Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995, page 3
Clinical Case Studies of Cult Members
Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
This document will assist investigators interested in applying qualitative methods --
especially clinical case studies --to the study of members and former members of
cultic and other destructive groups. After consideration of relevant background
information, strengths and weaknesses of the case study method, and selected
previous applications in the related literature, the author puts forth a number of
suggestions based on his experience as a psychologist with case study research. He
presents an outline of possible topics pertaining to precult, cult, and postcult
experiences of the cult participant. The author‟s remarks are supplemented by a
consideration of case studies of children in destructive groups.
Qualitative Research: Psychological Methods
Although such eminent psychologists as Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, William James, John
Flanagan, and Gordon Allport have published important studies applying qualitative methods
to psychology, during its century as a distinct discipline, psychology has stressed two other
research paradigms: the experimental method based on classical physics, and the
quantitative method based on geometry, calculus, and “number crunching” (Cronbach,
1975). Often the typical freshly-minted doctor leaves graduate school with the attitude that
case studies and other “merely descriptive” methods of inquiry are not truly scientific.
In the past two decades, however, several psychologists have developed supplementary and
alternative methods of inquiry. In particular, I have been impressed by the following:
Yin (1989), an experimental psychologist, who stresses care and rigor
Gergen and Gergen (1984), who argue that social psychology and history have much
in common
Miles and Huberman (1984), who recommend a variety of qualitative applications to
research on educational problems
Campbell and associates (Webb, Campbell, Schwartz, &Sechrist, 1966), who
emphasize the value of unobtrusive measures
Kazdin (1981), who along with several other cognitive/behavioral professional
psychologists, pioneered in developing single-case designs to assess treatment
outcomes and psychotherapy process (see also Hill, 1990, for a review)
Qualitative Research: Multidisciplinary Methods
Psychologists may also benefit from strategies of inquiry developed by specialists in other
disciplines. These might include the following:
Investigative journalists stress multiple sources
Historians and biographers emphasize original documents and primary sources
Political scientists, public opinion specialists, and sociologists, as well as psychiatrists
and social workers, have developed and honed the research interview
Anthropologists deftly apply ethnographic approaches to behaviors in other cultures
Various specialists in education, organizational behavior, and so on, using video and
audio recordings of interpersonal processes (e.g., focus groups) have defined
innovative categorizations
Educators and biographers have systematically analyzed diaries, journals, letters,
Clinical Case Studies of Cult Members
Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
This document will assist investigators interested in applying qualitative methods --
especially clinical case studies --to the study of members and former members of
cultic and other destructive groups. After consideration of relevant background
information, strengths and weaknesses of the case study method, and selected
previous applications in the related literature, the author puts forth a number of
suggestions based on his experience as a psychologist with case study research. He
presents an outline of possible topics pertaining to precult, cult, and postcult
experiences of the cult participant. The author‟s remarks are supplemented by a
consideration of case studies of children in destructive groups.
Qualitative Research: Psychological Methods
Although such eminent psychologists as Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, William James, John
Flanagan, and Gordon Allport have published important studies applying qualitative methods
to psychology, during its century as a distinct discipline, psychology has stressed two other
research paradigms: the experimental method based on classical physics, and the
quantitative method based on geometry, calculus, and “number crunching” (Cronbach,
1975). Often the typical freshly-minted doctor leaves graduate school with the attitude that
case studies and other “merely descriptive” methods of inquiry are not truly scientific.
In the past two decades, however, several psychologists have developed supplementary and
alternative methods of inquiry. In particular, I have been impressed by the following:
Yin (1989), an experimental psychologist, who stresses care and rigor
Gergen and Gergen (1984), who argue that social psychology and history have much
in common
Miles and Huberman (1984), who recommend a variety of qualitative applications to
research on educational problems
Campbell and associates (Webb, Campbell, Schwartz, &Sechrist, 1966), who
emphasize the value of unobtrusive measures
Kazdin (1981), who along with several other cognitive/behavioral professional
psychologists, pioneered in developing single-case designs to assess treatment
outcomes and psychotherapy process (see also Hill, 1990, for a review)
Qualitative Research: Multidisciplinary Methods
Psychologists may also benefit from strategies of inquiry developed by specialists in other
disciplines. These might include the following:
Investigative journalists stress multiple sources
Historians and biographers emphasize original documents and primary sources
Political scientists, public opinion specialists, and sociologists, as well as psychiatrists
and social workers, have developed and honed the research interview
Anthropologists deftly apply ethnographic approaches to behaviors in other cultures
Various specialists in education, organizational behavior, and so on, using video and
audio recordings of interpersonal processes (e.g., focus groups) have defined
innovative categorizations
Educators and biographers have systematically analyzed diaries, journals, letters,
