Unlike Beersma and Van Kleef (2012), we asked the participants to think about a situation in a work setting as well as in a private context. 1. 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. 16:293. doi: 10.1037/a0020773, Wisse, B., and Sleebos, E. (2016). Dif. 3) You have a good sense of humor Not only do you like to laugh, but you like to make people laugh. B. Jobe, H. S. Kurtzman, and V. S. Cain (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 2947. Therefore, corrected F-values are reported (Huynh-Feldt). In such a scenario, youre not learning anything, Robbins adds. Correlations between all scales (N = 134). Just a small portion of the conversations analyzed around 15% was deemed negative gossip (though positive gossip amounted to a smaller portion still, at only 9%). 8, 111120. Fourth, in the Motives to Gossip Questionnaire participants are asked to think about their reasons to gossip in a specific situation capturing their motivation to gossip in that situation. Empirical research has already shown that gossip activity at the workplace depends on variables such as trust in management (Ellwardt et al., 2012c), psychological contract violations (Kuo et al., 2015), leadership (Kuo et al., 2015), ambiguity of formal communication within organizations (Crampton et al., 1998), and perceived stress and anxiety (Waddington and Fletcher, 2005). Those who have the sickness of pride in their hearts speak of others' sins with contempt, irritation, frustration, or judgment. There are two basic subtypes of narcissism: grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism. The chi-square statistic was significant for the work setting (2(120) = 190.92, p < 0.001) but not for the private setting 2(120) = 131.37, p = 0.22). Characteristics of gossips are: insecurity, jealous of others, low self esteem, angry at the world, have too much idle time on their hands, usually don't have any hobbies or activities they could be doing instead of rumor mongering, unhappy with their lives, don't like to see other people happy, attention seekers, like giving the illusion that Group Organiz. Dif. Regression analysis with motives as dependent variables and dark triad personality traits as independent variables (N = 134). All Rights Reserved. Consequently, participants might have selected highly salient examples of gossip events that are not representative of more frequent gossip sessions. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O) provided additional evidence for divergent validity. Chances are that people have at least a few negative personality traits. The reason most often cited? As individuals scoring high on narcissism are characterized by a grandiose (and sometimes vulnerable) self-concept that causes them to search for external appreciation (Morf and Rhodewalt, 2001; Jones and Paulhus, 2011; Back et al., 2013), one might speculate that gossip is a low risk method to gain information about the self. Cyberbullying: the new face of workplace bullying? The researchers coded gossip into three distinct categories: positive/flattering gossip, neutral gossip (i.e., observations about people that aren't necessarily positive or negative), and negative/malicious gossip. Health Organ. So how could it be wrong? Who are the objects of positive and negative gossip at work? Dark and immoral: the links between pathological personality features and moral values. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. (2009). Netw. A bad gossiper, on the other hand, is someone who shares information about others in order to get ahead or get an advantage themselves, or just plain recklessly. Years ago, one of the associate pastors of our church became the subject of gossip. For instance, individuals scoring higher on the dark triad traits show a higher tendency to tell lies and to cheat than individuals scoring lower on these traits (Nathanson et al., 2006; Williams et al., 2010; Baughman et al., 2014; Jonason et al., 2014; Roeser et al., 2016; Muris et al., 2017). At the end of a grueling day, hed give me enough details to empathize, but never reveal names. Ways of explaining workplace bullying: a review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Psychol. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0025. But researchers often define it more broadly: as "talking about. Gossip in organizations: contexts, consequences, and controversies. Neurosci. When these traits are negative and hold a character back from their goal, theyre called character flaws. 99, 122126. Psychol. doi: 10.4135/9781412986373, Book, A., Visser, B. 35, 2525. Individ. New York, NY: Wiley. 41, 574579. Moreover, to create a concise measure three items were chosen from the respective subscale to represent the social enjoyment motive and the negative influence motive. Gossip and ostracism promote cooperation in groups. They prefer to do the least amount for the most gain, believing any and all. 12, 183204. In fact, these two aspects are key in this type of personality. In addition, individuals scoring higher on the dark triad value themselves over the others (Jonason et al., 2015), are less concerned with others' welfare (Djeriouat and Trmolire, 2014; Jonason et al., 2015; Noser et al., 2015) and with fairness (Jonason et al., 2015). 