We all know that rumours and allegations are often long-lasting. False insinuations spread via spoken words or facial expressions and gestures persist in the organization for a long time, even if the facts and data refute them. Researchers discovered social and cognitive factors that explain the persistence of rumours and allegations.
These are here summarized:
Cognitive factors
1. Intuition („gut feeling“) through:
- Little analysis
- Less analytical thinking
2. Cognitive inaccuracy due to:
- References to sources are neglected or forgotten
- Own knowledge is not applied
- Counter-evidence is neglected
3. Illusory truth:
- Familiarity of information
- Fluency
- Cohesion with own experience
Social factors
1. Credibility of groups through:
- Hierarchies (elites)
- Degree of attraction / attractiveness
- Own social affiliation
2. World views through
- personal views
- Affiliation to a party
3. Emotions
- One’s own emotional state
- Information itself is presented emotionally
The whole study can be found under this link: Eckert et al.
