When Prophecy Fails — Why Failed Beliefs Get Stronger
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world.
Author: Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter
This episode explores When Prophecy Fails by Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter as a systems-level analysis of how cognitive dissonance, social support, and irreversible commitment influence behavior, belief, and institutional outcomes.
By focusing on incentive architecture rather than personalities or events, the episode shows why these systems persist — and how they connect to larger economic, political, religious, and cultural…
The skinny
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