Who Gossips and How in Everyday Life?. Work and organizational literature has also shown that people gossip for other than hostile intentions at the workplace (Waddington, 2005; Waddington and Fletcher, 2005; Kuo et al., 2015; see also Michelson and Mouly, 2004; Michelson et al., 2010). doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.78, Foster, J. D., and Trimm, R. F. (2008). What if you realize youve been guilty of being an in the know gossip? Soc. Pers. Pers. Some researchers argue that gossip helped our ancestors survive. Manag. Identity, self-concept, and self-esteem: the self lost and found, in Handbook of Personality Psychology, eds R. Hogan, J. Johnson, and S. Briggs (New York, NY: Elsevier), 681710. Manager J. In addition, that final version was presented to two bilingual individuals (English native speakers) to review the final version. Its more difficult for real people to grow and change their personality traits (Wouldnt it be nice if we could resolve our biggest personality flaws in a few pages?). An exploratory analysis of sex differences in gossip. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Individ. (2004), for instance, understand gossip as an extension of observational learning. However, the association with personality varies between motives, traits, and situations. Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, Aggress. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12018, Grosser, T. J., Lopez-Kidwell, V., and Labianca, G. (2010). Consequently, participants might have selected highly salient examples of gossip events that are not representative of more frequent gossip sessions. We differentiated between work and private settings assuming that these are reasonably different in terms of social norms and competitiveness. Inq. Malicious mouths? They believe strongly in not judging a book by its cover and prefer to keep an open mind when going into new situations and meeting new people. In support of that notion, the social enjoyment motive is less important in the professional setting than in the private setting. Step 2: Prioritise ONE Trait at a Time. The underlying motive is the same as all other forms of gossip: lack of love and respect for another human being. 29, 172178. Psychol. Regression analysis with motives as dependent variables and dark triad personality traits as independent variables (N = 134). The inverse relationships between gossip, power, and likability. And indeed, a post hoc power analysis for the repeated ANOVA revealed that the F-test of the main effect situation did not achieve sufficient power (0.40) to detect an effect. In contrast, relationship building (M = 3.16, SD = 1.70), protection (M = 3.10, SD = 1.58), and social enjoyment (M = 2.83, SD = 1.64) did not differ significantly from each other (ps = 0.351.0). Bayesian regression analyses were conducted in two steps. (2015). The findings suggest that the negative reputation of gossip is not justified. Also, at the group level, a climate of information permeability and norm compliance is generated (e.g., Piazza and Bering, 2008; Feinberg et al., 2012). Psychol. You find out someone in your company is not a team player and you let other coworkers know so that they can try to avoid working with that colleague. Thus, evaluating gossip as a rather positive or negative behavior is not as easy as it may appear at first sight. IE 11 is not supported. Thus, an assimilation occurred in the first case whereas a contrast effect emerged in the second case. I want to receive exclusive email updates from YourDictionary. Morf, C. C., and Rhodewalt, F. (2001). Personality traits imply consistency and stabilitysomeone who scores high on a specific trait like Extraversion is expected to be sociable in different situations and over time. Assimilation and contrast effects in part whole question sequences: a conversational logic analysis. Participants were informed about the study content, that they were free to withdraw at any time without giving any reason, and that the data collection and analysis were anonymized. In a 2019 meta-analysis published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, Robbins and a colleague found that, of the 52 minutes a day on average the 467 subjects spent gossiping, three-quarters of that gossip was actually neutral. According to Wagenmakers et al. The models predicting information validation (BF10 = 6.09), relationship building (BF10 = 25.36), and negative influence (BF10 = 123.43) show moderate to extreme evidence for the H1 indicating that the data are more likely under the model assuming associations between the three personality traits and the respective gossip motive than under the model assuming no association. You feel violated and resentful. Six distinct reasons have been identified that underlie gossip behavior: information validation, information gathering, relationship building, protection, social enjoyment, and negative influence. (A coworker unfairly gets a promotion. Consistent with Beersma and Van Kleef (2012), we asked the participants to think about a past situation when they had a conversation with someone about an absent person. Is this wrong? compassionate. The two cannot coexist. When my husband first became a pastor, he quickly learned frustration, disappointment, and hurt sometimes came with the territory. (2010). (2016). 10:1162. