Gossip may not be as evil as society makes it out to be, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that gossiping can actually lower stress, stop exploitation of others and police others’ bad behavior. The study included four experiments, all of which included a game with a cheater who hoarded points. Researchers found that when people in the study saw someone acting badly, their heart rates increased. But it helped their heart rates when they were able to share what they witnessed with someone else, particularly to warn them of the potential exploitation. “Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip,” researchers said. In addition, researchers found that people in the study were even willing to sacrifice money in order to let other people know of cheaters who were players in economic trust games – in this case, gossiping was a means of preventing other people from being taken advantage of, the researchers said.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Good Gossip
Gossip may not be as evil as society makes it out to be, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that gossiping can actually lower stress, stop exploitation of others and police others’ bad behavior. The study included four experiments, all of which included a game with a cheater who hoarded points. Researchers found that when people in the study saw someone acting badly, their heart rates increased. But it helped their heart rates when they were able to share what they witnessed with someone else, particularly to warn them of the potential exploitation. “Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip,” researchers said. In addition, researchers found that people in the study were even willing to sacrifice money in order to let other people know of cheaters who were players in economic trust games – in this case, gossiping was a means of preventing other people from being taken advantage of, the researchers said.
