Skip to comments.
Study: Gossip Trumps Truth
LiveScience.com ^
| Oct. 15, 2007
| Jeanna Bryner
Posted on 10/15/2007 4:40:56 PM PDT by enough_idiocy
People are influenced by gossip about others, even when it contradicts what they see with their own eyes, suggests a new study.
The new study, published this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals individuals sometimes place so much stock in gossip that they accept it as true even if their own observations and experiences suggest otherwise.
"Gossip has a strong manipulative potential that could be used by cheaters to change the reputation of others or even change their own," lead author Ralf Sommerfeld of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues write. "This finding suggests that humans are used to basing their decisions on gossip, rumors or other spoken information."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: haditha; mediabias; plame; study
Apply this to politics and consider the implications of media bias. From Plame to Bush lied about Iraq WMDs to Murtha: Haditha. Once the BS story line gets out there, people are inherently reluctant to change their views.
To: enough_idiocy
Wow. This really makes people look stupid and gullible.
2
posted on
10/15/2007 4:46:22 PM PDT
by
Jorge
To: enough_idiocy
I heard that there were flaws in this study...
3
posted on
10/15/2007 5:07:38 PM PDT
by
Triggerhippie
(Always use a silencer in a crowd. Loud noises offend people.)
To: Triggerhippie
I heard the same thing. So there will only be 20 bumps to this thread...
4
posted on
10/15/2007 5:52:24 PM PDT
by
Kevmo
(We should withdraw from Iraq— via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.))
To: enough_idiocy
Lashon Hara is a sin. We must not be talebearers and accept what we hear that are detrimental to people's reputation without fully verifying the truth. A rumor is simply a story that's been passed so many times around that it bears scant resemblance to the truth. Gossip is just pure folly and one must not pay heed to it.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
5
posted on
10/15/2007 5:56:50 PM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
To: Triggerhippie
I’m sure there were. I’ve never come across a study that couldn’t be criticized in some way or another (sample size/characteristics, methodology, etc.).
6
posted on
10/15/2007 6:49:45 PM PDT
by
enough_idiocy
(www.daypo.net/test-iraq-war.html)
To: enough_idiocy
Headline should read: Why Democrats are so Successful
7
posted on
10/15/2007 10:16:54 PM PDT
by
Waryone
(Constantly amazed by society's downhill slide.)
To: Jorge
You’re right. It does make them look like Democrats.
8
posted on
10/15/2007 10:32:25 PM PDT
by
Kickass Conservative
(Guns don't kill people, gun free zones kill people)
To: Waryone
9
posted on
10/16/2007 3:33:29 PM PDT
by
enough_idiocy
(www.daypo.net/test-iraq-war.html)
To: enough_idiocy
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. "
Winston Churchill
10
posted on
10/16/2007 3:36:20 PM PDT
by
monkeycard
(There is no such thing as too much ammo.)
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson