اثر آب‌سردکن: راهنمای ضروری برای درک و بهره‌برداری از قدرت شایعات

"A fresh look at informal communication, and how information spreads rapidly...An absorbing and compelling book." -Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs "Nicholas DiFonzo is one of the world's experts on why rumors spread. If you've ever wondered where rumors come from or whether some new rumor is true, this book will fascinate you." - Chip Heath, coauthor of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die During the 2008 presidential election, both campaigns sought to detect, decipher, and defuse a host of derogatory rumors. After Hurricane Katrina, rumors swirled about stranded residents shooting rescue workers. Tipping off the economic crisis, costly rumors crippled financial institutions as they flew through the stock market. Pyschologist Nicholas DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than fifteen years, and in this book he shows how the process that gave rise to these troubling rumors is fundamentally the same as a tête-à-tête around the company watercooler. With The Watercooler Effect , you'll learn: *how businesses or campaigns can control destructive rumors *how to sort fact from fiction *why a "no comment" response can be more detrimental than helpful *how an organization can increase trust from within *why rumors can actually become more truthful the more they spread DiFonzo argues that rumors stem from our deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world and are a window into both individual and group psychology. Using fascinating case studies and surprising research findings, The Watercooler Effect gives you the tools to find the truth behind the rumor.

A deeply revealing look at why we spread rumors, why we believe them, and how they affect our behavior.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, rumors were flying about stranded residents shooting rescue workers. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bottling Group’s business was devastated by false rumors that its soda contained sterilizers.

Psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than fifteen years, and in this book he shows that the process that gave rise to these troubling rumors is fundamentally the same as a tete-a'-tete around the company watercooler.

Why are rumors a ubiquitous aspect of the human experience— whether they’re about plots to wipe out the urban poor through sterilizers or a company’s plan to downsize? Armed with entertaining examples from all spheres of life, DiFonzo asserts that rumors are a window into both individual and group psychology.

DiFonzo ultimately argues that rumors stem from our deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world. As social beings, when confronted with an ambiguous or threatening situation, our response is to talk to one another—whether at the dinner table, on the Web, or around the watercooler.

Publishers Weekly

DiFonzo, a professor of psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology whose work on rumors was featured in the New York Times Magazine 's 2006 Year in Ideas issue, uncovers some surprising facts about rumors: what they are and why we spread them, listen to them and believe them. Drawing on a host of studies, DiFonzo illustrates how rumors are a fundamental phenomenon of social beings. Rumors are created by people who are in unclear or confusing situations and want desperately to find an explanation. There are different varieties of rumors: they can express something much wished for (year-end bonuses), while others are a form of propaganda. Rumors can be a remarkably efficient way of spreading information: a study of military gossip during WWII found that the grapevine passed information just as accurately as-and more quickly than-official channels. But gossip drives wedges between people as often as it binds them. Viral rumors, spread repeatedly by e-mail, can gain credibility from repetition, and such repetition can turn a rumor into a self-fulfilling prophecy: banks fail, stocks tank. DiFonzo's clear explanations and entertaining examples make for thoughtful reading. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A deeply revealing look at why we spread rumors, why we believe them, and how they affect our behavior . During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, rumors were flying about stranded residents shooting rescue workers. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bottling Groups business was devastated by false rumors that its soda contained sterilizers. Psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than fifteen years, and in this book he shows that the process that gave rise to these troubling rumors is fundamentally the same as a tete-a`-tete around the company watercooler. Why are rumors a ubiquitous aspect of the human experience whether theyre about plots to wipe out the urban poor through sterilizers or a companys plan to downsize? Armed with entertaining examples from all spheres of life, DiFonzo asserts that rumors are a window into both individual and group psychology. DiFonzo ultimately argues that rumors stem from our deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world. As social beings, when confronted with an ambiguous or threatening situation, our response is to talk to one anotherwhether at the dinner table, on the Web, or around the watercooler. To rumor is human -- Swimming in rumors : the prevalence and power of hearsay -- It's clear that it's unclear : how rumors help us make sense of an uncertain world -- A family resemblance : gossip and urban legend, rumor's close cousins -- It's a small world around the watercooler : how, why, and where we spread rumors -- Believe it, or not : why we believe some rumors and not others -- Facts are stubborn things : taking stock of the word on the street -- Managing the rumor mill An analysis of the human drive to perpetuate rumors shares examples from all walks of life to argue that rumors stem from a deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world, in an account that offers insight into both individual and group psychology as it pertains to gossip behavior. 20,000 first printing. Shows that the process that gives rise to national rumors is fundamentally the same as those that arise around the company watercooler. Why do some rumors persist even in the fact of well-publicized facts to the contrary? Why do we pass on information without verifying that it's true?