Why Do People Join Cults?

It has been observed that many different cults, strange semi-cult movements, and similar phenomena tend to spring up like mushrooms after rain, especially during times of crisis. As it turns out, this is simply a consequence of an effect discovered by American psychologists Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer.

The Schachter-Singer Experiment

What exactly did they prove? When physical reality becomes less and less understandable—when it’s unclear what is happening, how, or when—social realities become increasingly important. To demonstrate this, they conducted the following experiment.

Students were invited to test a supposed vitamin supplement, which was injected into their bloodstream. The setup was simple. A participant (let’s call them X) enters a room and sees another person (Y) being injected with the vitamin. Then, X goes to a neighboring room for the same procedure. After the injection, X is sent to another room to fill out a questionnaire, where Y—the other person, who is actually an actor—is already writing something.

Y played two roles. For some participants, Y acted happy and content while filling out the questionnaire, expressing joy and satisfaction. For others, Y acted angry, scribbling on the questionnaire, stomping, and complaining. What happened to the real participants?

First, they were not actually injected with a vitamin, but with epinephrine (synthetic adrenaline), which causes increased heart rate, sweating, slight tremors, and dry mouth.

How the Groups Were Divided

All real participants were divided into three groups. The first group was told that the vitamin supplement was good, but could cause side effects: increased heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, and dry mouth. They were warned about the physical effects they might experience. The other two groups were not told this. After the injection, they were simply sent to the room with the actor, who was either happy or angry.

Surprisingly, those who saw the actor behaving aggressively soon began to feel angry themselves. Those who saw a happy actor started to feel happy. However, those who had been warned about the side effects remained calm, regardless of the actor’s mood. They knew that what they were experiencing was just a reaction to the injection, not a personal problem.

The participants who were not warned (the second and third groups) imitated the actor’s behavior. Not knowing why they felt a racing heart or dry mouth, they looked to the other person for cues. If the actor was angry, they thought they should be angry too (or happy, depending on the actor’s behavior), and began to act accordingly.

The Attribution Theory of Emotion

Schachter and Singer developed the attribution theory of emotion, which states that our emotions arise from our interpretations. The second group interpreted their state as anger and became angry. The third group interpreted it as happiness and became happy. The first group, who understood their physical reactions were due to the injection, did not interpret their state emotionally and did not react.

We constantly rely on the judgments of others, and others rely on ours. That’s why people tend to “catch” each other’s emotions and attitudes.

How This Works in Real Life

When a country faces a serious crisis and no one knows what to do, it only takes two or three charismatic individuals to appear and clearly tell people where to go, what to do, what to break, or what to set on fire. People start to follow them, and the number of followers of a particular “idea” or “teaching” grows exponentially.

That’s how we’re wired—if we don’t know what’s happening to us, we start looking to others for guidance. Social influence affects us more strongly than personal influence, and it takes real effort to resist it.

If you want to start your own cult, it’s easy: create a lot of uncertainty in people’s lives, then tell them where to find certainty. Announce that the world will end in two years, and if they pray hard, sell their apartments, and give you all their money, the end won’t come. And there you have it—a ready-made cult. Of course, remember that this is illegal and punishable by law…

Be Careful and Think Critically

If your physical reality suddenly becomes confusing, think carefully. Do you really need to sell all your possessions and give your money to some financial pyramid, cult, or psychic?

Stay vigilant, don’t fall under someone else’s influence, and be sure to share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.