Cited by 588Humor Studies and ApplicationsMisinformation and Its ImpactsFolklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies

Emotional selection in memes: The case of urban legends.

Heath, Chip, Bell, Chris, Sternberg, Emily·2001·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Abstract

This article explores how much memes like urban legends succeed on the basis of informational selection (i.e., truth or a moral lesson) and emotional selection (i.e., the ability to evoke emotions like anger, fear, or disgust). The article focuses on disgust because its elicitors have been precisely described. In Study 1, with controls for informational factors like truth, people were more willing to pass along stories that elicited stronger disgust. Study 2 randomly sampled legends and created versions that varied in disgust; people preferred to pass along versions that produced the highest level of disgust. Study 3 coded legends for specific story motifs that produce disgust (e.g., ingestion of a contaminated substance) and found that legends that contained more disgust motifs were distributed more widely on urban legend Web sites. The conclusion discusses implications of emotional selection for the social marketplace of ideas.

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Crossref · 10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1028

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38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Previous work has investigated the general role of emotion in the diffusion of messages.

    “Whereas previous work has investigated the general role of emotion in the diffusion of messages (18,19)”
  • Nonmoral emotions had a unique impact on social transmission for two out of three topics.

    “We also observed that nonmoral emotions had a unique impact on social transmission for two out of three topics, replicating prior work demonstrating the impact of emotion on online diffusion (18,19).”

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Authors
Heath, C., Bell, C., & Sternberg, E.
Affiliations
Stanford University (US)
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Published
2001-12
Volume
81
Issue
6
Pages
1028-1041
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
OpenAlex
W4244541774
Cited by
588
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 31
FWCI
9.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Humor Studies and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies
Keywords
urban legends, memes, emotional contagion, emotional arousal
MeSH terms
Affect, Choice Behavior, Humans, Mythology, Psychological Theory, Social Environment, Urbanization

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