For example, when Mrs. Keech’s doomsday predictions failed, imagine the excruciating dissonance her committed followers felt: “I am a smart person” clashed with “I just did an incredibly stupid thing: I gave away my house and possessions and quit my job because I believed a crazy woman.” To reduce that dissonance, her followers could either modify their opinion of their intelligence or justify the incredibly stupid thing they had just done. It’s not a close contest; justification wins by three lengths. Mrs. Keech’s true believers saved their self-esteem by deciding they hadn’t done anything
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