Under the Influence: The Destructive Effects of Group Dynamics [Hardcover]

John D., Ph.D. Goldhammer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Everyone belongs to one or more groups, be they unions, religions, political parties, support groups, or any number of others. As members we gain much from these associations, but at what price? In "Under the Influence", Goldhammer probes the relationship between individual members and the collective, providing fresh insights into such destructive characteristics as mind control, propaganda, hypnotic influence, loss of identity, and much more. This exciting work explores innovative ways to harness the creative potential of groups without sacrificing personal autonomy. In our modern, often impersonal culture, we need to better understand our 'urge to merge' and the destructive control that can be exercised when the group becomes more important than its individual members.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Influence is a rich, complex accomplishment of great value and nourishment that shows the greatest threat to our mental health is making our souls obedient to another's agenda. This absorbing study, based in depth psychology, grew out of his (Goldhammer's) 15-year experience with a religious cult. Although different readers will find value in different parts because Goldhammer turns the light on a lot of sacred cows. Christianity and other religious groups, he says, have become often 'consciousness-splitting,' tax exempt, group think organizations that sell an 'invisible product.' All parts are thoroughly researched." -- The Phoenix, May 1996, Books and Music, by Audrey DeLaMartre, Syndicated Book Reviewer, editor, writer

"The news is filled with reports of all kinds of cults and groups like the militias, and if you wonder why people give themselves over to these groups, I strongly recommend you read John Goldhammer's Under the Influence, which explores how to avoid the loss of one's identity and the hypnotic influence some groups exert over their members. The author tells of his own experience with a New Age group for fifteen years and examines the nature of economic, educational, political and religious groups which seek to isolate their members from their family and other relationships." -- Book Views, June 1996, -Alan Caruba, Editor

The author writes from his own experience in alerting a reading audience to the dangers that lie in wait for the unfortunate who may be persuaded or bullied to join a group or cult. Those groups often end up destroying many of their members' own sense of individuality and worth. -- Travel Trends, October, 1997

The author, a psychotherapist and New Age cult survivor, explores the self-destructive aspects of the relationship between the individual and the collective dark side, examining destructive group characteristics such as mind control, propaganda, developmental regression, and ideological totalism. He looks at new approaches to helping those caught in abusive group situations. For general readers. -- Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

From the Author

From my own experience as a member of a destructive cult, I realized how tremendously important it is for people to follow their unique passion. Becoming a cloned "follower" of an organized belief system or group-centered doctrine means living someone else's life.

A healthy group environment supports what Carl Jung referred to as the "individuation process," a process of differentiating from the collective psychology so that one can live a unique, creative, and authentic life free from the destructive influences of family, society, media and group agendas. The premise being that only when we truly live our own lives--doing what we love--can we make a meaningful contribution to our community and to the world we live in.

From 1976 to 1990, I was a member of a religious group (the Ann Ree Colton Foundation of Niscience) that combined fundamentalist Christianity, Eastern mysticism, and New Age metaphysics. As a board member, lay minister, and volunteer, I did extensive pastoral counseling and researched the major world religions, philosophy, and psychology. I participated in and organized numerous conclaves, gave hundreds of public talks and conducted a lot of workshops and seminars across the U.S. I became utterly consumed by the Niscience System and its claim to be "the" highest truth and "the" spiritual path for our time.

I found it necessary to terminate my association with the group in 1990 due to their movement toward increasingly rigid and oppressive formats, rituals, and mind-control techniques--away from an emphasis on research and study of different religions and philosophies. By the way, leaving a group where I had invested so much of my life was incredibly difficult! I was feeling suicidal and lost. The organization had deteriorated into a destructive, full-blown religious cult. Living through this experience, I had to find out what had happened to me. I spent the next five years extensively researching all types of groups--religious and non-religious--to both understand myself and group dynamics that produce such deadly consequences, culminating in my book, Under the Influence. This book began as a master's thesis, "The Dark Side of Groups," evolved into my doctoral dissertation, "Toxic Groups," and finally into the book, "Under the Influence: the Destructive Effects of Group Dynamics."

After returning to school, I obtained a Doctorate in Depth Psychology and group dynamics and a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology. I also hold a Bachelor of Science Degree, magna cum laude, in Financial Accounting, and an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Management Information Systems.

As a co-founder of the Alderwood Center, I am now in private practice in Portland, Oregon where I teach part-time at Marylhurst University (Group Dynamics). My specialty is group dynamics: consulting, teaching, and counseling (a Jungian orientation) for former members of destructive groups. In our modern, often impersonal culture, we need to better understand our urge to merge and the destructive control that can be exercised when the group becomes more important than its individual members, Goldhammer says.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573920061
• ISBN-13: 978-1573920063
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,785,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom from Cult Thinking, March 4, 2011

By 

Barbara Share (Southern Central New York State, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Under the Influence: The Destructive Effects of Group Dynamics (Hardcover)

John D. Goldhammer shows great insight into the ownership of your thinking by organizations, whether it's the organization whose employee you are, or another organization that wants you to behave in a certain way to meet its standards for appearance and control. Excellent reading.

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall good book about the invisible power of group-think and herd behavior, July 2, 2010

By 

S. Lucas - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Under the Influence: The Destructive Effects of Group Dynamics (Hardcover)

This book is *not* about AA, but its description and explanation of insidious group dynamics very much reminded me of every AA meeting I have ever attended. The only thing that I did not like about this book was that occasionally the author inserted some of his poems... That seemed bizarre and totally out of place to me, but it was easy to just skip them, and this was a minor flaw in an otherwise very enlightening book about the often invisible but enormously powerful dynamics of group-think and herd behavior.