''Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults'' is a 2004 psychology and sociology book on

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

s by

Janja Lalich Janja Lalich (b. 1945) is an American sociologist and writer. Lalich is best known as a foremost expert on cults and coercion, charismatic authority, power relations, ideology and social control. She is a professor emerita of sociology at the C ...

. It was published by

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

. Lalich had previously studied Heaven's Gate and the

Democratic Workers Party The Democratic Workers Party was a United States Marxist–Leninist party based in California headed by former professor Marlene Dixon, lasting from 1974–1987. One member, Janja Lalich, later became a widely cited researcher on cults. She chara ...

(DWP) for her doctoral dissertation titled "Bounded Choice: The Fusion of Personal Freedom and Self-Renunciation in Two Transcendent Groups", and that research was incorporated into the book. Lalich's methodologies were influenced by the work of

Anthony Giddens Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is an English sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists and is ...

, Herbert Simon and

Robert Lifton Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence, and for his theory of thought reform. He was an early proponent of ...

. Heaven's Gate, a UFO religion, was used as a model for analyzing the cult structure. According to Rubina Ramji's review, Lalich identifies four structures to cults: charismatic authority, a transcendent belief system, systems of control, and systems of influence. They interlock to create "true believers" who end up in a state of "bounded choice" in the cult.

Reception

Marion Harmon wrote "Lalich’s research culminated in a new theory to explain how the combination of ideology, social structure, and commitment constrains the choice of true believers."Marion Harmon,
Demystifying Cults
'', Chico Statements,

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

. Richard Erik Ocejo in ''

Contemporary Sociology ''Contemporary Sociology'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal of sociology published by SAGE Publications in association with the American Sociological Association since 1972. Each issue of the journal publishes many in-depth as well ...

'' compliments Lalich's research as "extensive". He writes that her work avoids being a "quasi auto-

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

" despite the DWP being fairly unknown to academia. Ocejo believes the work "demystifies the cultic group" and documents the "potential consequences (both positive and negative) for the individual and society as a whole". Rubina Rumji in her review for ''

Sociology of Religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (surveys, ...

'' argues the book is a good introduction to thought-reform for those unfamiliar with the academic study of new religious movements, but it adds little for those already familiar with the field. Rumji also argues that the book does not take into account the adherents of cults who leave the groups out of their own volition. Thomas Robbins writes for ''

Nova Religio ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering religious studies, focusing on the academic study of new religious movements. It was established in 1997 by Seven Bridges P ...

'' the book leaves out interesting details about the DWP from her analysis, particularly the fact that the leaders were primarily women. He also believes that the book reads like a "

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may ...

" or an "

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that ...

" of the groups on top of an socio-psychological analysis.

Folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

Elinor S. Levy thinks the book was interesting from a folkloric point of view; however, Levy believes that Lalich wanted to memoir about the DWP "but realized that the only acceptable academic approach would be analytic and comparative" to other groups. Dennis Tourish for the journal ''Leadership'' compliments Lalich's contribution to the area of

leadership studies Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology), in ...

, and he believes the book is "replete with potential avenues for further study by leadership scholars" interested in cults.

References

External links

*
Using the Bounded Choice Model as an Analytical Tool
',

, Ph.D., '' Cultic Studies Review'', Vol. 3, No. 3, 2004 2004 non-fiction books Books by Janja Lalich Psychology books Sociology books Books about cults University of California Press books {{psych-book-stub