The modern academic study of the psychology of religious conversion can be tracked back to 1881 when a series of lectures was delivered by early psychologist G. Stanley Hall.
In these instances the convert is a passive agent being acted upon by external forces, and the conversion entails a dramatic transformation of self.
Emotion dominates this dramatic, irrational transformation leading to a shift in self and belief, with behavior change to follow.
Coe[5] maintains these correlations seem to suggest causation, citing his work in which 17 sudden converts who had dominant emotional factors affecting their conversion.
In their work they found that sudden converts only scored high on levels of emotionality following conversion, not prior to.
No experimental or longitudinal studies have demonstrated a true causal relationship between emotion and sudden conversion.
Typically gradual conversions do not occur following a single, impactful event but rather are distinguished empirically and thoughtfully over a length of time.
However, it has been pointed out by Silverstein[12] that sampling is generally biased as participant age rarely exceeds the early 20s.
Spilka and others[4] suggest that better sampling is needed as generally study participants are college-age students and thus are not truly representative.
[citation needed] Followers of a NRM may become frustrated when their efforts produce no success or social change and eventually abandon the movement.
Apostasy is an individual's abandonment of their religious commitment and acceptance of a nonreligious lifestyle or joining a different movement of belief.