Rumors are a part of everyday life; they zoom across the workplace, fly in the streets, and dash across the internet. According to DiFonzo, “Rumors are unverified information statements that circulate about topics that people perceive as important… used by people attempting to make sense or to manage risk” (241). Rumors are created to satisfy the emotional wants and needs of a specific group of people and because of these wants and needs, people reject certain truths and facts that contradict their ideology and worldview. Belief and anxiety have a direct relationship to rumor transmission due to a person 's wants and needs, propaganda, ideology, bias assimilation, and cognitive dissonance. In Pezzo and Becksteads “A Multilevel Analysis of
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As Knapp says in “A Psychology of Rumor”, “rumors express and gratify the emotional needs of the community” (228). Propagandists use this to their advantage and create rumors that emotionally satisfy the community. Rumors also use cultural traditions and adapt to the situation and culture of the area. Rumors arise in times when there is a threat or potential threat because questions are unanswered, information is missing, or there is no clear communication (DiFonzo 244). “High sources” with credentials, such as political leaders, create rumors (Knapp 228). People with political standing create rumors for their own agenda so they can get what they want. They bend the truth until it is not the truth anymore and use it to persuade people to support their cause. Some people are blinded so horribly by rumors that when they are presented with the truth or the facts that a specific rumor is false, they will still believe the rumor due to their ideology. Leaders in the government can say things that are not true and the public may believe them. Bad leaders abuse their power by influencing their people to believe rumors that are not true, they deceive their people and change their way of thinking: their …show more content…
This produces a feeling of discomfort which leads to an adjustment in an attitude, belief or behavior to reduce the uneasiness the person may have and restore internal peace. Rumor transmission is linked to cognitive dissonance due to the relationship that deals with belief. If a person does not believe in a rumor, they will most likely not transmit it; the rumor does not produce high anxiety. Rumors that are “wedge-driving” fall into play with cognitive dissonance. People who associate themselves with groups that are criticized and denounced tend to feel threatened. They tend to stand up for what they believe in so others will not believe the criticism surrounding their group (DiFonzo 245). A “wish rumor” also ties in with cognitive dissonance. If cognitive dissonance is when you have conflicting ideas or beliefs, a wish rumor could possibly sway you to believe one way or the other. As Rodriguez mentions, the human brain tries to eliminate all cognitive dissonance, so when a person is met with two or more contradicting ideas, they tend to reject theories, rumors, facts, and truths that contradict their ideology or worldview (220). Rumor transmission fuels off of cognitive dissonance. Rumors are created to target a person’s cognitive dissonance, to offset their human wiring to convert them to believe that their idea is better than the opposition. Cognitive dissonance plays a
As Knapp says in “A Psychology of Rumor”, “rumors express and gratify the emotional needs of the community” (228). Propagandists use this to their advantage and create rumors that emotionally satisfy the community. Rumors also use cultural traditions and adapt to the situation and culture of the area. Rumors arise in times when there is a threat or potential threat because questions are unanswered, information is missing, or there is no clear communication (DiFonzo 244). “High sources” with credentials, such as political leaders, create rumors (Knapp 228). People with political standing create rumors for their own agenda so they can get what they want. They bend the truth until it is not the truth anymore and use it to persuade people to support their cause. Some people are blinded so horribly by rumors that when they are presented with the truth or the facts that a specific rumor is false, they will still believe the rumor due to their ideology. Leaders in the government can say things that are not true and the public may believe them. Bad leaders abuse their power by influencing their people to believe rumors that are not true, they deceive their people and change their way of thinking: their …show more content…
This produces a feeling of discomfort which leads to an adjustment in an attitude, belief or behavior to reduce the uneasiness the person may have and restore internal peace. Rumor transmission is linked to cognitive dissonance due to the relationship that deals with belief. If a person does not believe in a rumor, they will most likely not transmit it; the rumor does not produce high anxiety. Rumors that are “wedge-driving” fall into play with cognitive dissonance. People who associate themselves with groups that are criticized and denounced tend to feel threatened. They tend to stand up for what they believe in so others will not believe the criticism surrounding their group (DiFonzo 245). A “wish rumor” also ties in with cognitive dissonance. If cognitive dissonance is when you have conflicting ideas or beliefs, a wish rumor could possibly sway you to believe one way or the other. As Rodriguez mentions, the human brain tries to eliminate all cognitive dissonance, so when a person is met with two or more contradicting ideas, they tend to reject theories, rumors, facts, and truths that contradict their ideology or worldview (220). Rumor transmission fuels off of cognitive dissonance. Rumors are created to target a person’s cognitive dissonance, to offset their human wiring to convert them to believe that their idea is better than the opposition. Cognitive dissonance plays a