books on cults and group psychology

December 28, 2011 12:38 PM

What are some really good books on group psychology and on modern day cults?

Both topics need not be covered in the same book.

By group psychology I mean how people relate to each other in small groups, the various roles they take on, how they are influenced by each other.

posted by timsneezed to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

In lieu of a specific book, "organizational psychology" is the psychology of how groups work within organizations and there are textbooks dedicated to the field.
posted by jander03 at 12:44 PM on December 28, 2011

Here is an excellent book by a professional active in helping people with these issues. I've seen Steve speak and his approach is fairly easy to understand, compassionate, and, I think, useful.
posted by driley at 12:44 PM on December 28, 2011

Unsure of specifics, but this guy is incredible. I saw a talk by him on campus a few years back, he does a lot of work related to deprogramming.
posted by oceanjesse at 1:09 PM on December 28, 2011

I've not read it, but I know several people who have read this book on cults and really enjoyed it.
posted by Rewind at 1:28 PM on December 28, 2011

When Prophecy Fails is a standard read in sociology/social psychology classes covering both issues and is pretty good reading too (if that's what you're into). If you're reading more recent books, they'll probably be referring to it several times.
posted by K.P. at 3:14 PM on December 28, 2011 [1 favorite]