Rumor chain activity
A story is told to a classmate. Then is retold to another. Then to another. The final story is quite different from the original. First, the story is leveled out. Many fine details are omitted in the second retelling. One for example is the fact that the hijacker is fighting for the peoples’ revolutionary army. Also some minor irrelevant details are sharpened. For example, the reemphasis of the fact that the gun was a 357 magnum. Or that the flight was of the QANTAS International. Assimilation also had a powerful effect on this story. The fact that the pilot was a woman is changed to a man. The air hostess was introduced as a man but was retold as a woman. The names of both characters were switched as well. This is unconsciously done to so that the event will better fit out schemas of a plane-hijacking incident. Serial positioning also had an effect on the story told. The final story and the first one were quite similar.