The Manson Family: The Study Of Social Psychology

Social Psychology is the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to others. Social Psychology can be broken down into three different topics. The three topics are Social Cognition, Social Behavior, and Social Influence, but two of the three can relate back to the Manson Family, which are Social Cognition and Social Influence. The Manson Family was a notorious cult founded by Charles Milles Manson. This cult was known for the mass murder of Sharon Tates and other Hollywood residents (B. Editors). The main reason why this cult relate back to Social Cognition and Social Influence is because of social object, persuasion, and conformity. Social Cognition relates to how a person or group responds to social information. Firstly, let’s look at the Manson Family as a social object. Charles Manson told the members in his group that he was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ (R. Editors). Many American strive to model themselves like him. This illusion caused members to believe that they are doing a good thing when they were not. This is called a Positive Illusion. This is one example of Social Cognition relating back to the Manson Family.
Persuasion is another form Social Cognition the Manson Family had to use.
They could use persuasion in many ways. The first way is getting new members to join the cult. Charles Manson being a religious leader is a great way to bring people in. Christian dedicate their lives trying to do what is right with Jesus Christ. This could have helped them want to them join the cult. Persuasion was also used to convince the member to stay and murder victim because Charles Manson did not kill the victim. He had member of the Manson Family to do the dirty work for him. Persuasion is another Social Cognition that is related back to the Manson
Family.
The Manson Family used conformity, which is a form of Social Influence. With conformity, a person can feel needed and wanted. Many of the members must have wanted this conformity because they want to be liked. The want to be liked by others is Normative Social Influence. The members of the Manson Family mainly wanted conformity from Charles Manson because he is the leader, and in any group, a person wants to please the boss first. Not only did the members wanted to be liked by Charles Manson, but they also need the conformity from other members. Conformity is another topic that relate back to the Manson Family. Social Psychology is an excellent tool to use to study many groups like the Manson Family. The Manson Family related to many of the aspects to Social Psychology. Social Cognition was used in two different way. One way was as a self-object. The other way was through persuasion. With Social Influence, the Manson Family went through conformity because they wanted to be accepted. In conclusion, Social Psychology aspects can relate to the Manson Family in a few ways.