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. Dif. To address the issue of sample size, the analyses were repeated using Bayesian statistics (e.g., van de Schoot et al., 2013). doi: 10.3758/s13423-017-1323-7, Wagenmakers, E. J., Marsman, M., Jamil, T., Ly, A., Verhagen, J., Love, J., et al. 10, 400421. And being the scapegoat might have disastrous effects on the individuals as, in addition, their relationship to colleagues appears to be characterized by difficulties (Ellwardt et al., 2012a). People who heard either positive or negative gossip about themselves showed more activity in the prefrontal cortex of their brains, which helps people navigate complex social behaviors. Although laypeople often view gossipers as immoral, uneducated, typically female, and of lower social class, no systematic observation has empirically revealed the characteristics of those who gossip more than others nor examined the characteristics of gossip across everyday contexts. Psychol. Means, standard deviation (in parenthesis), and error bars for the different motives displayed separately for work and private setting (N = 134). A. Back, M. D., Kfner, A. C., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., and Denissen, J. J. Before you share personal information about someone, pause long enough to ask yourself, Do I really need to share this information? Decoding the narcissismpopularity link at zero acquaintance. Noseyness is when someone whom we don't want to interfere in our life does so. And Feinberg notes that there are some types of gossip that should be avoided, such as gossip that is purely harmful and serves no greater purpose like mean comments about someones looks. Netw. Pers. It's not inherently bad; and plays an important role in keeping our society connected. But rather than going directly to the offending party as Matthew 18 instructs, or going to a person who can help (the parent, a pastor, law enforcement), they pass on the information in hopes the right person will somehow hear the right information, and do the right thing. The Bless Your Heart gossip shares juicy pieces of information, but tags on the line, bless his/her heart as a way of appearing compassionate and caring, when, in fact, they are neither compassionate nor caring. When we . 88, 7377. Pers. Reputation, gossip, and human cooperation. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC. Its not necessarily negative, adds David Ludden, professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College and the author of The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach. John R. "Jack" Schafer, Ph.D., is a behavioral analyst for the FBI, and is the author of The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over. According to Jones and Paulhus (2011), narcissism can be distinguished from psychopathy and Machiavellianism by the type of goals they pursue. According to Bayesian repeated ANOVA, the model containing the two main effects and the interaction effect received overwhelming support from the data with a BF10 = 6.33 1079. An avoider gossip might have good intentions, but rarely do they get good results. In a similar vein, the dark side of personality probably has a high impact on gossip motives that serve individual purposes. Which means they gossip. These three traits are summarized under the umbrella term dark triad and gained considerable attention in the past years (Jones and Paulhus, 2011; OBoyle et al., 2012; Furnham et al., 2013; Jones and Figueredo, 2013; Lee et al., 2013; Book et al., 2015; Muris et al., 2017). Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Secondly, Dunbar (1998, 2004a) and Mesoudi et al. The form of gossip weve found beneficial is negative gossip about people who have behaved in an antisocial way, Willer says. Putting this all together, the study paints a rosier picture of gossip and its utility to everyday life than many would imagine. Also, the p-value in classical analysis provides the information about the probability of obtaining results as least as extreme as those observed given that the null hypothesis is true; the alternative hypothesis is left unspecified (Wagenmakers et al., 2018b). 4. The truth teller gossip doesnt consider their words are gossip. Taken together, the results suggest that gossip is better than its reputation as people report to mainly use gossip for informational reasons and not to ruin the reputation of others. Another reason to exchange information about a third person was to build trust to one's gossip partner. doi: 10.1177/1059601109360389. Ratings were provided on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely agree). To gossip or not to gossip: reactions to a perceived request to gossip a qualitative study. (2018a) a BF10 > 100 indicates extreme evidence for H1, a BF10 = 30100 indicates very strong evidence for H1, a BF10 = 1030 indicates strong evidence for H1, a BF10 = 310 indicates moderate evidence for H1, a BF10 = 13 signals anecdotal evidence for H1, BF10 = 1 indicates no evidence for H1, BF10 = 0.31 signals anecdotal evidence for H0, BF10 = 0.10.3 indicates moderate evidence for H0, BF10 = 0.030.1 signals strong evidence for H0, BF10 = 0.010.03 indicates very strong evidence for H0, and a BF10 < 0.01 indicates extreme evidence for H0. 