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01162. For instance, people scoring high on the dark triad traits report to have a strong desire for power, control, and dominance (e.g., Jonason et al., 2010; Lee et al., 2013; Semenyna and Honey, 2015). How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. Using gossip to negatively influence the reputation of the target person is related to narcissism and Machiavellianism. A proud woman born to a highly respected Southern family, Miss Emily seems frozen in the past, bearing herself aristocratically even when she is impoverished after her controlling father's death. Thus, the bad reputation might also have a positive social function itself. But the bottom line is this: be aware of the fine line between venting emotions and tarnishing reputations. She was speechless. Public Pers. People also like to gossip because it gives them a sense that they possess secret information about another person, which gives them a sense of power. Therefore, simply gathering and validating social information might be another salient reason for dark personalities to gossip. First, there is also evidence from observational (i.e., eavesdropping) studies showing that the content of conversation is mainly neutral in its value and only certain parts are clearly positive or negative (Levin and Arluke, 1985; Dunbar et al., 1997). A Harsh Spirit. 35, 177212. In the workplace, people have to follow rules and adjust their behavior to fulfill or support organizational objectives. (2013). Obsessive personality: 10 main traits Perfectionism and meticulousness Possibly, the trait that best defines obsessional personality is the Perfectionism And thoroughness. Evol. The present study revealed less consistent evidence for evaluative gossip and therefore did not support the notion that women evaluatively gossip more than men.". Isnt it okay to vent every now and then? Bless her heart. My neighbor will sure have her hands full with another baby on the way, so close to the youngest. To test differences in motives to talk about others, a 6 2 repeated measures ANOVA was conducted with both motives (i.e., information validation vs. information gathering vs. relationship building vs. protection vs. social enjoyment vs. negative influence) and situation (i.e., private vs. work) as within factors. Similar to #3, when someone asks you to go out at the last minute, this can be frustrating, because it doesn't leave you enough time to mentally prepare. The German Version of the Revised Motives to Gossip Questionnaire In unserem privaten Alltag kommt es hufig vor, dass wir ber eine dritte Person sprechen, die nicht anwesend ist. 52, 571575. Taken together, the present online study focuses on the reasons why people engage in conversations about absent third parties. Pers. This allowed researchers to unobtrusively listen in on, and analyze, the contents of participants' daily conversations. . (If any of these sound familiar, consider them an opportunity for personal growth.). Interestingly, the importance of motives mainly depends on the gossiper's narcissism both in work and in private settings. High-scorers in this attribute are dependable, reliable, organized and self-controlled. People usually gossip spontaneously and in private, so it's almost impossible to study gossip in a laboratory setting. and Sci. They may call, text, or ask to hang out frequently. Public Opin. Striving for truth in our relationships with others shows we care about their desires and choices. doi: 10.1086/269239, Semenyna, S. W., and Honey, P. L. (2015). Diagnostica 61, 7691. A close friend of Daisy Buchanan's, Jordan dates Nick Carraway during the novel and plays a crucial role in reuniting Daisy with the titular Jay Gatsby. Out of jealousy or a need for revenge Soft tactics are designed to convince another person of the advocated behavior being in their best interest. 8, 7899. Pers. doi: 10.1177/1745691616666070, Nathanson, C., Paulhus, D. L., and Williams, K. M. (2006). J. Commun. Dif. Rev. So, yes, you're likable! 55, 323. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.12.002, Privitera, C., and Campbell, M. A. Valuing myself over others: the Dark Triad traits and moral and social values. PLoS ONE 8:e69996. Consequently, we explore whether motives show differential importance between these two situations and whether the dark triad traits show differential relationships to gossip reasons across situations (see also Beersma and Van Kleef, 2012). Mark Travers, Ph.D., is an American psychologist with degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder. Taken together, the BF10s in the work setting showed that in 5 out of 6 analyses the BF10s are highest when the models include only narcissism. The I need to get a life gossip is driven by boredom or emptiness. CK and MP organized the database. 26, 22882307. