Bounded Choice

Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults is a nonfiction psychology book on cults, by Janja Lalich, Ph.D.. The book was published by University of California Press in 2004.

Lalich had previously published her Ph.D. dissertation on "Bounded Choice: The Fusion of Personal Freedom and Self-Renunciation in Two Transcendent Groups."^[1]

Methodologies

Dr. Lalich's methodologies were influenced by the work of Anthony Giddens, Herbert Simon and Robert Jay Lifton^[2]. The Heaven's Gate cult is used as a model for analyzing the cult structure^[3][4]. Lalich had previously performed a comparative study on both the Heaven's Gate cult and the Democratic Workers Party, which was incorporated into the book^[4].

Reception

Harmon wrote that Lalich developed a "definitional framework", which helped illustrate how charismatic cult leaders can dominate the members of their movements^[3].

See also

• Margaret Singer, Ph.D.
• Robert Jay Lifton
• Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
• Heaven's Gate (cult)
• Anthony Giddens
• Herbert Simon
• Charismatic authority

References

1. ^ Lalich, Janja., "Bounded Choice: The Fusion of Personal Freedom and Self-Renunciation in Two Transcendent Groups." Ph.D. dissertation., Santa Barbara, California, Fielding Institute., 2000.
2. ^ Lorne L. Dawson, American Journal of Sociology, vol.111, part 1 (2005), pg. 663–665
3. ^ ^{a b} Marion Harmon, Demystifying Cults, Chico Statements, California State University.
4. ^ ^{a b} Zablocki, Benjamin; Thomas Robbins (2001). Misunderstanding Cults (book). University of Toronto Press. p. 522. ISBN 0802081886. 

External links

• Using the Bounded Choice Model as an Analytical Tool, Janja Lalich, Ph.D., Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2004