be so moved to act in such a rare and different mind state, and even so much so in this case, as to kill themselves.
Then I studied another example of mass suicide. In this case families of a town threatened by an army who’d rape, kill, and torture, with no government to back them, lose hope and rather kill themselves and their families then face the fate that lay ahead of them, imminent death. This shows large numbers of people, who'll families, killing themselves for fear of a deadly army force. All killing themselves at in one location for the same reason, not for any belief or passage to another place, but so they and their families would not have to suffer and die being trapped against an army of rapists and torturers. These mass suicides were committed by rational, normal people, who in a fit of fear and desperation, felt they had no way out and turned to death.
Cults suicides on the other hand are different, but stem from people who vulnerable by emotion, health, and struggles of a hard life. Cults use the methods to influence new recruits and members. Employing tactics like “information deprivation, extinction of former identities, and scarcity in order to maintain their authority.” Any type of group situation, containing any one of these, is considered to be a type of cult group. Cults usually began after or during turbulent times; people are more vulnerable during times of high stress and hardships. People join cults for many reasons because they are promising, open the mind to other things, and as seen as a final option for those who have had hardships. There are different types of methods that leaders of cults use to snag and keep member believing, examples of this are the “six fundamental social and psychological principles that are used in persuading people to join and remain members of cults” (Cialdini).
1. When a person tires to repay what they have received. The general reaction is the person is happy with what was done for them and in turn give back more willingly and generous
2. Commitment and consistency. A person has made a commitment and desires to be consistent even to the point of ignoring his or her own self interests. Making people work and do thing s for the good of the cult putting thier lives second.
3. “People also tend to turn to others in order to evaluate their own decisions” (Cialdini). We tend to like to get peoples opinions on how they would react to a situation, before we react ourselves. Approval of leaders and peers around them will be sought.
4. Authority technique. The authority figure, be it actual or superficial, are obeyed because that is how it is perceive amongst the group and that being obedient is how they must behave.
5. Scarcity. People attribute more value to opportunities when they are less available, restrictions make people want them more.
6. control of communication, limiting the communication from other influence limits knowledge and promotes segregation
Questioning of how and reasons for why normal people are turned to act and believe and to commit rare acts, are always put to thought when talking about mass suicides. Average people who have skewed their whole way of thought based on the belief and promises of a material leader who just push and drive, leaving people with fear and hopelessness. We could ask the questioning and look for the reasoning but, unless we were ever in the situation of desperate fear, or smart enough to recognize the tactics of a cult leader even if we were opened to new horizons and promised plenty. Mass suicide event definitely pose and contribute insight to the question of how and why the normal, average, mind and valued individual, strays so far in belief and act as to go as far as to even kill themselves.
1. Cialdini, Robert B. 1985. www.csj.org/studyindex/studyrecruit/study_influence.htm.
No comments:
Post a Comment