Frequent gossipers tend to be more extraverted; women engage in more neutral gossip than men, & younger people tend to negatively gossip more than older people; gossip tends to be neutral, rather than positive or negative

Who Gossips and How in Everyday Life? Megan L. Robbins, Alexander Karan. Social Psychological and Personality Science, May 2, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619837000

Abstract: 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. We used data from five naturalistic observation studies (N = 467) to examine who gossips and how. All participants wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), which acoustically sampled 5–12% over 2–5 days, and completed demographics and personality questionnaires. Sound files were coded for gossip, valence (positive, negative, and neutral), subject (acquaintance and celebrity), and topic (social information, physical appearance, and achievement). Frequent gossipers tended to be more extraverted. Women engaged in more neutral gossip than men, and younger people tended to negatively gossip more than older people. Gossip tended to be neutral, rather than positive or negative, and about social information. These naturalistic observation findings dispel some stereotypes about this prevalent yet misunderstood behavior.

Keywords: Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), naturalistic observation, social interaction, personality


Check also A Small Town Takes a Stand: It Banned Gossip. James Hookway. Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/04/neighborhoods-in-philippines-pass-anti.html