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The study reported in this volume grew out of some theoretical work, one phase of which bore specifically on the behavior of individuals in social movements that made specific (and unfulfilled) prophecies. We had been forced to depend chiefly on historical records to judge the adequacy of our theoretical ideas until we by chance discovered the social movement that we report in this book. At the time we learned of it, the movement was in mid-career but the prophecy about which it was centered had not yet been disconfirmed. We were understandably eager to undertake a study that could test our theoretical ideas under natural conditions. That we were able to do this study was in great measure due to the support obtained through the Laboratory for Research in Social Relations of the University of Minnesota. This study is a project of the Laboratory and was carried out while we were all members of its staff. We should also like to acknowledge the help we received through a grant-in-aid from the Ford Foundation to one of the authors, a grant that made preliminary exploration of the field situation possible.
Read When Prophecy Fails A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World edition by Leon Festinger Henry W Riecken Stanley Schachter Religion Spirituality eBooks
"This is a must read if you want to understand the directions and actions being taken in today's political arena. Spoiler alert: read no further.
What happens when you deeply commit to a belief both financially and emotionally and bad things happen? The group divides mostly into two camps:
a) Our belief(s) were false and I/we quit the group/cult/organization
b) Our belief(s) are sound. We made mistakes that caused the current aberration; we didn't prey hard enough; we must rally the troops we are under attack; we must get more publicity and followers.
There is a WIki cliff notes synopsis of the book, but it is more edifying if you read this relatively short book. It's lessons are applicable to our daily lives."
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When Prophecy Fails A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World edition by Leon Festinger Henry W Riecken Stanley Schachter Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews :
When Prophecy Fails A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World edition by Leon Festinger Henry W Riecken Stanley Schachter Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews
- I picked this up because of a mention in a podcast, and found myself fascinated by the general premise. As anyone who's been hanging out in particular corners of media fandom know, there was quite a "prophecy" delivered by a "conspiracy" of people who claimed to read the "true signs" about the endgame between the two main characters of a certain popular BBC detective show. The fact that this did not come to pass on the foretold date has not made the "conspiracy" adherents disappear - indeed, some are more convinced than ever that their endgame is bound to happen.
Reading this book shows that this is a pattern as old as time, and they present two case studies where the endgame was the end of the world or the second coming (with flying saucers, in one case). It makes for riveting, baffling reading - humans are <I>strange</I>, and anything to do with belief and religion doubly so. It explains - or at least exemplifies - cognitive dissonance at its finest.
However, I also feel that it would be highly implausible that an ethics committee would approve the kind of study the authors engaged in back in 1953 today, and it's a bit unsettling reading about very private moments and crises of faith that members of this group had thinking themselves safe with their in-group, only to be riddled with observers bent on publishing everything they said. So I feel I can't really rate this - it's a classic in its field, it's incredibly interesting, but might also be seen as incredibly dodgy? - I first became aware of this book when reading Howard Blooms book The Lucifer Principal. I was surprised to find out this book was written back in the mid 50s. Nevertheless I think it is an important study of human behavior that is relevant to this day. I was especially interested in the study’s findings about cognitive dissonance. The tendency for humans to ignore the truth to maintain their illusions. Fascinating indeed!
- This is a must read if you want to understand the directions and actions being taken in today's political arena. Spoiler alert read no further.
What happens when you deeply commit to a belief both financially and emotionally and bad things happen? The group divides mostly into two camps
a) Our belief(s) were false and I/we quit the group/cult/organization
b) Our belief(s) are sound. We made mistakes that caused the current aberration; we didn't prey hard enough; we must rally the troops we are under attack; we must get more publicity and followers.
There is a WIki cliff notes synopsis of the book, but it is more edifying if you read this relatively short book. It's lessons are applicable to our daily lives. - A fascinating inside look at a 1950s flying saucer cult in Chicago. The world faced cataclysm, but the faithful would be taken to safety aboard a flying saucer at midnight. What happens after the prophecy fails is explained by Leon Festinger's theory of "cognitive dissonance." Other doomsday cults, such as the 1840s Millerites, have faced the same disappointment. Festinger says the "cognitive dissonance" caused by the "disconfirming event" may be resolved by one of a handful of means, but usually there is a burst of proselytization. In other words, the cult bounces back stronger than ever until subsequent disconfirming events (failed prophecies) force people to face reality.
"Cognitive dissonance" is a useful lens to view movements and even examine the stresses in one's own life when one finds oneself holding two contradictory "cognitions."
It is hard to understand how intelligent people could act like the subjects in When Prophecy Fails. Ultimately, the book is a tragedy about people's need to believe. - When Prophecy Fails is as relevant today as it was decades ago when a little doomsday cult predicted a flood that never came. I'm a professor in a social scientific-minded communication department. It seems that no matter what class I teach, I'm always using this book as an example. From a theoretical and research perspective, it's a great field study designed to test Festinger's ideas about cognitive dissonance. It also stands as a rigorous and meticulous example of the method of data collection via participant-observation. Readers will also appreciate the beginning material chronicling known failed predictions throughout history.
And the writing style is lucidly accessible and the detailed characterizations of the people involved and action unfolding are compelling enough for even the casual reader. I've always been a fan of Leon Festinger's work, but no matter one's personal givings about dissonance theory, it is tough not to appreciate the laborious efforts of this tireless and dedicated research team in producing this study. I admire those who are able to foresee real-world applications of their ideas in advance so as to be able to properly test them as the real-world events unfold. Festinger et al. were brilliant in this regard. A must-read for anyone interested in solid research methodologies and applied learning. - Interesting, easy reading. Not about religion per se, but lends insight into religion and the evolution of belief systems and the continuing support and bolstering of belief even after significant elements of the belief are proven wrong. A brief history of “cognitive dissonance†(a term coined by Festinger in this book) is included as well as the specific case study, and the authors' methodology is described.
The group in this study predicted the destruction of the world on December 21, 1954. More recently the end of the world was predicted to coincide with the “end†of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. This classic study is as relevant today as when written.
