The believability and importance of rumors were studied with three samples of college students (n=93) who were deaf. The study analyzed the effects of how frequently the student transmitted rumors and the amount of information students had about a rumor on anxiety level, extroversion orientation, and ratings of believability and importance. (SW)

Eighty deaf college students listed the current rumors they knew and number of people to whom they typically transmit rumors. These two variables were then related to anxiety level, extraversion, gender, preferred mode of communication, and type of high school attended. More anxious students knew more rumors than did less anxious deaf students.…