In the article, “A Psychology of Rumor” by Robert H. Knapp, he discusses how rumors begin, classifications of rumors and what makes a good rumor. Knapp tells us that a rumor is a way for people to communicate, whether the rumor is false. He also tells us that when a rumor is spread, the message changes. Knapp makes it clear in his article that once a rumor has circulated, people will twist and distort the message, making rumors inaccurate. Knapp then explains that people believe rumors for three reasons - people feel the need to spread information, rumors supposedly provide us with information we need to know and rumors give people a “feeling”. It's the emotional need Knapp talks about that drives people to spread rumors. Knapp explains
Summary #3 – “Campus Diversity and Student Self-Segregation: Separating Myths from Facts” by Debra Humphreys
Conversation Analysis (CA) is the study of talk-within-interaction that attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction in conversation. It is a method of qualitative analysis developed by Harvey Sacks with the aid of Emmanuel Schegloff and Gail Jefferson in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Using the CA frame of mind to view stories shows us that what we may think to be simplistic relaying of information or entertaining our friends is in fact a highly organised social phenomena that is finely tuned in a way that expresses the teller’s motivation behind the talk. (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 2011). It is suggested that CA relies on three main assumptions; talk is a form of social action, action is structurally organised, talk creates and maintains inter-subjectivity (Atkinson & Heritage, 1984).
“Labeling theory,” which states that our self-identity and behavior can be altered by the names or terms that people use to describe or classify us. Labeling is using descriptive terms to categorize or classify something or someone. Sometimes these labels can have positive impacts on our life or as Amanat’s mentioned that these labels can limit our full potential to do anything by believing that people’s expectation about us is how we should define ourselves. In doing so, we act against our true nature because we’re trying to live up to others expectations or deny their assumptions.
"People resist the disconfirmation of these things," Bradd Shore says. "They want them to be true”(Rosellini). What I consider that this quote means is that people want something to believe in. They occasionally dramatize events that were only miniature events. For example, Bigfoot, a 7 foot hairy ape like creature could only be a person in a suit smiling as you run away. Bigfoot's evidence, sightings, and reports are all a hoax. From pranksters, suits in ice blocks, and false evidence, Bigfoot will turn out to be a big bogus.
many different factors and many times we can very easily believe something simply because it is
An article from October 1982 “Fighting That Old Devil Rumor” by Sandra Salmans from the Saturday Evening Post talks about what Procter and gamble did to stop a rumor about them that would not go away back in 1982. What is the Purpose of this article though. The purpose is to show how fast rumors can spread, and what they can do to a company. It also shows that the company will fight back in order to keep a positive image, and to help dispense the rest of the rumor. If they are trying to dispense the rest of the rumor they are probably trying to reach adults who are 25 years and older , that are also married. In this respect of the attended audience this article succeeds. Salmans main points throughout this article get through to the intended audience, but more than that what Salmans says throughout the article helps as well. With those two points in mind that is what I use throughout this paper to analyze the article. One of the merits going for the article is when it provides an example of this rumor situation happening to another company. Then later on in the article when Procter and Gamble take charge and start suing people Salmans tells exactly who the people are. Back at the beginning of the article Salmans talks about all the different companies that Procter and Gamble own showing you how severe the situation was.
Have you ever been into a haunted house before? If so, just imagine that but one thousand times scarier. Pretty scary right? Now that you’ve got that in your head, picture a pig-like creature with red glowing eyes and slime oozing out of the wall. Great, I’ve probably just scared you off. If not, then you probably want to know what the heck I’m talking about. An urban legend is a story that is circulated as true and retold over and over through the word of mouth. The urban legend I will be telling you about is, The Amityville Horror.
As the clock hit 6:00 PM, on December 21, 2012, while waiting on tables at my job, I found myself holding hands and praying with complete strangers. Rumor had it that this was the end of the world, and life as we knew it. As Gregory Rodriguez stated in his article, “Truth Is In The Ear Of The Beholder”, “Rumors and conspiracy theories can only thrive in the minds of people who are predisposed to believe them,” (Rodriguez, 347). My coworkers, customers and I, must have all fallen for the rumor seeing as we were all in a panic as we called our loved ones, to tell them goodbye. Our digital lifestyle has undeniably accelerated the spread of rumors by using outlets such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
Lawsuits: Lawsuits play a major role in assisting the idea of false information. In late 2012, Tom Cruise sued both In Touch magazine and Life & Style magazine for saying he did not see his daughter for an immense amount of time after Cruise and his wife, Katie Holmes, got divorced. Cruise demanded these stories were not true and won the lawsuit, receiving 50 million dollars. According to an article from CNN written by Alan Duke, “Life & Style cover carried the headline ‘SURI IN TEARS, ABANDONED BY HER DAD’ along with a photo of the child. There was no accompanying text to explain the headline.” Obviously, this magazine did not have any former material to support that headline. Britney Spears has sued the tabloids multiple times over her years of fame. One of these incidents occurred after US Weekly published pictures of Spears and her now ex-husband Kevin Federline on their honeymoon, which the magazine says were sold to them by Britney. Of course, she denied selling any pictures and this situation ended in court. Referring to Ellen Rosner Feig’s piece, Britney Sues The Tabloids...Again, US Weekly replied to this stating, "Britney should start her own magazine if she'd like to dictate her own coverage." All in all, the upbringing of lawsuits is one of the leading cases of how the media manipulates celebrity stories for more interest from viewers.
