Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-nx7b4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-03T11:12:24.488Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rumor, Gossip and Urban Legends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Nicholas DiFonzo  and
Prashant Bordia
Nicholas DiFonzo
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology
Prashant Bordia
Affiliation:
University of South Australia, Adelaide
Get access

Extract

The terms ‘gossip’ and ‘urban legend’ are often used interchangeably with ‘rumor’ by both naïve laypersons and professional scholars. Consider our students as naïve laypersons: When asked to evaluate the terms ‘rumor’ and ‘gossip’ along certain dimensions, they rate them almost identically. When asked to ‘think of a rumor’, they frequently report a scandalous tidbit of gossip. Similarly, some of our colleagues - professional scholars of rumor, gossip and/or urban legends - also tend to use these terms interchangeably. For example, participants at a recent interdisciplinary conference on rumor and legend came to no consensus over what distinguishes rumor from legend; scholars of rumor and gossip at a recent conference of social psychologists also argued over whether rumor could be differentiated from gossip. This conceptual fuzziness has been noted for some time (Ojha, 1973). And though much progress has been made in sharpening the construct of rumor (Fine, 1985; Rosnow and Georgoudi, 1985; Rosnow and Kimmel, 2000), ambiguities still remain.

Meaningful and important differences do exist, however. In this article we further clarify the concept of rumor and distinguish it from its two cousins, gossip and urban legend. The source of conceptual difficulties has arisen from insufficient attention to the context and function of these genres of informal communication, and conversely, overmuch attention to content.2 We therefore posit a definition of rumor focused upon contexts, functions and contents. We also examine contexts, functions and contents of gossip and urban legends, and explore similarities and differences between these three forms of social discourse. We begin with rumor.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Diogenes , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , February 2007 , pp. 19 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © ICPHS 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abalakina-Paap, M. and Stephan, W. G. (1999) ‘Beliefs in Conspiracies’, Journal of Political Psychology 20: 637–647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agnes, M. (ed.) (1996) Webster’s New World Dictionary and Thesaurus. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Allport, G. W. and Postman, L. J. (1947) ‘An Analysis of Rumor’, Public Opinion Quarterly 10: 501–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, R. A. and Gleicher, D. B. (1953) ‘Word-of-Mouth Communication in the Soviet Union’, Public Opinion Quarterly 17: 297–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., Zhang, L. and Vohs, K. D. (2004) ‘Gossip as Cultural Learning’, Review of General Psychology 8: 111–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, G. (1985) ‘What’s Modern about the Modern Legend?’, Fabula 26: 219–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bordia, P. and DiFonzo, N. (2004) ‘Problem Solving in Social Interactions on the Internet: Rumor as Social Cognition’, Social Psychology Quarterly 67: 33–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bordia, P. and DiFonzo, N. (2005) ‘Psychological Motivations in Rumor Spread’, in Fine, G. A., Heath, C. and Campion-Vincent, V. (eds), Rumor Mills: The Social Impact of Rumor and Legend, pp. 87–101. New York: Aldine Press.Google Scholar
Bordia, P., DiFonzo, N., Haines, R. and Chaseling, L. (2005) ‘Rumor Denials as Persuasive Messages: Effects of Personal Relevance, Source, and Message Characteristics’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 35: 1301–1331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunvand, J. H. (1981) The Vanishing Hitchhiker. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Brunvand, J. H. (1984) The Choking Doberman. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Cantera, K. (2002) ‘Vigilant Utahns’, The Salt Lake Tribune, p. A1–A1, 3 January.Google Scholar
Caplow, T. (1947) ‘Rumors in War’, Social Forces 25: 298–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coughlin, P. T. (1999) Secrets, Plots, and Hidden Agendas: What You Didn’t Know about Conspiracy Theories. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R., Nelson, D. A., Morales, J. R., Cullerton-Sen, C., Casas, J. F. and Hickman, S. (2001) ‘Relational Victimization in Childhood and Adolescence: I Hurt You through the Grapevine’, in Juvonen, J. and Graham, S. (eds), School-based Peer Harassment: The Plight of the Vulnerable and Victimized, pp. 196–214. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
DiFonzo, N. (2005) [Rumors reported in December 2005, NPR web survey]. Unpublished raw data.Google Scholar
DiFonzo, N. and Bordia, P. (2007) Rumor Psychology: Social and Organizational Approaches. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiFonzo, N. and Bordia, P. (in press) ‘Rumors Influence: Toward a Dynamic Social Impact Theory of Rumor’, in Pratkanis, A. R. (ed.), The Science of Social Influence. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
