Bounded Choice

Bounded Choice
	Cover of the first edition
Author	Janja Lalich
Language	English
Subject	Cults
Publisher	University of California Press
Publication date	September 15, 2004
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	353
ISBN	0-520-24018-9
OCLC	54046983
Dewey Decimal	306/.1 22
LC Class	BP605.H36 L35 2004
Preceded by	Captive Hearts, Captive Minds, ; Cults in Our Midst

Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults is a 2004 psychology and sociology book on cults by Janja Lalich. It was published by University of California Press.

Lalich had previously studied Heaven's Gate and the Democratic Workers Party (DWP) for her doctoral dissertation titled "Bounded Choice: The Fusion of Personal Freedom and Self-Renunciation in Two Transcendent Groups",^[1] and that research was incorporated into the book.^[2]

Lalich's methodologies were influenced by the work of Anthony Giddens, Herbert Simon and Robert Lifton.^[3] Heaven's Gate, a UFO religion, was used as a model for analyzing the cult structure.^[2]^[4]

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.^[5]

^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Zablocki, Benjamin; Robbins, Thomas, eds. (2001). "Contributors". Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. University of Toronto Press. p. 522. ISBN 978-0-8020-8188-9.
^ Lorne L. Dawson, American Journal of Sociology, vol.111, part 1 (2005), pg. 663–665
^ Cite error: The named reference harmon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ramji, Rubina (Spring 2006). "Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults by Janja Lalich". Sociology of Religion. 67 (1): 118–9 – via JSTOR.

[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.

[ZablockiThomas2001-2] Zablocki, Benjamin; Robbins, Thomas, eds. (2001). "Contributors". Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. University of Toronto Press. p. 522. ISBN 978-0-8020-8188-9.

[3] Lorne L. Dawson, American Journal of Sociology, vol.111, part 1 (2005), pg. 663–665

[harmon-4] Cite error: The named reference harmon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-5] Ramji, Rubina (Spring 2006). "Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults by Janja Lalich". Sociology of Religion. 67 (1): 118–9 – via JSTOR.

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