76 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
thesis) asserting that a stay in a cult is not a
reason for trauma, but rather a periodical
antidote to trauma, is likely correct. Results of
other studies of cult members, in which the
members revealed (in a MMPI test) increased
intensity of defensive attitudes toward their own
difficulties, indirectly supports this assertion
(Ungerlider &Wellish, 1979 Kuner, 1981
Ross, 1988). One of the essential elements of a
periodical antidote to trauma is probably the
cult’s ideology. According to Scheich (2002),
acceptance of an extreme ideology isolates a
person from various aspects of experiences and
increases one’s tendency to use defensive
mechanisms of suppression (see Lifton, 1961).
So that a cult’s offer of a new “cult identity” can
be attractive precisely because it enables
isolation from difficult experiences that seem
impossible to overcome at a certain stage of life.
In the next part of this elaboration, reasons will
be put forth and the thesis will be broadened on
the basis of the narrative identity conception.
The Conception of Narrative Identity
The interest of narrations in psychology has
increased dynamically since the early 1990s. At
its base is a belief that humans have an inborn
motivation to understand reality and give sense
to their experiences, and that they do so by
spontaneously organizing the experiences into
mental narrative schemes. Furthermore, creating
narrative schemes enables one to give sense to
subsequent experiences and produce new
motivations. Feedback occurs between the
process of giving sense to experiences and the
creation of narrative schemes.
Narrative schemes have a universal structure: 1)
a character with a certain intention 2) other
characters who take part in the events
surrounding the realization of a main character’s
intention 3) obstacles in the way of the
realization of intentions and 4) overcoming (or
failure to overcome) the obstacles (Trzebiński
2002). Narrative identity placed within
structures of autobiographical memory is the
central narrative structure. According to
McAdams (1994), narrative identity is an
“internalized and developed life story or a
personal myth that unites a reconstructed past,
perceived present, and anticipated or expected
future into a narrative configuration to provide
feelings of unity, continuity, and aim”
(McAdams, 1994, p. 746–747). It is worth
noting that a myth does not have to be true about
its own theme. Above all, the myth performs an
integrating role by giving defined meanings to
personal experiences.
It is possible to observe restraint of natural
motivation in the process of giving sense to
one’s experiences in the early stages of dealing
with trauma. Traumatic experiences are recorded
as fragmentary pictures, words, and feelings that
are not accessible to systematic insight or
reflection. Only the function of story creating,
which means separating particular episodes and
reformulating them into a linear narrative
structure, gradually decreases the burdensome
psychic tension associated with trauma.
Narrative structuralizing of traumatic
experiences has a therapeutic character and is
used in psychotherapy (Harber &Penebaker
1992 Stemplewska-Żakowicz 2002).
Narrative organization of traumatic experiences
usually takes place in natural environments with
family and friends. For example, common
remembrance of the loss of a close person (for
some time after his death) remains a painful
experience in the working memory for a long
time and therefore creates more opportunities for
its narrative organization (see Larsen,
Hemenover, Morris, &Cacioppo, 2002).
Support of people close to the individual is not
always possible, and the skills needed to take
advantage of this support are not always
sufficient. In these cases, psychotherapeutic help
could be useful.
Constructing Narrative Identity in a Cult
The previously proposed thesis asserts that a
cult’s environment with its extreme ideology
also creates opportunities for one to deal with
difficult life experiences. But it seems that
narrative organization of traumatic experiences
in a cult environment proceeds differently than it
does in a family environment or with
psychotherapeutic support.
thesis) asserting that a stay in a cult is not a
reason for trauma, but rather a periodical
antidote to trauma, is likely correct. Results of
other studies of cult members, in which the
members revealed (in a MMPI test) increased
intensity of defensive attitudes toward their own
difficulties, indirectly supports this assertion
(Ungerlider &Wellish, 1979 Kuner, 1981
Ross, 1988). One of the essential elements of a
periodical antidote to trauma is probably the
cult’s ideology. According to Scheich (2002),
acceptance of an extreme ideology isolates a
person from various aspects of experiences and
increases one’s tendency to use defensive
mechanisms of suppression (see Lifton, 1961).
So that a cult’s offer of a new “cult identity” can
be attractive precisely because it enables
isolation from difficult experiences that seem
impossible to overcome at a certain stage of life.
In the next part of this elaboration, reasons will
be put forth and the thesis will be broadened on
the basis of the narrative identity conception.
The Conception of Narrative Identity
The interest of narrations in psychology has
increased dynamically since the early 1990s. At
its base is a belief that humans have an inborn
motivation to understand reality and give sense
to their experiences, and that they do so by
spontaneously organizing the experiences into
mental narrative schemes. Furthermore, creating
narrative schemes enables one to give sense to
subsequent experiences and produce new
motivations. Feedback occurs between the
process of giving sense to experiences and the
creation of narrative schemes.
Narrative schemes have a universal structure: 1)
a character with a certain intention 2) other
characters who take part in the events
surrounding the realization of a main character’s
intention 3) obstacles in the way of the
realization of intentions and 4) overcoming (or
failure to overcome) the obstacles (Trzebiński
2002). Narrative identity placed within
structures of autobiographical memory is the
central narrative structure. According to
McAdams (1994), narrative identity is an
“internalized and developed life story or a
personal myth that unites a reconstructed past,
perceived present, and anticipated or expected
future into a narrative configuration to provide
feelings of unity, continuity, and aim”
(McAdams, 1994, p. 746–747). It is worth
noting that a myth does not have to be true about
its own theme. Above all, the myth performs an
integrating role by giving defined meanings to
personal experiences.
It is possible to observe restraint of natural
motivation in the process of giving sense to
one’s experiences in the early stages of dealing
with trauma. Traumatic experiences are recorded
as fragmentary pictures, words, and feelings that
are not accessible to systematic insight or
reflection. Only the function of story creating,
which means separating particular episodes and
reformulating them into a linear narrative
structure, gradually decreases the burdensome
psychic tension associated with trauma.
Narrative structuralizing of traumatic
experiences has a therapeutic character and is
used in psychotherapy (Harber &Penebaker
1992 Stemplewska-Żakowicz 2002).
Narrative organization of traumatic experiences
usually takes place in natural environments with
family and friends. For example, common
remembrance of the loss of a close person (for
some time after his death) remains a painful
experience in the working memory for a long
time and therefore creates more opportunities for
its narrative organization (see Larsen,
Hemenover, Morris, &Cacioppo, 2002).
Support of people close to the individual is not
always possible, and the skills needed to take
advantage of this support are not always
sufficient. In these cases, psychotherapeutic help
could be useful.
Constructing Narrative Identity in a Cult
The previously proposed thesis asserts that a
cult’s environment with its extreme ideology
also creates opportunities for one to deal with
difficult life experiences. But it seems that
narrative organization of traumatic experiences
in a cult environment proceeds differently than it
does in a family environment or with
psychotherapeutic support.
