Toch Hans. The Social Psychology of Social Movements

First published in 1966 by Methuen & Co. Ltd.
This edition was first published in 2014 by Routledge.
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711.
ISBN: 978-0-415-71855-4.
ISBN: 978-1-315-86970-4.More than fifteen years ago, at a time when my academic involvements were limited to evening college courses, I developed an interest in social movements. I am no longer sure how it all started. I suspect that I found myself attracted to some movements and that I was somewhat alarmed by others. I infer that early experiences left me with the feeling that society could be importantly affected — for better or worse — by particular kinds of groups. I assume that I must have gained pleasure and excitement from the opportunity to explore beliefs and practices at variance with mine.In any event, I remember myself as a regular reader of sectarian publications.I remember attending all manner of meetings, rallies, convocations, and seances, and I recall browsing through dusty tomes dealing with religious and political movements of the past and searching out newspaper reports on the activity of contemporary groups.In one of my undergraduate courses, I read Cantril’s Psychology of Social Movements and began to suspect that it was possible to combine business with pleasure. In 1952, when I entered Princeton as a graduate student, I was delighted to verify my assumption. With Cantril’s support, I began to transform curiosity into questions and to change my concern into a framework for inquiry. The result of the transformation is recorded in these pages.