Dishing the juicy details of last night’s encounters can yield social and mental benefits, according to a study on gossiping conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
More than a simple way to spread information, gossiping can help discourage socially unacceptable behavior and lower the heart and stress rates of the people doing the dishing, according to a press release about the study.
Participants came from around the country and were recruited from Craigslist. For the study, gossip was centered on a ‘trust game’ that dealt with money and generosity. Players filled out questionnaires about other participants and how much they trusted them.
“Gossip gets a bad rap, but we’re finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order,” said UC Berkeley researcher Robb Willer in the press release.
The study also found after witnessing an instance of bad behavior, such as cheating, gossiping can help alleviate some of the witness’s stress and frustration.
“Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip,” Willer said in the release.
Rather than focusing on baseless rumor spreading or fear mongering, the study focused on purposeful gossip, which Willer defined in the press release as gossip that “has the function of warning others about untrustworthy or dishonest people.”
The study observed participants’ heart rates as they watched two people play a game together. One played honestly and the other cheated. Volunteers’ heart rates rose when they saw unfit behavior, Willer said, but fell when they were given the chance to warn others about the cheater.
“We shouldn’t feel guilty for gossiping if the gossip helps prevent others from being taken advantage of,” said researcher Matthew Feinberg in the press release.
Boston University students said that gossip plays a large role in their social atmosphere, calling it a facet of society that easily sparks interest.
“Nothing interests people more than the rise and fall of other people,” said College of Communication freshman Heather Hamacek.
Gossiping enables individuals to connect with others in a way that does not necessarily require much personal commitment, she said, and talking about others often means the gossipers do not have to expose themselves or share too much personal information.
“Gossiping can help people become closer friends through shared interests and bonding,” Hamacek said.
Some students said they agreed gossip would always have a negative edge to it. Hamacek said gossip has the potential to lower self-confidence and is a major deterrent to engaging in that type of information spreading.
“Gossip can hurt people, especially when it’s untrue and it spreads,” Hamacek said. “It can ruin someone’s reputation.”
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Devon Mcghee said gossip does not play a huge role in realigning people’s social behavior.
“I think when you gossip you feel better afterwards,” she said, “but for other people on the receiving end it can be pretty damaging.”
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