Heaven's Gate Suicide
Topic: Heavens Gate Mass Suicides
Problem/question: Why would seemingly normal individuals decide to join cults such as ‘Heaven’s Gate’?
I believe that the topic of cults (such as Heaven’s Gate) is a clear example of Collective Behaviour because the group displays abnormal behaviour and beliefs, which are inconsistent with the norms of society. This is coherent with Locher’s definition (Locher, 2002, pp. 1-2).
Schwartz, L. L., & Kaslow, F. W. (1979). Religious Cults, the Individual and the Family. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 5(2), pp.15-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1979.tb01263.x
Schwartz and Kaslow (1979) aimed to address the gap in the literature on the topic of cults at the time. They investigated how individuals start to get involved in cults and the effect of cult membership on the individual and …show more content…
S., & Stark, R. (1979). Cult Formation: Three Compatible Models. Sociological Analysis, 40(4), pp. 283-295. doi: 10.2307/3709958
Bainbridge and Stark wanted to build a theory of cult formation, as most of the literature on cults at the time was based on individual events and interpretations. They had hoped to amalgamate these case studies and their findings into an exhaustive theory.
This research would be useful for my final paper, which will try to explain the formation of cults. One of the theories they suggest, the psychopathology model, may directly relate to the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ cult. This model explains that one particular individual (the leader) may have a particular psychological disorder (or be deluded). The leader socialises the followers into believing that following this belief will bring rewards to them in the future, which would satisfy a problem for the members (e.g. fear of death or a sense of meaning). I believe I would be able to use the theories outlined in this paper and apply them to other examples of cults, to determine what are the factors which may influence individuals decisions to join a
Problem/question: Why would seemingly normal individuals decide to join cults such as ‘Heaven’s Gate’?
I believe that the topic of cults (such as Heaven’s Gate) is a clear example of Collective Behaviour because the group displays abnormal behaviour and beliefs, which are inconsistent with the norms of society. This is coherent with Locher’s definition (Locher, 2002, pp. 1-2).
Schwartz, L. L., & Kaslow, F. W. (1979). Religious Cults, the Individual and the Family. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 5(2), pp.15-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1979.tb01263.x
Schwartz and Kaslow (1979) aimed to address the gap in the literature on the topic of cults at the time. They investigated how individuals start to get involved in cults and the effect of cult membership on the individual and …show more content…
S., & Stark, R. (1979). Cult Formation: Three Compatible Models. Sociological Analysis, 40(4), pp. 283-295. doi: 10.2307/3709958
Bainbridge and Stark wanted to build a theory of cult formation, as most of the literature on cults at the time was based on individual events and interpretations. They had hoped to amalgamate these case studies and their findings into an exhaustive theory.
This research would be useful for my final paper, which will try to explain the formation of cults. One of the theories they suggest, the psychopathology model, may directly relate to the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ cult. This model explains that one particular individual (the leader) may have a particular psychological disorder (or be deluded). The leader socialises the followers into believing that following this belief will bring rewards to them in the future, which would satisfy a problem for the members (e.g. fear of death or a sense of meaning). I believe I would be able to use the theories outlined in this paper and apply them to other examples of cults, to determine what are the factors which may influence individuals decisions to join a