When prophecy fails.
Abstract
In 1954 Leon Festinger, a brilliant young experimental social psychologist in the process of inventing a new theory of human behavior - the theory of cognitive dissonance - and two of his colleagues, Henry Riecken and Stanley Schachter, infiltrated a cult who believed the end of the world was only months away. How would these people feel when their prophecy remained unfulfilled? Would they admit the error of their prediction, or would they, as Festinger predicted, readjust their reality to make sense of the new circumstances? Not only is When Prophecy Fails of great historical importance as the first test of a powerful theory, but it is also a surprisingly touching account of what happens to ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances.
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Dramatic disconfirmations of a central aspect of one's cultural world view often lead to renewed efforts to convince oneself of the validity of the threatened belief.
“As Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter (1956) have observed, such dramatic disconfirmations of a central aspect of one's cultural world view often lead to renewed efforts to convince oneself of the validity of the threatened belief.”
From The Causes and Consequences of a Need for Self-Esteem: A Terror Management Theory (1986) · cites this paper as Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter (1956)
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Cited by 1,579
- Authors
- Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S.
- Venue
- University of Minnesota Press eBooks
- Publisher
- University of Minnesota Press
- Published
- 1956
- OpenAlex
- W1968744458
- Cited by
- 1,579
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 62 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 110 · 2020: 59 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 62 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 53
- FWCI
- 60.14
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- University of Minnesota Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › General Psychology › Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychology of Social Influence
- Keywords
- cognitive dissonance, Leon Festinger, cults, fulfillment of prophecy, dissonance reduction, reality testing, history of social psychology
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