DiFonzo, N., Bordia, P. and Rosnow, R. L. (1994) ‘Reining in Rumors’, Organizational Dynamics 23(1): 47–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dingwall, R. (2001) ‘Contemporary Legends, Rumours and Collective Behaviour: Some Neglected Resources for Medical Sociology?’, Sociology of Health and Illness 23: 180–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, R. I. M. (2004) ‘Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective’, Review of General Psychology 8: 100–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dwyer, J. C. and Drew, C. (2005) ‘Fear Exceeded Crime’s Reality in New Orleans’, The New York Times, NY, pp. A1–A1, A22–A22 (29 September).Google Scholar
Eder, D. and Enke, J. L. (1991) ‘The Structure of Gossip: Opportunities and Constraints on Collective Expression among Adolescents’, American Sociological Review 56: 494–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fine, G. A. (1985) ‘Rumors and Gossiping’, in Handbook of Discourse Analysis, Vol. 3, pp. 223–237. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Fine, G. A. (1992) Manufacturing Tales: Sex and Money in Contemporary Legends. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.Google Scholar
Fiske, S. T. (2004) Social Beings: A Core Motives Approach to Social Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Foster, E. K. (2004) ‘Research on Gossip: Taxonomy, Methods, and Future Directions’, Review of General Psychology 8: 78–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, E. K. and Rosnow, R. L. (2006) ‘Gossip and Network Relationships: The Processes of Constructing and Managing Difficult Interaction, in Kirkpatrick, D. C., Duck, S. and Foley, M. K. (eds), Relating Difficulty, pp. 161–201. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Frankl, V. E. (1959) Man’s Search for Meaning: From Death-camp to Existentialism. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Freedman, A. M. (1991) ‘Rumor Turns Fantasy into Bad Dream’, The Wall Street Journal, pp. B1–B1, B5–B5 (10 May).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Georgoudi, M. and Rosnow, R. L. (1985) ‘Notes toward a Contextualist Understanding of Social Psychology’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 11: 5–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillin, B. (2005) ‘Tales of Mass Murder, Rape Proving False’, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, NY, p. 7A–7A (28 September).Google Scholar
Gluckman, , (1963) ‘Gossip and Scandal’, Current Anthropology 4: 307–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, C., Bell, C. and Sternberg, E. (2001) ‘Emotional Selection in Memes: The Case of Urban Legends’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81: 1028–1041.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hom, H. and Haidt, J. (2002) ‘Psst, Did You Hear?: Exploring the Gossip Phenomenon’, Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychologists, Savannah, GA.Google Scholar
Jaeger, M. E., Skleder, A. A., Rind, B. and Rosnow, R. L. (1994) ‘Gossip, Gossipers, Gossipees’, in Goodman, R. F. and Ben-Zeev, A. (eds), Good Gossip, pp. 154–168. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Kapferer, J.-N. (1987/1990) Rumors: Uses, Interpretations and Images (B. Fink, Trans.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. (Original work published 1987 as Rumeurs: Le Plus Vieux Média du Monde [Rumors: The world’s oldest media]. Paris: Editions du Seuil).Google Scholar
Kelley, S. R. (2004) Rumors in Iraq: A guide to winning hearts and minds. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Retrieved 16 November 2004 from http://theses.nps.navy.mil/04Sep_Kelley.pdfGoogle Scholar
Kless, S. J. (1992) ‘The Attainment of Peer Status: Gender and Power Relationships in the Elementary School’, Sociological Studies of Child Development 5: 115–148.Google Scholar
Knapp, R. H. (1944) ‘A Psychology of Rumor’, Public Opinion Quarterly 8: 22–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurland, N. B. and Pelled, L. H. (2000) ‘Passing the Word: Toward a Model of Gossip and Power in the Workplace’, Academy of Management Review 25: 428–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lerbinger, O. (1997) The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk and Responsibility. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Marks, A. (2001) ‘From Survival Tales to Attack Predictions, Rumors Fly’, The Christian Science Monitor, p. 2–2 (23 October).Google Scholar
