jan 1, 1956 - Festinger et al. study on Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Description:

Festinger's team read about a cult who all believed they were going to be rescued on December 21st of 1954 by a group of Aliens from the planet "Clarion." The researchers infiltrated the cult to better understand how they functioned and why people were so drawn into them. The new cult members came to believe what the cult did, and sold their belongings, and quit their jobs. Then, when the time came nothing happened (obviously). They found that when "prophecies" or other things similar in the cult fail, the group will use methods to relieve the dissonance of being wrong.
https://eeradicalization.com/what-cults-can-teach-us-about-deradicalization/

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