In ""Rumor Psychology: Social and Organizational Approaches"", expert rumor researchers Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia investigate how rumors start and spread, the accuracy of different types of rumor, and how rumors can be controlled, particularly given their propagation across media outlets and within organizations. Rumors are an enduring feature of our social and organizational landscapes. They attract attention, evoke emotion, incite involvement, affect attitudes and actions - and they are ubiquitous. Rumor transmission is motivated by three broad psychological motivations - fact-finding, relationship-enhancement, and self-enhancement - all of which help individuals and groups make sense in the face of uncertainty. Rumor is closely entwined with a host of social and organizational phenomena, including social cognition, attitude formation and maintenance, prejudice and stereotyping, group dynamics, interpersonal and intergroup relations, social influence, and organizational trust and communication. Organizational rumors, in contrast with natural disaster rumors, tend to be highly accurate, with accuracy being affected by cognitive, motivational, situational, group, and network factors. DiFonzo and Bordia describe how managers can most effectively manage and refute rumors and infer that employee trust in management inhibits rumor activity.

In the early '40s, rumors about World War II began to spread throughout the United States. The U.S. government was worried about the possible dangers of these rumors and the adverse effects that they could have on American society. The U.S.A. entered World War II on December 8, 1941, and to fight rumors dangerous to national security, the U.S. government decided to encourage social scientists to study the phenomenon of rumors. After the war, Allport and Postman published The Psychology of Rumor (1947). This study was a breakthrough in social psychology. Allport and Postman (1947) defined rumors as propositions of faith on specific (or current) topics that pass from person to person, usually by word of mouth, without evidence of their truth. We have republished, as a facsimile edition, Allport's original work of 1947. This book has been formatted from its original version for publication. IMPORTANT, although we have attempted to maintain the integrity of this title accurately, the present reproduction could have minor errors due to the age of the original scanned copy.

Rumors may be the oldest medium of mass communication of information or ideas. Even before there were newspapers, radio, or television, rumors communicated by word-of-mouth made and shattered reputations, and set off riots and wars. Yet contrary to predictions, rumors continue to thrive, in spite of and parallel to mass media. What accounts for the puzzling persistence and continuing significance of this little-studied social phenomenon? Jean-No;el Kapferer examines the theory and practice of rumors, focusing on specific areas such as entertainment, criminal behavior, business and finance, and politics. He describes the kinds of conditions that give birth to rumors, why we believe them, and the hidden messages they convey. Kapferer points out that rumors frequently serve useful social purposes and present rich examples. He speculates about how rumors can be controlled, changed, and prevented. Drawing upon contributions of disciplines ranging from psychology to history, and integrating the insights of Europeans with the latest work of American researchers, this is the most comprehensive examination of rumors, gossip, and urban legends yet published. Translated into nine languages, this edition was updated with advances in theory and research since the book's original French publication in 1987. Its brisk, accessible style makes the book of interest to psychologists, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and folklore analysts, as well as the general reader who is curious about the origins of this fascinating social phenomenon.

This volume examines organizational change from the employee's perspective.

Many of us are being misled. Claiming to know dark secrets about public officials, hidden causes of the current economic situation, and nefarious plans and plots, those who spread rumors know precisely what they are doing. And in the era of social media and the Internet, they know a lot about how to manipulate the mechanics of false rumors—social cascades, group polarization, and biased assimilation. They also know that the presumed correctives—publishing balanced information, issuing corrections, and trusting the marketplace of ideas—do not always work. All of us are vulnerable. In On Rumors, Cass Sunstein uses examples from the real world and from behavioral studies to explain why certain rumors spread like wildfire, what their consequences are, and what we can do to avoid being misled. In a new afterword, he revisits his arguments in light of his time working in the Obama administration.

Thrills and chills descend on the town of Nightshade during Halloween in this fourth book in the series, following Dead Is So Last Year. As the creepy little town of Nightshade prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary—on Halloween, of course—many of its paranormal residents are receiving mysterious blackmail letters. Psychic teen Daisy Giordano and her sisters set out to find out who is behind the threats. But launching an investigation isn’t easy for Daisy with her overprotective father watching her every move. Though she’s is happy to have him back after the years he spent being held captive by an anti-paranormal group called the Scourge, Dad is having a difficult time adjusting to home life—and the fact that his little girl is now a senior in high school. He even disapproves of Daisy’s boyfriend, Ryan. Can their relationship take the strain? And Daisy’s got even more on her plate: A talented amateur chef, she has won cooking lessons with celebrity chef Circe Silvertongue. After nosing around (with a little help from Circe’s pet pig), Daisy begins to suspect the temperamental chef’s secrets aren’t only in her ingredients . . . Praise for the Dead Is series “[Perez] delivers a wise-cracking, boy-lusting, determined sleuth of a high school protagonist . . . this quick, lighter-than-air spoof of the undead, cheerleaders and popularity is pure pleasure.”—Publishers Weekly “A fun ride from start to finish. Perez’s smart and sassy style soars.”—Mary E. Pearson, author of the Remnant Chronicles “[A] quick, lively romp . . . Teens looking for a breezy read will find plenty to like here.”—Booklist

"Originally published by Ballantine Books, New York, in 1959."

Jung's previously unpublished essay "Ein Beitrag zur Psychologie des Gerüchtes" is his account of a case he was asked to consult on at a school involving a thirteen-year-old pupil, Marie X., who was expelled from school for spreading a rumor about her teacher. The rumor originated from a dream Marie shared with friends, describing a series of events involving her teacher in ambiguous sexual contexts. Jung decided that the rumors were modified by the immaturity of the schoolmates, and recommended to the school that the student be re-admitted. In this work, Jung examines the role of projection—the unconscious act of attributing one's own feelings, thoughts, or motives onto others—as a central factor in how rumors are created and sustained. According to Jung, rumors are often driven by unconscious fears and desires, and they reveal underlying psychological and cultural anxieties that are shared by a group. He argues that as rumors spread, they undergo a process of transformation and amplification, often becoming more fantastical as each person adds their own interpretation or emotional weight. Jung also emphasizes the collective nature of rumors, suggesting that they are not merely individual acts of misinformation, but are deeply rooted in the collective unconscious, where shared symbols, archetypes, and fears influence the content and form of the rumor. He uses this analysis to suggest that rumors can be seen as a reflection of the psychological state of a community or society, offering insights into the fears, desires, and unspoken tensions that lie beneath the surface. This essay is a critical contribution to Jung's broader work on the collective unconscious and the role of shared psychic phenomena in shaping human behavior.

Psychologist DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than 15 years, and in this book he argues that rumors--and the tendency to believe them without question--stem from people's deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world.