Pluralistic Ignorance and the Tragic Story of Jonestown

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This chapter explores the concept of pluralistic ignorance, wherein individuals privately disagree with a norm or decision but believe they are alone in their dissent. It then delves into the rise of Jim Jones and the transformation of his church into a cult, leading to the tragic events at Jonestown.

There are several ways to define pluralistic ignorance, and that’s because it’s kind of a brain twister when you try to put it into words. On certain issues, most people people believe that most people believe what, in truth, few people believe. Or put another way, it is the erroneous belief that the majority is acting in a way that matches its internal philosophies, and that you are one of a small number of people who feel differently, when in reality the majority agrees with you on the inside but is afraid to admit it outright or imply such through its behavior. Everyone in a group, at the same time, gets stuck following a norm that no one wants to follow, because everyone is carrying a shared, false belief about everyone else’s unshared true beliefs.

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