So while it is true that people can spend a significant amount of time talking about their peers, oftentimes that chatter is benign. Some researchers argue that gossip helped our ancestors survive.
Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar first pioneered this idea, comparing gossip to the grooming primates engage in as a means of bonding. In a study published in Social Neuroscience, scientists looked at brain imaging of men and women as they heard positive and negative gossip about themselves, their best friends and celebrities.
People hearing gossip — good and bad — about themselves, as well as negative gossip in general, showed more activity in the prefrontal cortex of their brains, which is key to our ability to navigate complex social behaviors. This activity indicated the subjects responded to the gossip and its insight. The study also found that the caudate nucleus, a reward center in the brain, was activated in response to negative gossip about celebrities; subjects seemed to be amused or entertained by salacious celebrity scandals.
The researchers also polled how the subjects felt , in addition to studying what their brain images revealed. Not surprisingly, they were happier to hear positive gossip about themselves , and more irked by hearing negative gossip about themselves as opposed to hearing gossip about others.
When they were able to actively gossip about the person, or the situation, on the other hand, it soothed them and brought their heart rates down. In the study, participants were divided into subgroups, and then each person was given a number of points representing small sums of money. You have successfully removed bookmark. Delete canceled. Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks. OK Proceed. Your session has expired. Please log in as a SHRM member.
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This is what is called gossip. It used to be that people called gossip, dishing the dirt. We especially like it when we hear something that makes someone look bad.
Celebrity bloggers and gossip magazines make millions of dollars off of this unfortunate reality. Some people seem to thrive on it. A reputation is very fragile. When you gossip, you are helping to destroy something extremely valuable. An anonymous blogger wrote: After telling my best friend, it leaked that I tried [cutting] once. Everyone thought I was even more of a freak. Even though the temptation to gossip is powerful, you will always win when you choose not to use it.
Paul wrote: I admit that I love spreading rumors. It usually works. Gossip grows an audience. You simply being there listening to it adds to its appeal. Katy wrote: My best friend is someone who people used to say really bad things about. But once I got to know her, I learned the truth about her. Or am I just trying to be in the know? Is the information even true? Be very careful about what you choose to tell these people.
Being gossiped about can be extremely painful. In the end, it never pays to gossip. I really appreciated this comment from Jolene: I love how Dawson tells how gossip really hurts. Other blog sites just gossip, this one tells us how hurtful it can be. I am so glad that Dawson is down-to-earth. What have you done to repair a bad reputation? Please tell me your story.
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