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Curr Psychol (2013) 32:252260
DOI 10.1007/s12144-013-9176-3
Jennifer M. Cole & Hannah Scrivener
Published online: 10 August 2013# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Gossip is a frequent social activity, yet there is little research on the experience of providing gossip and how it impacts upon well-being of the gossiper. The present research aimed to investigate the effect of gossip behavior on the self-esteem of the gossiper. In Study 1, 140 participants were asked to write either a positive or negative description of a target person. Self-esteem was significantly reduced after providing a negative description but there was no effect of providing a positive one. In Study 2, 112 participants were asked to share information about someone they knew. Self-esteem decreased significantly regardless of the valence of the information. This research suggests that the act of gossiping is one which leads to selfcriticism regardless of valence.
Keywords Gossip . Communication . Subjective well-being . Self-esteem
The act of engaging in evaluative talk about an absent third party or gossip has traditionally been considered as trivial (Fine and Rosnow 1978, p. 161), however research on gossip in recent years suggests a view of gossip as a frequent (Dunbar et al. 1997; Emler 1990) and important (Dunbar 2004; Foster 2004) aspect of our social communication.
In modern gossip research, gossip is commonly referred to as the exchange of personal information (negative or positive) in an evaluative way (negative or positive) about absent third parties (Foster 2004, p 83). Key features of this definition are that the person being discussed is not present, and that the discussion of them involves some evaluation. This may be observed in what is said, or how it is said, although for the purposes of experimental scenarios, this often refers to the content of the gossip.
Despite the shift in how gossip is viewed by psychologists away from being trivial, there still remains little research on the causes and consequences of gossiping. Researchers have argued that gossip is essential for the development and maintenance of social groups (Baumeister et al. 2004) but that gossipers are often disliked (e.g. Turner
J. M. Cole : H. Scrivener
Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK
J. M. Cole (*)
Psychology, Sport and Exercise, Staffordshire University, The Science Centre, Leek...