TENDENCIES OF RUMOR CHANGE: A NEW OUTLOOK

Аннотация

Allport and Postman’s concept of rumor changes is analyzed with due regard to its recent modifications. An alternative approach to the problem is suggested, the basic principle of which is conformity of the information transmitted to the interlocutors’ intellectual and emotional activity. Short-lived communication micro groups are treated as the subjects of rumor change, and concrete mechanisms of introducing changes are viewed as those determined by the interactive nature of the rumor discourse between the interlocutors performing definite communicative roles. This approach gives grounds for singling out three tendencies in rumor changing processes: implication which consists in restoring the completeness of information; credition providing its subjective credibility, and dramatization, connected with the increase of tension in the emotional background of the interaction.