Abstract: The spreading of rumors is a very common phenomenon in social life as an informal channel of exchanging information. It can affect the attitude and behavior of the public as the information spreads among people. Researchers have paid much attention to the potential harm rumors can cause, especially during World War II. The study of rumors dates back hundreds of years, during which the rumor transmission is what most concerns researchers. With the development of network and the involvement of varieties of media, not only has the content of rumors themselves changed, but the mode of transmission, the speed and breadth of the rumors have also undergone tremendous changes. The purpose of this article is to describe and summarize the study of rumors, which includes the generation, dissemination, social psychological mechanisms involved in the process of influencing factors. Rumor is defined as something that is said to be true but lacks secure standards of evidence .There exist essential differences among rumors, gossip and urban legend. The transmission of rumors is not passive. It involves rich dialogues, subjective viewpoints, inferring meaning, and varieties of unspoken messages, all within the communication. Traits of specific groups and context are two kinds of variables that significantly affect rumor transmission. When studying the spread of rumors, researchers pay the most attention to anxiety, the desire for control, trust, ambiguity, and threats. One study that focused on explaining why these factors can influence rumor transmission indicated that fact finding, relationship enhancement and self-enhancement are the three most important underlying motivations of rumor transmission. When individuals are in a fuzzy and threatening context, rumors tend to be generated which often will have a very negative impact on the individual’s life. With the development of varieties of media, the internet and other communication technology, both organizational managers and government officials face the rumor problem. Rumors can be destructive in public emergencies (natural disasters, accidents, disasters, public health emergencies, social events, etc.), as they affect the public morale and easily lead to social chaos. What’s important is that under the condition of modern information technology, the speed and scope of its breeding and spreading is difficult to predict. The emotions behind the generation and dissemination of rumors magnify and spread. In the modern information technology society, the controllability of rumor spreading will be extremely difficult, not to mention costly. Since the reform and opening up, the occurrence of major events in China has shown a rapid upward trend. Future studies should prescribe more importance to the relationship between the cluster-efficacy, trust and authority to explore how rumors lead to mass incidents. The similarities and differences among those who spread rumors are expected to reduce or even eliminate the impact of individual behavior.

Key words: rumor, rumor spread, psychological factors, psychological motivation

摘要： 谣言是指一种据称真实但未经证实的普遍流传的说法。谣言会通过社会成员之间的信息传递而影响公众的态度和行为。谣言在传播过程中，既受到个体水平上的认知和情绪变量的影响，也受到群体变量及情境变量的影响。个体传播谣言的心理动机包括寻求事实、关系提升和自我提升。谣言在突发公共事件（自然灾害、事故灾难、公共卫生事件、社会安全事件等）中具有很大的破坏性，在群体性事件中谣言的传播、扩散会使矛盾更加激化，冲突进一步升级。未来的研究需要进一步探查影响谣言传播的群体因素，从群体动力学的角度探究谣言传播的心理机制，并考虑谣言在突发社会事件中传播的特征。

关键词: 谣言, 谣言传播, 心理因素, 心理动机