Professor Nicholas DiFonzo is a social psychologist who specializes in rumor. In particular, he studies how rumors spread across social spaces, networks and time, rumor accuracy, and the effects of rumor on peoples’ beliefs and motivations. He is a Professor of Psychology at Roberts Wesleyan College.

Professor DiFonzo is widely published in peer-reviewed academic journals. He is the author of two books, the first being The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors. The second was written in partnership with fellow psychologist Prashant Bordia. Titled Rumor Psychology: Social & Organizational Approaches, it won the Gold Medal, ForeWord Book of the Year Award in the psychology category in 2007.

Professor DiFonzo is a member of the American Psychological Society and the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists. He has served as an expert trial witness for corporations and government and has provided expert comment to a number of media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and Nature.

Professor DiFonzo is the founder and administrator of Rumor Gossip Research, an Internet discussion group of psychologists and sociologists interested in rumor and gossip research.