Urban legends often include details that are plausible, and elicit strong negative emotions like disgust or fear, and typically include vague details about how 'it happened to a friend of my cousin' or 'I think I heard it on the news'. These legends spread through a process called

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Social contagion is the process by which urban legends spread through social networks, often via word of mouth or other forms of communication. The emotional impact and plausibility of the stories make them particularly contagious, and they often become part of the shared knowledge and culture of a community. Conformity, social comparison, and fundamental attribution are not as directly related to the spread of urban legends.

Urban Legends Often Include Details That Are Plausible, and Elicit