The psychology of obedience

On November 18, 1978, more than 900 Americans, members of the Peoples Temple religious group, died in a secluded South American jungle settlement after ingesting poison at the urging of their leader, Reverend Jim Jones.

Jones, a white minister, preached unconventional socialist and progressive ideas to a predominantly African American congregation who joined his group in the thousands. Reports about the incident reveal Jones's psychopathic tendencies from early childhood, including a fascination with Adolf Hitler and violent acts toward animals.

After establishing the Peoples Temple, Jones maintained power through manipulation, threats, and violence. He was known to physically abuse those who questioned him, beating them publicly and forcing parents to beat their children while others watched. He isolated his followers financially and socially, severing their family connections and leaving them with no clear path to escape.

Reflecting on this story raises several questions: what compelled these individuals to believe Jones and follow his horrific final orders? Why didn’t they leave when the abuse became evident? How could they be driven to take innocent lives and ultimately their own?

From a psychological perspective, Jones’s control over his followers can be attributed to a gradual process of persuasion, propaganda, and manipulation that fostered compliance, conformity, and obedience.

Obedience is a type of social influence where an individual acts in response to direct instructions from an authority figure. Although obedience and its counterpart, conformity (behaviour aligned with the majority view), are often seen negatively, society relies on them for order and adherence to both laws and social norms.

The impact of authority on obedience has been studied extensively, most notably in Stanley Milgram's experiments in the early 1960s. Milgram aimed to understand how far people would obey orders even when they knew it would harm another person. Participants were told they were part of a 'learning experiment' and were instructed by the experimenter to administer electric shocks to a 'learner' (an actor) whenever they answered questions incorrectly.

With each incorrect answer, the shock level increased. Despite the learner’s simulated cries of pain, many participants continued administering shocks up to dangerously high levels simply because they were instructed to do so. Milgram concluded that people tend to obey authority figures even against their morals, demonstrating the powerful influence of authority on behaviour.

This raises questions about why ordinary people sometimes participate in atrocities. The common assumption is that ‘evil’ people commit evil acts but Milgram proposed that the power of the situation can influence ordinary people to commit harm when ordered to do so.

In my opinion, the lesson for modern societies is that obedience can be a dangerous tool when used to harm others. Society must protect the public from cult leaders with destructive agendas who may exploit religion and specific beliefs to manipulate others for malicious purposes.