Abstract
Although gossip serves several important social functions, it has relatively infrequently been the topic of systematic investigation. In two experiments, we advance a cognitive-informational approach to gossip. Specifically, we sought to determine which informational components engender gossip. In Experiment 1, participants read brief passages about other people and indicated their likelihood to share this information. We manipulated target familiarity (celebrity, non-celebrity) and story interest (interesting, boring). While participants were more likely to gossip about celebrity than non-celebrity targets and interesting than boring stories, they were even more likely to gossip about celebrity targets embedded within interesting stories. In Experiment 2, we additionally probed participants' reactions to the stories concerning emotion, expectation, and reputation information conveyed. Analyses showed that while such information partially mediated target familiarity and story interest effects, only expectation and reputation accounted for the interactive pattern of gossip behavior. Our findings provide novel insights into the essential components and processing mechanisms of gossip.
Highlights
Gossip is an exchange of evaluative information about an absent third party [1]
Researchers have suggested that gossip plays an important role in managing our social dynamics – it can bond social groups together [2], communicate unwritten group norms [3], or forge social comparisons [4], for instance, in order to enhance one’s status [5]
We investigated Familiarity and Interest as two key factors that robustly predicted gossip behavior
Summary
Gossip is an exchange of evaluative information about an absent third party [1]. It is a social behavior, universal across culture, language, status, intelligence, gender, and age. Gossiping behavior is difficult to experimentally manipulate and measure. Research on gossip is often a trade-off between external validity and experimental control. While research into workplace gossip is externally valid, it necessarily involves nonparametric, qualitative accounts of workplace interactions (e.g., [6]). Studies exploring the role of gossip in public goods games create more artificial, experimentally-controlled environments for gossip to occur but cannot systematically manipulate gossip itself (e.g., [7])
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
