A man who spends most of his time gossiping about other people and even his friends usually has a general feeling of inadequacy in his own sphere of life. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC. Stud. Group Organiz. doi: 10.1037/a0016338, Barrett, L., Dunbar, R., and Lycett, J. Individ. An alternative method might be to ask participants to provide information about their tendency to gossip for certain reasons across different situations and across time. (2018b). Even though the friend you meet for lunch after this happens has never met that coworker, you still tell that friend all the reasons your colleague didnt deserve the new position.). 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). Theres an intimacy to sharing experiences and feeling like youre on the same page about others, she points out. A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and work behavior: a social exchange perspective. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read and approved the submitted version. Lying is toxic since it is self-defeating. They state that its pervasiveness suggests that "sanctions against gossip may be futile and underscores the importance of understanding gossip at a descriptive level." The standardized factor loadings for the six-factor model are presented separately in Figure 1 for both settings. 55, 323. Bull. Br. 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. This type of gossip may think, my lifes uneventful, so lets talk about someone elses life. In line with that notion, it appears that negative gossip at the workplace is structured around scapegoats indicating that a large number of employees talk negatively about a small number of colleagues (Ellwardt et al., 2012a). Experimental evidence is in line with that notion (e.g., Mesoudi et al., 2006). Interestingly, with regard to the dark triad personality traits, only narcissism shows consistent associations with motives to gossip. Those who have the sickness of pride in their hearts speak of others' sins with contempt, irritation, frustration, or judgment. 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). CyberPsychol. Therefore, corrected F-values are reported (Huynh-Feldt). In a study published earlier this year in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science 467 adults wore electronic recorders over the course of two to five days, which collected samples of their verbal conversations over that time period. Old Medication, New Use: Can Prazosin Curb Drinking? 67, 1116. Using diaries to explore the characteristics of work-related gossip: methodological considerations from exploratory multimethod research. Individ. Psychol. Dif. 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). Were we not able to engage in discussions of these [social and personal] issues, we would not be able to sustain the kinds of societies that we do, she explained in a 2003 paper published in the Review of General Psychology. In contrast to our expectation, we did not find any negative relationship between the dark triad and the protection motive. Nevertheless, future research needs to find a concluding answer. 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. J. Exp. BF01 indicates the Bayes factor in favor of H0 over H1, that is, gives the likelihood of the data under the null hypothesis divided by the likelihood of the data under alternative hypothesis (Nuzzo, 2017; Halter, 2018; Wagenmakers et al., 2018b). Thus, both kinds of analyses draw a very similar picture of the results emphasizing their reliability. Authors use character traits, also known as characterization, to guide story development and to move their plot forward. The German version of the extended Motives to Gossip Questionnaire is displayed in the Appendix. 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). How perceptions of gossiper morality are related to gossip content. Giving (and getting) feedback is hard. It refers to the "prohibition of telling gossip, truthful remarks about a non-present person or party.". Gossip. BETSORTE GR N TIKLAYIN! My friendwho is on the prayer teamreceived an email with churchwide prayers. Psychol. The motivational pattern was highly similar between private and work context. Taken together, both classical linear regression and Bayesian linear regression show that the importance of motives mainly depends on the gossiper's narcissism. The grandiose (overt) subtype is your "typical" narcissist who is bold, aggressive, and arrogant. God isnt fooled by our attempts at dressing up gossip in religious jargon. When subjects heard about another persons anti-social behavior or an injustice, their heart rates increased. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. The Screaming Mimi. While the Big Five personality traits help us broadly define and explore ones personality, there are many more examples of personality traits both positive and negative. Anton Hout, founder of OvercomeBullying.org, identifies these eight bully types: 1. Libra personality traits, characteristics, what they're into and which other star signs they get on best with, according to our expert tarot reader. Identifying an individual's personality style is not an easy task. When they are the first to volunteer their time, you can remark on their generosity. 10, 320336. The most important motive was validating information about the gossip target followed by the motive to acquire new information about the gossip target. 34, 623633. Thus, there is much more research needed to uncover the complex interrelations between the diverse motives and social functions. At the very least, it might make for an interesting conversation the next time you're at the water cooler. They are hard to spot, but every bit as destructive as other times of gossips. In the work setting, Bayesian linear regression analyses show that all models received support from the data with BF10s varying between BF10 = 2.30 for social enjoyment and BF10 = 122473.60 for relationship building. Each participant could contribute these points to their group in which case, the points would be doubled and redistributed equally or keep them for themselves. Self-reports: how the question shapes the answer. 