Jim Jones Techniques Of Persuasion: The Jonestown Massacre

The Jonestown cult suicides resulted in the loss of 909 lives. The degree to which the temple members’ suicides were out of free will or coerced is debatable. The solidity of the minds of the members could have been subjected to proselytization and therefore could have weakened their ability to make a self-consensual decision about the suicide. The conditions and current state of mind they were in, due to the weapons of persuasion used by Jim Jones and the temple leaders were deemed effective in the execution of the ‘revolutionary suicide’. The techniques of persuasion used by Jones and his leaders of the people’s temple could be classified as - entrenchment of credibility, manipulations, authority, “illusions of choice” and peripheral cues. Self-justification was also used by the members to justify their unhappiness, physical punishments and fear of death. Jim Jones had established credibility by forming a great connection with his members. People were drawn to him by his charisma, and the social beliefs that he advocated. His practice of racial equality and his emphasis on freedom and love, were a scarcity at the point of time in the US. Moreover, the worship services were alluring, and the majority of members developed a sense of liking and commitment towards Jones and

However, instead of a single technique being more effective than the other, it was a result of the combination of the persuasion techniques mentioned, that was responsible. Jones used his credibility, skillful manipulations, authority, orchestrations of illusion of choice and peripheral cues to persuade his members into committing the act of suicide. Self-justification was used when members felt tensions between their cognitions and their self-concepts. Self-justification was used to deal with their unhappiness, state of physical abuse and the fear of suicidal death that encompassed