The Surprising Benefits of Gossip

Scientists have studied gossip for decades. That’s not surprising given the activity’s near universality in any social group, big or small. It’s estimated that more than 90 percent of people in workplaces in the U.S. and Western Europe indulge in such banter—defined as talking about someone not present. People in modern societies spend about an hour a day immersed in chin-wagging, one study reports. But investigators are now approaching this fixture of social life from a new perspective.

In past decades, says Rice University psychologist Tianjun Sun, researchers focused primarily on the damage wrought by gossiping, and they zeroed in on either the gossip spreader or the target—the person being talked about. Now, she says, they have changed course by looking more at the benefits of gossip and the dynamics of a three-part network that involves a gossiper, a listener and a target. This research is revealing the complex and diverse roles in shaping perceptions of self and others by looking at factors such as basic information, ego enhancement and social segregation within a group.

Read the whole story (subscription may be required): Scientific American