CONTACTS, COGNITIONS, AND CONVERSION: A RATIONAL CHOICE APPROACH.

This paper presents a rational choice theory of conversion to new religious movements in which conversion is seen as a function of recruits' evaluations of the social and cognitive outcomes of convening relative to not convening. Axioms based on established rational choice, balance, and network principles are used to derive propositions that explain key features of Lofland and Skonovd's (1981) conversion motifs (covariation in social and cognitive rewards and variation in participation-belief sequences across motifs) as well as aspects of conversion that have been slighted by existing models (e.g., recruits' conversion decisions hinge not only on their own but also on significant others' evaluations of movement beliefs). We illustrate our theoretical statements with evidence from published reports of conversion and also with data generated in a 1981-82 field study of the Divine Light Mission in Victoria, B.C., conducted by the second author. Points of convergence and divergence with extant theories of conversion and network formation also are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]