Demonstration 4: The Rumor Chain Activity

In this activity, 4 volunteers are needed. Three of the volunteers went out of the room, while one stayed and listened to a story told by Mr. Anthony. The story was about a 747 Quantas airplane being hijacked by a terrorist. The story includes several names. After the first volunteer listened to the story, another volunteer came into the room and was told the same story by the first volunteer. The story carried on and changed until the last volunteer. Some part of the story got lost and some stayed until the last volunteer. There are 3 reasons that explain why some part stayed and some got lost.

First, leveling or simplifying materials. The volunteers left out some information and make the story simpler. From the story, the name of the hijackers' party was left out, the name of the pilot and some information that the story teller defined as irrelevant.
Second, sharpening or highlighting materials. This is because the information stands out; therefore, we have a higher tendency to remember it. In the story, the use of microphone stands out, magnum gun stands out.
Third, assimilation or changing story to better fit the background of the story teller. When a story teller encounters information that he/she had experienced, he/she would slightly change the information so that it fits what he/she understands. From the experiment, the information about the pilot is changed. The story originally has one pilot, but from the experience of the tellers, the story ended up with two pilots. Another example is that the word "terrorist" was used instead of "hijacker". This is because the story tellers feel more familiar with the word "terrorist".