Commitment and Social Organization: A Study of Commitment Mechanisms in Utopian Communities

This paper defines commitment and proposes three types, continuance, cohesion, and control commitment, which bind personality systems to areas of social systems, linking cognitive, cathectic, and evaluative orientations to roles, relationships, and norms, respectively. Two processes underlie the development of each of the three types of commitment: sacrifice and investment support continuance; renunciation and communion support cohesion; and mortification and surrender support control. On the basis of these processes, a large number of commitment mechanisms, or commitment-producing organizational strategies, are set forth. Use of these strategies generally distinguishes successful (enduring) and unsuccessful (short-lived) nineteenth century American utopian communities.