Description
Shows that the process that gives rise to national rumors is fundamentally the same as those that arise around the company watercooler. Why do some rumors persist even in the fact of well-publicized facts to the contrary? Why do we pass on information without verifying that it's true?
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During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, rumors were flying about stranded residents shooting rescue workers. In the Indian portion of Kashmir, a rumor was circulating that answering a call from an unknown number on a cell phone would cause the phone to explode. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bottling Group's business was devastated by false rumors that its soda contained sterilizers.Nicholas DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than fifteen years, and in this illuminating, entertaining, and important book he shows that the process that gave rise to these troubling rumors is fundamentally the same as a tete-a-tete around the company watercooler. From the false rumor that John McCain fathered an illegitimate black child to the infamous "Paul McCartney is dead" rumor, why is hearsay a ubiquitous - if underappreciated - part of the human experience? Why do rumors spread with such amazing speed? Why do we believe rumors, including the really outrageous ones? Why do some rumors persist even in the face of well-publicized facts to the contrary? And why do we so often pass on information without verifying that it's true?With significant implications for business, politics, and social life. DiFonzo explores the psychology of what happens at the "watercoolers" of the world. He reveals, for example, how our biases shape information as it makes its way through society, how prejudices surface and stay afloat, how conflicts spiral out of control, why trust is paramount in human transactions, and why public relations campaigns may or may not persuade.Ultimately, DiFonzo argues that rumors exist because humans have an intrinsic desire to make sense of the world. As social beings, when confronted with an ambiguous or threatening situation, our response is to talk to one another. Rumors are the result of this collective sense-making in the face of uncertainty, and they proliferate wherever people interact: in the workplace, on the Web, within the tight networks of ethnic and religious communities, and around the watercooler.
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