34, 193205. Is gossip power? doi: 10.1177/147470491201000303, Jonason, P. K., Slomski, S., and Partyka, J. Secondly, Dunbar (1998, 2004a) and Mesoudi et al. Psychol. More specifically, the BF compares two competing models: Null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis (Wagenmakers et al., 2018b). That knowledge helped people get ahead socially; and people who were not interested in it were at a disadvantage, McAndrew says. 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. It seems likely that this rather altruistic motive, on the long run, serves the function of group protection. Accordingly, two thirds of adult conversations in public settings involve gossip (e.g., Levin and Arluke, 1985; Dunbar et al., 1997). Chuck is impulsive, daring, and loves to take risks. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069996, Harvey, M. G., Heames, J. T., Richey, R. G., and Leonard, N. (2006). 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). Thus, by passing reputational information about a potential harm-doer to a gossip partner, the group as a whole is protected against cheaters, free-riders and alike (Dunbar, 2004b; Keltner et al., 2008; Piazza and Bering, 2008; Beersma and Van Kleef, 2011; Feinberg et al., 2012, 2014). Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. I want to receive exclusive email updates from YourDictionary. personality traits of a gossip. Second, to examine whether the bad reputation of gossip is justified or not, we explore the role of the dark personality traits in gossip motivation. 1. The dark triad personality traits were measured using the German version of the Dirty Dozen scale (DD, German version: Kfner et al., 2014; original version: Jonason and Webster, 2010). 4. The Dark Triad of personality and utilitarian moral judgment: the mediating role of Honesty/Humility and Harm/Care. Fiske, S. T. (2004). Gossip as an effective and low-cost form of punishment. A couple of years younger than Daisy, Jordan is single and a professional golfer, which sets her apart from her married friend. Received: 23 November 2018; Accepted: 02 May 2019; Published: 29 May 2019. Individ. You feel violated and resentful. Gossip was shown to be more emotionally salient than non-social . 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. Hum. Decoding the narcissismpopularity link at zero acquaintance. Its probably not doing anyone any favors. 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. Educ. IVum unsere Gedanken ber die abwesende Person zu vergleichen. The time working within an organization is probably related to the amount and intensity of relationships somebody has to others in that organization; and, therefore, might be related to the motives that steer gossip behavior. Replicating previous research, the results show that motives were seen as differentially important (Beersma and Van Kleef, 2012). Remembering an event depends in part on the depth and elaboration of the encoding process of the event. However, to fully understand the complex interplay between personality, gossip behavior and long term effects of gossip (i.e., social functions such as facilitation of relationship building, protection, facilitation of social learning) longitudinal studies are needed. Mark Travers, Ph.D., is an American psychologist with degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder. The meaning, antecedents and consequences of rumour and gossip in organisations. Child Dev. Thus, evaluating gossip as a rather positive or negative behavior is not as easy as it may appear at first sight. This reaction also occurred when the participants heard negative gossip in general. That means, when broadening the view and evaluating gossip not only with regard to social functions but also with regard the intention of the gossiper a positive impression of gossip emerges. Table 2. The Dark Triad of personality and unethical behavior at different times of day. The I need to get a life gossip is driven by boredom or emptiness. 81, 102106. As the Lead Pastor, my husband began hearing second, third, and fourth-hand accounts of questionable behavior on the part of his associate. To fill this void, there is nothing else he can find worth doing apart from yapping and gossiping about other people with the ultimate aim of gaining favours from those he is spreading gossip to. More specifically, it is easy to imagine that individuals scoring higher on the dark triad readily use gossip to negatively influence another person's reputation (i.e., potential competitor or rival) to push through self-beneficial agendas. No one is benefiting., Theres also a physiological distinction to be drawn between active and passive participation in gossip. Creative Minds Press. Thus, unusual or emotional arousing gossip events might be remembered easily whereas irregular but frequent and relatively unimportant gossip events are not retrieved easily and perhaps forgotten entirely (Sudman et al., 1996; Tourangeau, 2000). Dunbar, R. (1998). To make it even more complicated, it is plausible to assume that people have different motives at the same time. Another reason to exchange information about a third person was to build trust to one's gossip partner. Eur. Group Organiz. Relationships between bullying behaviours and the Dark Triad: a study with adults. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Gossip is information shared about an absent third party. doi: 10.1177/1948550611405073, Beersma, B., and Van Kleef, G. A. J. Pers. NIum den Ruf der abwesenden Person zu schdigen. Jealous gossip worms its way into the workplace, into friendships, into families, and even into places of worship. Sex Roles 12, 281286. They prefer to do the least amount for the most gain, believing any and all. 25, 3557. Soc. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.100, Dunbar, R. I., Marriott, A., and Duncan, N. D. (1997). What a tangled web we weave: the Dark Triad traits and deception. Workplace bullying in the public sector: understanding the racial dimension. Unpublished Research report, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany. Bitter-vengeful gossip usually stems from being hurt or harmed. 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. 