Bounded Choice

Bounded Choice
Author :
Publisher : University of California Press
Total Pages : 354
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780520384026
ISBN-13 : 0520384024
Rating : 4/5 (26 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Bounded Choice by : Janja A. Lalich

Download or read book Bounded Choice written by Janja A. Lalich and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heaven's Gate, a secretive group of celibate "monks" awaiting pickup by a UFO, captured intense public attention in 1997 when its members committed collective suicide. As a way of understanding such perplexing events, many have seen those who join cults as needy, lost souls, unable to think for themselves. This book, a compelling look at the cult phenomenon written for a wide audience, dispels such simple formulations by explaining how normal, intelligent people can give up years of their lives—and sometimes their very lives—to groups and beliefs that appear bizarre and irrational. Looking closely at Heaven's Gate and at the Democratic Workers Party, a radical political group of the 1970s and 1980s, Janja Lalich gives us a rare insider's look at these two cults and advances a new theoretical framework that will reshape our understanding of those who join such groups. Lalich's fascinating discussion includes her in-depth interviews with cult devotees as well as reflections gained from her own experience as a high-ranking member of the Democratic Workers Party. Incorporating classical sociological concepts such as "charisma" and "commitment" with more recent work on the social psychology of influence and control, she develops a new approach for understanding how charismatic cult leaders are able to dominate their devotees. She shows how members are led into a state of "bounded choice," in which they make seemingly irrational decisions within a context that makes perfect sense to them and is, in fact, consistent with their highest aspirations. In addition to illuminating the cult phenomenon in the United States and around the world, this important book also addresses our pressing need to know more about the mentality of those true believers who take extreme or violent measures in the name of a cause.


Bounded Choice Related Books

Bounded Choice
Language: en
Pages: 354
Authors: Janja A. Lalich
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-11-30 - Publisher: University of California Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Heaven's Gate, a secretive group of celibate "monks" awaiting pickup by a UFO, captured intense public attention in 1997 when its members committed collective s
Illusions of Choice
Language: en
Pages: 432
Authors: Robert F. Coulam
Categories: F-111 (Fighter planes)
Type: BOOK - Published: 1977 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Description for this book, Illusions of Choice: The F-111 and the Problem of Weapons Acquisition Reform, will be forthcoming.
The Illusion of Conscious Will
Language: en
Pages: 725
Authors: Daniel M. Wegner
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003-08-11 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psych
Public Choice Theory and the Illusion of Grand Strategy
Language: en
Pages: 206
Authors: Richard Hanania
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-12-28 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book argues that while the US president makes foreign policy decisions based largely on political pressures, it is concentrated interests that shape the in
The Paradox of Choice
Language: en
Pages: 308
Authors: Barry Schwartz
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-10-13 - Publisher: Harper Collins

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k