When Prophecy Fails

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When Prophecy Fails is a classic social psychology book that documents a doomsday cult to illustrate the theory of cognitive dissonance and how people respond when their strong beliefs are disconfirmed.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf book
social psychology book
academicDiscipline psychology
sociology
author Henry W. Riecken NERFINISHED
Leon Festinger NERFINISHED
Stanley Schachter NERFINISHED
basedOn participant observation of a religious group
centralTheme how people cope when strong beliefs are disconfirmed
the social dynamics of belief systems
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
describes how group members respond when a predicted apocalypse does not occur
increased proselytizing after disconfirmation
social support as a factor in maintaining dissonant beliefs
focusesOn a small UFO doomsday group in the United States
mechanisms of rationalization after failed prophecy
reactions to disconfirmed expectations
hasGenre case study
scientific monograph
illustrates the concept of dissonance reduction
the impact of public commitment on belief persistence
the role of commitment in maintaining beliefs
influenced later research on cognitive dissonance
studies of new religious movements
theories of belief persistence
keyConcept dissonance between belief and reality
reinterpretation of failed predictions
selective exposure to information
language English
methodology covert participant observation
qualitative case study
notableFor detailed case study of a doomsday cult
early empirical test of cognitive dissonance theory
publicationYear 1956
publisher Harper & Row NERFINISHED
setting Midwestern United States NERFINISHED
subject attitude change
belief perseverance
cognitive dissonance
doomsday cults
failed prophecy
field study
social psychology
theoreticalFramework cognitive dissonance theory
usedIn courses on religion and society
courses on research methods in psychology
university courses in social psychology

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Leon Festinger notableWork When Prophecy Fails