Around the Watercooler

Exploring the psychology of rumors.

by Nicholas DiFonzo

Urban Legends: Strange, Funny, & Horrible, with a Moral

Urban legends are narratives about strange, funny, or horrible events that could have happened, the details of which change to fit particular locales and time periods, and which frequently contain a moral lesson. They help people amuse themselves, transmit cultural norms and values, and express commonly held fears. Read More

Gossip Part 2: The Bad, the Good, and the Ugly

What's bad, what's good, and what's ugly about gossip. Read More

Gossip Part 1: Portrait of a 20th-century Washington Gossip

"If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." Read More

The Gossip Paradox

It's been a couple of months since Tiger Woods's private affairs dominated national news, and activity on this front has by no means ceased. Read More

Political Rumors in the 2008 Election.

The 2008 election has seen a plethora of false, derogatory and damaging rumors. Some of the most common falsehoods: Barack Obama is a Muslim. Sarah Palin is Trig's grandmother. John McCain had an affair with an attractive lobbyist. Read More

To Rumor Is Human

The Snopes family is a fictitious collection of characters from the novels of American author William Faulkner. The Snopes are a populous and pernicious lot—in true Faulkner style, they include arsonists, bigamists, con-men, extortionists, and usurers. Regularly consumed with revenge and driven by ambition, they are not a very pleasant set of relations. Read More

Nicholas DiFonzo is Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and author of The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors.

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