Person

Leon Festinger

Social psychologists who studied cognitive dissonance in a doomsday cult when prophecy failed.

Why this matters

When Prophecy Fails is a classic on doubling down—correction resisted through reinterpretation.

book

Festinger, Leon, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter. *When Prophecy Fails*. New York: Harper & Row, 1956.

Book

Authority After Understanding Collapses

When explanation, evidence, and repair fail—and what kinds of authority remain when public understanding collapses.