The Seekers, also called TheBrotherhood of the Seven Rays, were a group of rapturists or aUFO religion in mid-twentieth century Midwestern United States. TheSeekers met in a nondenominational church, the group originallyorganized in 1953 by Charles Laughead, a staff member atMichigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. They were led byDorothy Martin from the Chicago area (also called Sister Thedra), whobelieved a UFO would save them from a catastrophe on December 21,1954. They are believed to be the earliest UFO religion, and were thesubject of the book When Prophecy Fails by Leon Festinger, in whichLaughead was given the pseudonym Dr. Armstrong and Martin the nameMarian Keech.

Festinger infiltrated the Seekers withthe goal of studying their cognitive reactions and coping mechanismswhen their beliefs failed, a thought-process which Festinger namedcognitive dissonance. When the UFO did not come, a majority of themembers became convinced that the UFO would arrive on Christmas Eve,at which time their second disappointment produced even greaterdissonance. In the book, Festinger and his colleagues write, "Theexperiences of this observer well characterize the state of affairsfollowing the Christmas caroling episode—a persistent, frustratingsearch for orders." After this incident, many of the membersreturned home and abandoned their initial belief. Those who did notclaimed that their group's belief and faith had saved the world fromthe disaster the aliens had warned of.

From this study, Festinger and hiscolleagues developed the Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Cognitivedissonance results when two cognitions contradict each other,creating psychological discomfort. There are four main principles onwhich cognitive dissonance is based. The most important is whetherany two cognitions are relevant or not. If they are relevant, thenthey are either dissonant or consonant – if dissonant,psychological discomfort arises. People are ultimately motivated todiffuse this arousal.

There are a few ways to reducedissonance. One can change one's behavior to bring it in line withdissonant cognitions. Alternatively, one can change the dissonantcognition. One can also add new consonant cognitions, or subtractdissonant cognitions, thus either reducing the perception of choiceor the importance of the conflict. In The Seekers, members changedtheir dissonant cognition the first time the UFO didn't come, andreduced the importance of the conflict by going home the second time.