The most common mistake made by every other man is that they fail to understand the true meaning of the word propaganda and relate it as source of false information. They must realize that the information being propagated does not carry false facts but interprets the existing facts in another special illustration of ideas; however they may contain only some parts of truth. The common feature of the information propagated it is either reflects the existing situation from a different perspective or give complete details of the account. The propagandist aims to change opinions beliefs and understandings of his victim regarding the situation only to influence the actions and decisions relati...
contemporary life. Paul Weber’s “the Rumour"(figure.3.115) shows a snake wrecking its way through a building. As in Aesop's Fables, Weber also used animals illustrated disturbing human characteristics. The snake signifying falsity has large pointed ears of an eavesdropper. The devastating effects of rumour are shown. The rumour spreads like wildfire was shown in the cartoon ‘Die latrinenparole lauft…’ (figure3.119) from Germany. It shows how a "latrine rumour" passed onto one person at 2 p.m. would rapidly spread, so by 3:30 p.m. thousands of people would have heard the scandalous story. In a similar representation from Britain (figure.3.104) an anti-rumour cartoon shows a rumour emanating from a telephone booth passing on to huge number
Neil Simon's farce, Rumors, gives readers an in-depth look at the lives of ten wealthy individuals attending a dinner party. In an attempt to stay within the social crown, the characters start unsubstantiated rumors about their friends in an attempt to make themselves look better. The hosts of the party, Ken Gorman, and his wife Chris must cover up the fact that a friend of theirs, Charley Brock, has been shot in the ear lobe. They do not know how he got shot, but they decide that he must have tried to commit suicide, and thereby proceed to spread rumors about what they have heard in an attempt to avoid a possible attempted suicide scandal. They first lie to Charley's personal doctor, they lie about what happened to all of the servants, and they finally about a second gunshot heard in the house. When the Gormans first encounter Charley in his bedroom, they immediately call his personal doctor at the theater to tell him that Charley feels just fine.
What role does gossip have in society? What significance does it have in the formation of both disputes and disclosures? Gossip is commonly believed to be a cause of conflict between individuals in society; however, one can assert that it can also be beneficial via means of influence. In being influenced, people can harness the gossip for their benefit. Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility approaches gossip in a way that shows how it can both resolve and initiate conflicts within the novel’s plot. By exemplifying gossip from this approach, Austen’s novel encapsulates it’s both detrimental and beneficial uses. Gossip exacerbates emerging conflicts because of the both positive or negative influences it has on characters’ perceptions of each other. I will argue that the novel uses conflict-causing and conflict-resolving properties of gossip as a device for moving and turning the plot, demonstrating that to understand the novel, we have to also understand that social conversations, even the most idle and frivolous ones, are what push the plot; the things that are most important in Austen’s world — reputation, marriage, social relationships — are extremely vulnerable to influence by gossip. In this essay, I will analyze three moments of gossip that exemplify consequences of conflict-causing, conflict-resolving, and both, respectively.
There are three types of rumors, the pipe-dream rumor, the Bogie rumor, and the Wedge-driving Aggression rumor. The Pipe-dream rumor can be characterized as the expressions of the hopes and wishes of those among they circulate. The Bogie rumor is the exact opposite of the Pipe-dream, whereas instead of the expressing the hopes and wishes it expresses the fears and anxieties. The Wedge-driving Aggression rumor has the central motivation of aggression or hatred. It’s named this because it has the effect of dividing groups and destroying loyalties.
Unfortunately, we have all been guilty of gossip at one time or another, and we have all been the victims of it too. I think there are three possible responses for when we encounter gossip. We could speak out, and kindly, but firmly tell the person that gossip is hurtful and that no one benefits from it. We could turn the conversation around by saying something nice about the person being talked about. Alternatively, we could walk away and not be a part of the problem by sticking around to listen. Gossip is wrong and we should uphold our beliefs.