Explanatory Synthesis: Psychology Of Rumors And Rumors
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Explanatory Synthesis
There is always an increasing interest in gossip and rumors. Research indicates that rumors have been cyclical and gossip, on the other hand, has been dormant not until the recent past. This is according to Fosters research on psychology of rumors and gossip in the year 2004. The rate at which gossip and rumors flew during World War II caused great alarm and offered false hope to others. The degree with which rumors were treated as factual information threatened the morale of people and put national security to high risk. Generally, rumors and gossip can be a platform for fostering great divide and has the potential of leading many into war.
Discussion and Analysis
Innuendos…show more content… The moral question generated form the era of speed in communication is, who believes the erroneous information and what should be done to reverse the implications that come with falsified information? The general public has a general hunger for information and as such intelligence is a culture that needs to be cultivated in people in order to counter the malicious information cycles.
The political arena is perhaps the best avenue to explore the relevance of this topic. It is said that concerted political theatrics reach the people in great proportions and what people accept largely depends not just on the content but also on their political standing. The ethical question from this point is whether people allow such information to sink in or whether such information is lightly taken as cheap talk.
Rumour defined is the information that has been applied in many ways on the prevailing conversations. The relationship between this form of communication information and other forms of information such as urban legend and gossip has posed great concern among scholars. Rumours cannot be considered as mere idle talk with questionable authenticity but such can be a source of serious consequences. Rumors are said to emerge mainly in the cause of serious uncertainty and imminent crisis (Allport & Postman 2-17). This is because at such a time rumors are quick spreading due to the favorability of the…show more content… A classical analysis by Allport and Postman in the year 1947 on how rumors grow out of an investigative undertaking on rumors concerning special privilege and waste in the programs of rationing in World War II was conducted (Allport & Postman 3-36). In this undertaking it was found out that indeed information concerning rationing programs happened to be true. The government of the United States had carried out a study on the dissemination of rumors among people through the war information office.
The drive for rumours is mainly the curiosity among people and the increasing desire to know more. Negative rumor is not necessarily unwholesome or outrageous for that matter. The value rumors serve is maintenance of a social fabric (DiFonzo & Prashant 50). The best way to help stop a rumor is to allow it to flow. This may sound as careless lack of cognizance but it helps.
The importance of not dignifying rumors through responding to them is important in order to underscore the understanding of what rumors really are. Responding to rumors sanitizes them and makes them legitimate. It is important, therefore, to allow rumors be rumors. The common political theatrics and the exchange of verbal justifications across political divides to a large extent legitimize rumors, catalyzes their dissemination and leaves the people guessing on where the truth might