Who is more likely to spread rumors? A study of the relationship be- tween critical thinking, health anxiety, helpfulness, exhibitionism, and health rumor transmission on WeChat among older adults in China

Abstract

�With the popularity of social networking sites, rumors also found their way in these sites. Health is one of the most popular rumor topics on WeChat, one of the most popular social networking sites in China [1] . Among the people who transmit health rumors, older adults have become the main force [2] . 誰更有可能散佈謠言？ 微信上中國老年人的批判性思維、健康 焦慮、樂於助人，自我宣傳癖和健康謠言傳播的關係研究王迪 1 ，茅知非 2 *(1.澳門科技大學人文藝術學院，澳門；2.深圳大學新聞與傳播學院，深圳) 關鍵詞： � 謠言；批判性思維；健康焦慮；樂於助人；自我宣傳癖Keywords: � Rumor; critical thinking; health anxiety; helpfulness; exhibitionism Classical studies on rumor mainly focused on the predictors of the transmission of specific rumor messages under extreme events, such as war or earthquake [3~4] and overlooked the group or sociocultural determinants of rumor transmission [5] . This study examined the trait predictors of the transmission of health rumor in everyday life, and included predictor variables that refl ect interpersonal infl uence. Specially, we hypothesized that older people who are low in critical thinking, high in health anxiety, helpfulness and exhibitionism are more willing to transmit rumor on SNSs.Results from a survey with Chinese older adults who are 50 years or older (n = 914) showed that critical thinking was negatively related to rumor transmission intention, helpfulness was positively related to rumor transmission intention, while health anxiety and exhibitionism were not signifi cantly related to rumor transmission intention.