Becoming Better Rumor Consumers

I serve a congregation in the midst of calling a new pastor.  It is a highly anxious time and thus a time when rumors can fly at the speed of light.  For example, some rumors assume that someone is manipulating the process for sinister ends.  That someone might be our judicatory staff or the larger denomination or...me...or...well, take your pick (no sinister purposes are at work--just the normal operations of a church system).  These conversations are understandable responses to passing time, limited information and a desire for leadership stability.  So I don't get too worked up about them.  This is all so very natural.

In such situations we can become more intelligent rumor consumers.  DiFonzo describes factors that increase the prevalence and virulence of rumors in an organization.  Awareness of these factors can equip us to be more self-critical as we listen to rumors and to ask more critical questions as we process them.

Poorly organized descriptions of events and responses to rumors tend to increase the credibility of a rumor.  If people have a hard time following a presentation about an issue, they will likely recall the most negative and threatening material and skate over the more positive information.  We are wired for threat-detection.

The limits of memory and information processing capacity will limit how much rumor detail can be transmitted.  The things that allow us to process more information and remember it longer--familiarity, coherence, simplicity, consonance with our existing beliefs, relationship with the speaker--will all limit and influence what elements of the rumor we are able to pass on to others.  DiFonzo refers to these processes as "leveling" and "sharpening."  "Leveling" means that some details are simply obliterated in memory.  "Sharpening" means that some salient details will accentuated at the expense of others.

Human memory is not, of course, a neutral information recording device.  Remembering is a constructive process far more than it is a notation process.  Every time we remember, we are rebuilding that "file" in light of our experiences, assumptions, and priorities.  This process can be called memory "assimilation."  DiFonzo notes that "rumor is therefore like a Rorschach test in which the personality--or some other aspect of the participant--gets projected onto the tale in its retelling" The Watercooler Effect, Kindle Location 2397).  So our reception of a rumor reveals more about us than about the rumor itself.

That rumor-driven inkblot is formed by a number of factors.  

• Does rumor transmission affect my relationship with the transmitter or the recipient?
• Does rumor transmission affect my status or position in my family or community?
• Does the rumor reflect in some way on my self-image or my projected image?
• Does the rumor cohere with or contradict my understanding of the world?
• Does the rumor enhance or detract from my self-interested projects?
• Is the subject of the rumor a friend or enemy?

The list could be extended for quite a while.  Self-interest, cognitive sloth, and the desire to be liked--all these are powerful (mis)shapers of rumors as they are passed along the gossip network.  As I receive information in an organization, I can do a better job of assessing the rumors if I remember these realities.

One responsible way to deal with rumors is to become a more intelligent rumor consumer.  Coming next are some of DiFonzo's insights on rumor mill management.