The Negative Effects Of Rumor Anxiety

Rumors have been around for centuries and all types of people spread them. You can hear a rumor at the grocery store, at school, and in the workplace. The real question is do certain rumors have a traumatic effect on people. Two psychologists created a study to answer part of the question. Pezzo and Beckstead, the two psychologists, wanted to do something that had never been done before. They wanted to create a multilevel study that used two different scenarios to measure levels of anxiety, belief of a rumor, and the rumor transmission. Pezzo and Beckstead both teach psychology classes at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and University of South Florida Tampa, respectively. The two men created a scientific report to show their …show more content…
They also found that “this effect was qualified by a significant Belief x Rumor anxiety interaction” or that “this interaction could also be interpreted as belief moderating the effects of rumor anxiety” (97). Study one showed that when rumors were believed, rumor anxiety was related to the transmission of rumors. Study two showed that participants who were extremely anxious transmitted more rumors than participants who were not anxious. Pezzo and Beckstead also found that “situational anxiety moderates the effects of rumor anxiety... the effect of rumor anxiety on transmission of different rumors was only significant for participants reporting high situational anxiety” (97). When situational anxiety was low, rumor anxiety levels did not matter. The two psychologists were surprised when they found out this bit of information because they believed that “both sources of anxiety combine to produce a single phenomenological experience in people” (97). The information that the two psychologists found out proves that they interpreted the data fairly and accurately, they did not have