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Dont let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good., Photo courtesy:Thinkstock/g-stockstudio. Anyone whos been around religious people has likely encountered this type of gossip. doi: 10.1177/0146167208316688, Furnham, A., Richards, S. C., and Paulhus, D. L. (2013). Rev. Gossip assures we get it. Also, frequent gossipers are perceived as less likable and less popular than people gossiping less frequently (Farley, 2011; Ellwardt et al., 2012b). Psychol. It depends on whom you vent to, and how you vent. 73, 2938. Examining these three categories separately, they found that younger people tended to gossip more negatively than older people. Taken together, these studies and reviews illustrate that individuals scoring higher on the dark triad personality traits are willing to dismiss commonly accepted social norms and harm others for their own good. An in the know gossip loves to have the latest scoop. Likewise, individuals might use gossip in order to negatively influence the reputation of a target person, and, without intention, simultaneously serve the social function of group protection. Gossip frequently involves inconsequential topics such as a coworkers new hairstyle, weight reduction, weight gain, or a recent trip to Vegas. The present study shows that the negative reputation is not justified as individuals indicate they mainly use gossip for informational reasons and not to harm others. Dunbar, R. (2004a). Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Bless Your Heart gossip is manipulative, spiteful, and mean. 10, 320336. J. Psychol. Welche Motive Fhren zu Gossip und Welche Emotionen Begleiten uns Dabei und Resultieren Daraus? Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. However, the model that receives most support was the model containing the motives factor only (BF10 = 4.48 1082). Thus, participants filled in the questionnaire twice. Neuroticism is a trait where individuals are prone to negative thoughts such as anxiety, anger, envy, guilt and so on. Manag. Before you share personal information about someone, pause long enough to ask yourself, Do I really need to share this information? 74:1197. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.74.5.1197, Peng, X., Li, Y., Wang, P., Mo, L., and Chen, Q. The way of being obsessive is mainly determined by the perfection of things. Also, relationship building shows consistent positive associations with narcissism. 2023 LoveToKnow Media. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1977.tb01812.x, Swann, W. B., Stephenson, B., and Pittman, T. S. (1981). The traits and characteristics of curiosity and open-mindedness are extremely common within the Libra personality and they are always on the hunt to discover new ideas. Leadership Organiz. A good gossiper is someone who people trust with information and someone who uses that information in a responsible way. She is mom to their three wildly funny young adult kids, who frequently sit on her kitchen counter, just to chat. Jealous gossip worms its way into the workplace, into friendships, into families, and even into places of worship. 105, 10131037. This is why this type of gossip is listed in the behaviors of the carnal, fleshly Christian. Hum. In total, 100% of the students and the unemployed participant reported to have work experience. Dunbar, R. (1998). doi: 10.1177/0956797613510184. Its harmful because without firsthand knowledge, those who are in a position to intervene in dangerous or destructive situations are unable to do so in a timely manner. People scoring higher on narcissism indicated information validation as a more important motive when talking about absent third parties than people scoring lower in narcissism both in work (p = 0.001) and private (p < 0.001) settings. 8, 111121. However, gossip is only one aspect of one dimension of workplace bullying (Harvey et al., 2006; Crothers et al., 2009; Privitera and Campbell, 2009). For instance, the data are about 492 times more likely under the model assuming narcissism and information gathering to be associated than under the null model that assumes no association (BF10 = 491.71). While the Bless Your Heart gossip cloaks negative information about others in a guise of compassion, the bitter-vengeful gossip makes no attempt at hiding his or her glee at others misfortune. Psychol. Also, post-hoc power analysis for the two regression analyses not reaching conventional levels of significance (i.e., for information gathering and protection in private setting) revealed that the F-tests did not achieve sufficient power (0.13 for protection and 0.58 for information gathering). Fifteen percent of gossip is negative while the remaining 10% is positive or flattering. Ratings were provided on a 9-point rating scale ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to 9 (agree strongly). Personal. Gathering information about others was also a more important motive for individuals scoring higher on narcissism than for those scoring lower narcissism, however, only in work settings (p = 0.006). Pers. Bless her heart.. In Judaism, there is a word for this: Loshon Hora. The dark triad and framing effects predict selfish behavior in a one-shot prisoner's dilemma. Posted on July 4, 2022 by . Am. The researchers were also interested in understanding how people gossip. 13, 135150. 11 Habits of Needy People. Individuals who had given less than half their points initially increased their contributions by the end of the latter rounds, while those who had been excluded gave significantly more after they were allowed back into the game, conforming to the less selfish behavior. Eur. Gossiping as moral social action: a functionalist account of gossiper perceptions, in Social Cognition and Communication, , eds J. P. Forgas, O. Vincze and J. Laszlo (New York, NY: Psychology Press), 185202.