Maundeni, T. (2001) ‘The Role of Social Networks in the Adjustment of African Students to British Society: Students’ Perceptions’, Race, Ethnicity and Education 4: 253–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAndrew, F. T. and Milenkovic, M. A. (2002) ‘Of Tabloids and Family Secrets: The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32: 1064–1082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michelson, G. and Mouly, S. (2000) ‘Rumour and Gossip in Organizations: A Conceptual Study’, Management Decision 38(5): 339–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, D. L. (1985) Introduction to Collective Behavior. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Mirik, D. K., Davis, S. and Thomas, D. B. (2002) ‘Antiperspirant Use and the Risk of Breast Cancer’, Journal of the National Cancer Institute 94(20): 1578–1578 (16 October).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mullen, P. B. (1972) ‘Modern Legend and Rumor Theory’, Journal of the Folklore Institute 9: 95–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noon, M. and Delbridge, R. (1993) ‘News from Behind My Hand: Gossip in Organizations’, Organization Studies 14: 23–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ojha, A. B. (1973) ‘Rumour Research: An Overview’, Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology 10: 56–64.Google Scholar
Rimer, S. (1992) ‘American Dream Put on Hold at Car Plant Doomed to Shut’, The New York Times, pp. 1–1, 40–40 (7 September).Google Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. (1974) ‘On Rumor’, Journal of Communication 24(3): 26–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. (1991) ‘Inside Rumor: A Personal Journey’, American Psychologist 46: 484–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. (2001) ‘Rumor and Gossip in Interpersonal Interaction and Beyond: A Social Exchange Perspective’, in Kowalski, R. M. (ed.), Behaving Badly: Aversive Behaviors in Interpersonal Relationships, pp. 203–232. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. and Fine, G. A. (1976) Rumor and Gossip: The Social Psychology of Hearsay. New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. and Georgoudi, M. (1985) ‘“Killed by Idle Gossip”: The Psychology of Small Talk’, in Rubin, B. (ed.), When Information Counts: Grading the Media, pp. 59–74. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Rosnow, R. L. and Kimmel, A. J. (2000) ‘Rumor’, in Kazdin, A. E. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychology, Vol. 7, pp. 122–123. NewYork: Oxford University Press and American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R. and Snyder, S. S. (1982) ‘Changing the World and Changing the Self: A Two-process Model of Perceived Control’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42: 5–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabini, J. and Silver, M. (1982) Moralities of Everyday Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shibutani, T. (1966) Improvised News: A Sociological Study of Rumor. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill.Google Scholar
Slackman, M. (2003) ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), p. F1–F1 (14 June).Google Scholar
Smith, L. C., Lucas, K. C. and Latkin, C. (1999) ‘Rumor and Gossip: Social Discourse on HIV and AIDS’, Anthropology and Medicine 6: 121–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suls, J. M. (1977) ‘Gossip as Social Comparison’, Journal of Communication 27: 164–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, P. A. (1993) I Heard It through the Grapevine: Rumor in African-American Culture. Berkeley, CA: SAGE Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, P. A. and Fine, G. A. (2001) Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America. Berkeley, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Turner, R. H. (1964) ‘Collective Behavior’, in Faris, R. E. L. (ed.), Handbook of Modern Sociology, pp. 382–425. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Turner, R. H. (1994) ‘Rumor as Intensified Information Seeking: Earthquake Rumors in China and the United States’, in Dynes, R. R. and Tierney, K. J. (eds), Disasters, Collective Behavior, and Social Organization, pp. 244–256. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press.Google Scholar
US Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs (2005) ‘The 4000 Jews Rumor’ (14 January). Retrieved 18 December 2005 from http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2005/Jan/14-260933.htmlGoogle Scholar
Verses, Foiled Again! (2004, August 23). Retrieved 5 December 2005 from http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/bibleverse.aspGoogle Scholar
Van der Linden, P. and Chan, T. (2003) ‘What is an Urban Legend?’, retrieved August 2003 from http://www.urbanlegends.com/afu.faq/index.htmGoogle Scholar
Victor, J. S. (1989) ‘A Rumor-Panic about a Dangerous Satanic Cult in Western New York’, New York Folklore 15(1-2): 23–49.Google Scholar
Walker, C. J. (1996) ‘Perceived Control in Wish and Dread Rumors’, Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Meeting, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Walker, C. J. and Blaine, B. (1991) ‘The Virulence of Dread Rumors: A Field Experiment’, Language and Communication 11: 291–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, C. J. and Struzyk, D. (1998) ‘Evidence for a Social Conduct Moderating Function of Common Gossip’, Paper presented to the International Society for the Study of Close Relationships, Saratoga Springs.Google Scholar
Wert, S. R. and Salovey, P. (2004) ‘A Social Comparison Account of Gossip’, Review of General Psychology 8: 122–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilke, J. R. (1986) Rumor as a social phenomenon: An analysis of three crisis rumors of the 1970s. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Auburn University.Google Scholar