7.6 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Subject Cults Media type Paperback Originally published 15 September 2004 Preceded by Cults in Our Midst Genres Psychology, Non-fiction | 3.8/5 Goodreads Language English Publication date September 15, 2004 Pages 353 Page count 353 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publisher University of California Press Similar Janja Lalich books, Cult books, Psychology books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults is a nonfiction psychology book on cults that was written by Janja Lalich and published by University of California Press in 2004.
Lalich had previously studied Heaven's Gate and the Democratic Workers Party for her doctoral dissertation entitled "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, Herbert Simon and Robert Lifton. Heaven's Gate, a UFO religion, was used as a model for analyzing the cult structure.
Marion Harmon wrote that: "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."