When Prophecy Fails"The behaviour of a small group of people who believe that they have been forewarned of the impending end of the world would be dismissed by many social scientists as interesting but hardly researchable. The authors of this book are to be commended, not only for undertaking a difficult task, but for doing it remarkably well...Using the participant observer method, this research team collected an impressive body of data in the brief span of two months. Their research resulted in convincing, if not definitive, confirmation of their hypotheses. At the same time, it constitutes a stimulating example of the adaptation of method to a significant subject, rather than the selection of the research topic because it fits the latest fads in methodology." [American Sociological Review]. |
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Page 243
... observers could not be traced through any mutual friends or acquaintances to existing group members and thus the most common and expected channel of recruitment was evidently not responsible for their appearance . It was an un ...
... observers could not be traced through any mutual friends or acquaintances to existing group members and thus the most common and expected channel of recruitment was evidently not responsible for their appearance . It was an un ...
Page 244
... observers were under pressure at various times in mid - December to quit their jobs and spend all their time with the group . One observer persistently avoided mak- ing any statement about his plans ; the other waited until the 17th and ...
... observers were under pressure at various times in mid - December to quit their jobs and spend all their time with the group . One observer persistently avoided mak- ing any statement about his plans ; the other waited until the 17th and ...
Page 246
... Observers and Their Task . All observers were either stu- dents or staff members in departments of psychology or soci- ology , and all had had some previous experience in interviewing and observational technique . We included one male ...
... Observers and Their Task . All observers were either stu- dents or staff members in departments of psychology or soci- ology , and all had had some previous experience in interviewing and observational technique . We included one male ...
Contents
Unfulfilled Prophecies and Disappointed | 3 |
Teachings and Prophecies from Outer Space | 33 |
Spreading the Word on Earth | 58 |
Copyright | |
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activities afternoon appeared Armstrong house Arthur Bergen asked attended began belief system Bertha Blatsky Bob Eastman boys called callers cataclysm Christmas Cleo Armstrong Clyde Wilton Collegeville committed conviction convinced Creator Daisy Armstrong December 17 December 21 dianetics disconfirmation discussion dissonance doubt early earth Edna Post evidence explained faith felt flying saucer club Guardians happened hour ideology instructed interest interview invited Keech and Dr Kitty O'Donnell Kurt Freund Lake City group lessons living room Lowell Marian Keech Mark Post meeting midnight Millerites morning movement NEWSMAN newspapers night Oahspe observers occur orders outer space person picked planet prophecy proselyting questions reporters returned Sabbatai Zevi Sananda scientology séance Seekers seemed sibets skeptical spacemen spiritual Steel City story talk tape telephone tell theosophy things Thomas Armstrong tion told took visitors waiting William Dudley Pelley