Rumor Transmission

Definition

Rumors are unverified information statements that people circulate to make sense of an unclear situation or to deal with a possible threat. Rumors are about issues or situations of topical interest. Rumors are like news except that news is accompanied by solid evidence; rumor is not. A classic example: “I heard that our department is being downsized; what have you heard?” Rumor discussions are thus collective sensemaking and threat-management efforts. The threat could be physical or psychological. In either case, the rumor helps people actively or emotionally prepare for negative events, or to defend against threats to their self-esteem.

Although most people use gossip and rumor interchangeably, they are different. Gossip is evaluative social talk about individuals outside of their hearing. Gossip may or may not be verified. It is entertaining tittle-tattle of the sort: “Did you hear what Kyle did at the Christmas party?!” Urban legends—sometimes called contemporary or modern legends—also differ from rumor. Urban legends are funny, horrible, or tall tales that amuse us or teach us a moral lesson. They are longer narratives than rumor, with a setting, plot, climax, and denouement. Many people have heard the story of the man who lost his kidney. Away from home on a business trip, he is enticed by a woman at a bar and they return to his room; after a drink, his next memory is waking up the next morning in a bathtub packed with ice, his kidney removed—sold on the black market. Moral of the story: Indiscretions can be costly!

Types, Frequency, and Effects

Social psychologists have been interested in rumors since the 1930s. They often categorize them as one of three types: Dread rumors convey fear about a potential negative event: “The ‘good-times’ virus will erase your hard drive!” Wish rumors relate a desired outcome: “Have you heard? We're getting a big bonus this year!” Wedge-driving rumors divide people groups, such as this false one from World War II: “The Catholics are evading the draft.” Unfortunately, wedgedriving rumors may be the most numerous of the three. Rumors have been categorized in other ways that indicate what people are collectively concerned about: Stock market rumors suggest ever-present stockholder worries over portfolio value, job-security rumors convey anxiety over possible job losses, personnel-change rumors evidence concern about how one's job duties might change with a new boss.

Rumors appear to be a regular feature of social and organizational landscapes. For example, in corporations, rumors reach the ears of management about once per week on average. Rumor activity waxes and wanes, but seems especially prevalent when important changes occur that are not well understood and may be potentially threatening. Rumors cause or contribute to a variety of attitudes and behaviors. Negative rumors can lower morale, reduce trust, and sully reputations. Wedge-driving rumors help form or strengthen prejudicial attitudes. Rumors have long been implicated in sparking riots during times of ethnic/racial tension, altering stock market trading, and changing behaviors that affect health or disease detection. Interestingly, rumors may not have to be believed to have such effects: Burger sales at McDonald's once dropped because of a false rumor that McDonald's used wormmeat—this even though people disbelieved the rumor!

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