The Crazy World We Live In! Blog

GOSSIP! Oh, boy, do we love it. We love taking gossip and hearing gossip. We don’t like it when we are the subject of gossip. But now new research suggests it all might just be good for you!

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In the April 2006 of THE MONITOR, the publication for the American Psychological Association, Sarah Wert, Ph.D., a Yale University researcher, suggested that gossip had some definite benefits. Primarily, gossip serves as a way to bond social groups together. Additionally, gossip provides people with clues as to the rules of their own social world. Gossip appears so necessary in fact that some believe it is the prompt that resulted in humans developing language.

Applied social psychologist Frank McAndrew, PhD explored the popularity of celebrity gossip. After all, why do we care about TomKat or Brangelina or any other couple or celebrity? The reason: gossiping about these folks helps build relationships with others by showing we enjoy trusting and sharing information. Bonding in a social circle was probably important for survival and is a byproduct of our evolutionary. Robin Dunbar, PhD of Harvard University even takes it farther, suggesting that gossip is the human equivalent of grooming. Like physical grooming, gossiping ma serve to strengthen group ties.

And gossip helps us navigate our society, teaching us about social norms and what we can and cannot do. Gossiping about strangers may serve more than mere entertainment. It might assist in learning about social standards. Both the norms that are operating as well as those that are changing. For example, researchers point to the celebrities who have had children without marriage making it more acceptable to be an unwed mother.

People also use gossip to learn from others’ mistakes. In one research study about gossip, 64% pr the participants reported learning something from the gossip that they told. Additionally, gossip is a way to gather information and explore context which later the individual can apply to their own life.

Certainly there are negative aspects to gossip – as our mothers were always quick to point out. Gossip can, and does, harm people. It is a powerful way to forge alliances but also powerful in its ability to exclude individuals from social interaction. However, the “mean girls” myth is just that – a myth. When Martha Putallaz, Ph.D. analyzed data of children’s gossiping, she discovered that when two children gossip only 7% of the time is their intent to harm a peer. Rather, gossiping is “a way kids vent and establish solidarity,” says Putallaz.

However, it must be noted that when gossip IS USED TO HURT others, the results can be disastrous to the victim’s self-esteem and social relationships and standing. Marion Underwood, author of the book SOCIAL AGGRESSION AMONG GIRLS notes that gossip “walks the line between what is acceptable and what is not”. “It is completely unacceptable for me to punch my colleague,” says Underwood, “but if I tell people he drinks too much, I am less likely to be called on it.” And finally, gossiping about others maliciously can result in improved social standing – albeit, at the expense of someone else.

While this appears to work initially, the malicious gossiper may pay a cost in the end. A 2004 study by Antonius Cillessen, PhD from the University of Connecticut suggested that popular fifth graders were also like by their peers but by ninth grade these two factors were negatively correlated, that is, the more popular you are, the less liked by your peers. Why? It seems that to stay on top in the social standing, a child would use gossip. Although the person might retain power, he/she was now disliked by peers.

So what the bottom line? Gossip away. When you gossip, think if the gossiping will hurt someone, but if it doesn’t, that have a ball. Entertaining gossip might just improve your social relationships while learning more about the social rules you live with. And besides, who can resist some juicy gossip? Did you hear….?