Chapter 6: Self-Justification and the Need to Maintain Self-Esteem
Try It!


Cult Practices and Social Psychological Principles


Not so long ago, several members of the cult Heaven's Gate committed suicide, thinking that aliens would whisk them away to what they termed “The Next Level.” This cult and others like it have made headlines in the past few decades and leave most people wondering what type of a person would join such an organization. Browse through the Heaven's Gate website and try to think of some of the social psychological principles that you learned in this chapter that might explain why people get involved in cults. Then visit the APA site and read carefully an article by Zimbardo. In this article, he discusses some of the social psychological reasons that people might be influenced by cults.
http://www.heavensgatetoo.com/

http://www.apa.org/monitor/may97/cult.html

1.  

What are some social psychological reasons that people might get caught up in a cult?


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