42, 26402670. Some scholars view gossip as evidence of cultural learning, offering teachable moments and providing people examples of whats socially acceptable and whats not. To do so, we translated the Motives to Gossip Questionnaire into German. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.54.2.93. Research demonstrates that gossip is emotionally rewarding. Assess. 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?). (A coworker unfairly gets a promotion. Taken together, both classical linear regression and Bayesian linear regression show that the importance of motives mainly depends on the gossiper's narcissism. In total, 40 employees from different companies in Germany were addressed. She was speechless. Psychol. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. Why people gossip: an empirical analysis of social motives, antecedents, and consequences. If we get into an argument with our partner, we'll subconsciously want to find a fair outcome. (2018a), a BF > 100 shows extreme evidence for H1. Gossip was shown to be more emotionally salient than non-social . doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00772.x, Williams, K. M., Nathanson, C., and Paulhus, D. L. (2010). (1985). The malevolent side of human nature: a meta-analysis and critical review of the literature on the dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy). J. Commun. Disunity. 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). Perhaps most interesting, however, is what the researchers didn't find. In addition, around 30% of our participants were students for whom private and work life are not that distinct and merge. Can Humans Detect Text by AI Chatbot GPT? Table 2. CyberPsychol. (2013). The most important motive was validating information about the gossip target followed by the motive to acquire new information about the gossip target. In a first step, the BF10s of the models with narcissism, Machiavelliansim, and psychopathy as independent variables and the respective gossip motive as dependent variable were of interest (see Table 2; A: BF10). Something dark in the human soul (sin!) 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. A self-centered character may learn the value of sharing with others in order to fulfill their goal. Again, social enjoyment reasons are more often reported by participants scoring higher on narcissism, however, only in work-related settings (p = 0.05). Additionally, as people with dark personalities are not concerned with others' welfare, they probably use gossip less often to protect other individuals or their group from harm (but see Lyons and Hughes, 2015). Thats because were human beings and sharing information about one another is part of what we do, explains Frank T. McAndrew, Ph.D., the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois: Everyone gossips.. These traits may include: People are generally not all good or all bad, or all positive or all negative. 8. Dif. J. Pers. Personal. Most gossip was coded as neither positive or negative the majority of gossip recorded in this study (75 percent) was neutral. The ugly truth: negative gossip about celebrities and positive gossip about self entertain people in different ways. Identifying an individual's personality style is not an easy task. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. In another of Feinbergs studies, a group of participants identified members who behaved selfishly via gossip, and promptly kicked them out. 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). On average, participants had scores of M = 4.50 (SD = 1.92) on the narcissism subscale, of M = 3.40 (SD = 1.78) on the Machiavellianism subscale, and of M = 2.70 (SD = 1.66) on the psychopathy subscale. Friendship-selection in the shadow of the Dark Triad traits. Thus, even though people disapprove of gossip in general, they consider the reasons people might have to gossip. 55, 323. Gossiping just for fun and to pass time appears to be as important as relationship building and protecting others from harm. When they are the first to volunteer their time, you can remark on their generosity. There are many ways to assess and label personality types, with each assessment measuring specific variables. It would be nice if we could capture the entire human experience into five simple words. A less benign form of gossip is when people discuss information. Finally, it has been suggested that gossip has an entertainment function providing recreational value and considerable stimulation for very little costs (Foster, 2004; Peng et al., 2015). 1. dnieper river pronounce. For example, anyone can occasionally have a bad day and make a snappy remark. Great listener (read: a bit of a gossip) 78, 221236. (2013). A lot of gossip is driven by concern for others and has positive, social effects., Work from his group has also found that engaging in gossip can actually temper some of our frustrations and other negative emotions we feel when we find out someone has behaved in a deviant way. The gossiper begins by saying something positive about the gossipee. This indicates that the data are about 124 times more likely under the model assuming an association between narcissism and gossip validation than under the model assuming no such association (BF10 = 123.92). (2012). 