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. Back, M. D., Kfner, A. C., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., and Denissen, J. J. Simply put, your laughter spreads happiness and positive vibes. Even though the received information makes one stack up badly against the social environment, it might be less painful because it does not happen in the public eye. Characteristics of Gossip When researchers study gossip, they don't all use the same definition. To examine whether the importance of motives depends on the personality of the gossiper, multiple regression analyses were conducted with the dark triad personality traits as independent variables and motives as dependent variables for both work and private situations, respectively. Pers. Gossip refers to the exchange of information about characteristics and behaviors of an absent person (Dunbar, 2004b; Foster, 2004; Peters and Kashima, 2015). 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 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%). Gossiping is a social skill.. J. Soc. Using gossip to build relationships was more often rated as relevant by individuals scoring higher on narcissism than by those scoring lower on narcissism both in work (p < 0.001) and private (p = 0.007) settings. So while it is true that people can spend a significant amount of time talking about their peers, oftentimes that chatter is benign. Armed with the knowledge of their peers decisions, participants then played the game over again in different groupings. 7 Ticking Time Bombs That Destroy Loving Relationships, An Addiction Myth That Needs to Be Revisited, 5 Spiritual Practices That Increase Well-Being. Individ. Sex, power, and money: prediction from the Dark Triad and Honesty-Humility. doi: 10.1016/j.socnet.2011.11.003, Ellwardt, L., Steglich, C., and Wittek, R. (2012b). Gossip isnt always as easy to spot as one might think. While personality traits describe real people, character traits describe fictional characters. Thus, calibrating the own perspective and gathering information about other people, and thereby about the self, appears to be important when gossiping, specifically for people who shy away from more direct forms of social comparisons due to a vulnerable self-concept. Yes! More specifically, it has been suggested and empirically shown that, at the dyadic level, sharing gossip is associated with friendship (Grosser et al., 2010; Watson, 2011; Ellwardt et al., 2012b) and even leads to the development of friendships (Ellwardt et al., 2012b; see also Bosson et al., 2006). Peng et al. The potentially more competitive professional setting elicited more malicious gossip only by people scoring high on Machiavellianism. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X11001233, Feinberg, M., Willer, R., and Schultz, M. (2014). Gossip as social comparison. Previous Next . Connect with Donna at www.donnajones.orgor on Instagram @donnaajones. Individ. 28, 16101619. People whose lives lack meaningful work or transcendent purpose, often seek to find significance by discussing the lives of others. (2018). And if the benefit of the favor to the other person outweighs the cost of doing the favor to you, then it should be done. Unpacking evil: claiming the core of the Dark Triad. While there are hundreds of different personality trait examples that describe a person, psychologists often list five main personality traits, called the Big Five. Nat. Donna and her husband planted Crossline Church in in Laguna Hills, CA, in 2005. broad-minded. Sociologists, linguists, psychologists and historians are among the people who research gossip and how it functions in society. To measure reasons to gossip the English version of Motives to Gossip Questionnaire (Beersma and Van Kleef, 2012) was translated into German using the parallel blind technique (Behling and Law, 2000). Gossip never blesses anyoneeven if bless your heart is tagged on at the end. In order to survive and pass along your genes it has pretty much always been necessary to know about the lives of those around you: who had powerful friends, who was sleeping with whom, who had limited resources, and who might stab you in the back when times got tough. 12, 183204. Remembering what happened: Memory errors and survey reports, in The Science of Self-Report: Implications for Research and Practice, eds A. For both settings, the comparative fit index (work setting: CFI = 0.97; private setting: CFI = 0.99) and the root mean square error of approximation [work setting: RMSEA = 0.07 [90% CI:0.05, 0.08]; private setting: RMSEA = 0.03 [90% CI:0.00, 0.05]] were in the acceptable range. Are you stabbing someone in the back by telling that story? adaptable. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. In line with that notion, they were able to show that individuals scoring high on narcissism are not choosy when selecting friends. (If any of these sound familiar, consider them an opportunity for personal growth.). Gossip and emotion in nursing and health-care organizations. The Dark Triad at work: how toxic employees get their way. Research demonstrates that gossip is emotionally rewarding. doi: 10.1002/per.1860, Levin, J., and Arluke, A. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.111, Beersma, B., and Van Kleef, G. A. 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. Relat. doi: 10.1177/1059601109360391. Celebrities: from teachers to friends. Even though it appears that the reasons to gossip correspond to the social functions of gossip, we do not suppose that the different gossip motives act in the service of a single function exclusively. personality traits of a gossip. The way of being obsessive is mainly determined by the perfection of things. Scandals and the public's trust in politicians: assimilation and contrast effects. They criticize to nitpick and demean you, not to empower you. Thinking About Answers: The Application of Cognitive Processes to Survey Methodology. In accordance with the national and institutional guidelines, ethical approval was not required for this study. Approximately 1520 min were required to answer the questionnaire. (2014). doi: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0025. The Dark Triad as an agentic social style. The Dirty Dozen aims to capture the core aspects which are the grandiose self-view for narcissism, exploitation of others for Machiavellianism and the callousness for psychopathy (Kfner et al., 2014). 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.