7 Ticking Time Bombs That Destroy Loving Relationships, An Addiction Myth That Needs to Be Revisited, 5 Spiritual Practices That Increase Well-Being. PMandR 9, 12781282. Avoider gossip is based in fear, not love. I dont want to gossip to the Pastor. It never occurred to any of them they were gossiping to everyone but the Pastor! Soc. J. Appl. To arrive at this conclusion, researchers at the University of California Riverside analyzed daily conversations of 467 people over a multi-day period using an Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR, for short). PostedJune 24, 2021 Gaining social information and knowledge about people surrounding us provides us with a sense of control and advantage over others (e.g., Swann et al., 1981; Fiske, 2004). Gossiping comes naturally and most of the time occurs almost unconsciously to break up the monotony of routine activities or simply to spice up conversations. Dif. Everyone does it. (2014). Rather, negatively influencing the reputation of others is the least important reason to gossip. A bias for social information in human cultural transmission. The Dark Triad at work: how toxic employees get their way. Individ. BF10 indicates the Bayes factor in favor of H1 over H0, that is, gives the likelihood of the data under the alternative hypothesis divided by the likelihood of the data under null hypothesis. Thus, there is much more research needed to uncover the complex interrelations between the diverse motives and social functions. Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. Bayesian regression analyses were conducted in two steps. 41, 18181833. They criticize to nitpick and demean you, not to empower you. Six distinct motives were identified that underlie gossip behavior: information validation, information gathering, relationship building, protection, social enjoyment, and negative influence. Want more tips like these? Thus, both kinds of analyses draw a very similar picture of the results emphasizing their reliability. Soc. So, keep on talking. There are other ways to do this, Im sure. 8, 111121. Gen. Psychol. Extroversion. That is, four bilingual individuals (German native speakers) translated the questionnaire independently and subsequently reached an agreement on the final version. Concerns about reputation via gossip promote generous allocations in an economic game. Everyone has that one amazing friend whos funny, smart, generous, and creative in fact, just being around them makes you feel funny, smart, generous, and creative too. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Six distinct motives were identified that underlie gossip behavior: information validation, information gathering, relationship building, protection, social enjoyment, and negative influence. doi: 10.1080/17470919.2014.999162, Peters, K., Jetten, J., Radova, D., and Austin, K. (2017). Walter Winchell published a famous column called "On Broadway" that was filled with rumors about celebrities. Halten Sie sich diese Situation im Folgenden vor Augen und denken Sie an Grnde, die Sie fr das Gesprch hatten. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read and approved the submitted version. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital 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. regular fantasies about personal power, intelligence, success, or attractiveness. 10 Reasons God Might Not Be Blessing Your Life, Inspiring Mother Breaks Down after Earning Golden Buzzer with Celine Dion Hit, 7 Things that Will Keep Me from Coming Back to Your Church, 6 Truths about Jesus Coming into the World, 9 Christians You Don't Want to Sit Beside on Sunday Morning, 10 Things You Should Know about the Intermediate State of Death, 'You Raise Me Up' Duet Earns A Standing Ovation From The Judges. Prayer request gossip hurts as much as any other type of gossipmaybe more. J. The sensitive child feels everything. Bull. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. doi: 10.1037/a0016338, Barrett, L., Dunbar, R., and Lycett, J. Whats so wrong with being a truth teller gossip? Cliques, rumors, and gossip by the water cooler: female bullying in the workplace. This holds true in two fundamental domains of life, namely the private and the work context. And overall people who were more extroverted tended to gossip more than those who were more introverted. 27, 169184. Individ. broad-minded. 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). Until that day, shed always thought gossip was simply part of normal conversation. Not one person with firsthand knowledge ever contacted my husband. The mean values for narcissism and Machiavellianism are comparable to previous research whereas the mean value for psychopathy is slightly lower in the present study than in previous research (Kfner et al., 2014). The exchanged information enables individuals to get a map of their social environment and their position within that social environment (Suls, 1977; Baumeister et al., 2004; Foster, 2004; De Backer et al., 2007; Sommerfeld et al., 2007; Martinescu et al., 2014). Interestingly, the motivation to negatively influence the reputation of somebody else is not solely associated with narcissism but also with Machiavellianism.
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