If you happened to be described as “a gossip”, you probably would not be too jazzed about that, maybe even insulted.
But it turns out that gossip is how we discern who is trustworthy and who isn’t.
Researchers discovered that gossip can be good for you as it can help you connect with more cooperative people while avoiding selfish ones.
Study co-author Dana Nau said, “When people are interested in knowing if someone is a good person to interact with, if they can get information from gossiping—assuming the information is honest—that can be a very useful thing to have.”
“If other people are going to be on their best behaviour because they know that you gossip, then they’re more likely to cooperate with you on things.
“The fact that you gossip ends up providing a benefit to you as a gossiper. That then inspires others to gossip because they can see that it provides a reward.”
Not only is there a social benefit from gossip, but a study conducted in Italy revealed there is a chemical element to it. Engaging in gossip triggers a spike in the “love” hormone, oxytocin.
The study had a group of students engage in two conversations two days in a row.
On the first day half the students are told a scandalous yet false story about another one of their sorority sisters having an unplanned pregnancy.
The other half of the participants were told an emotional story about a sports injury that led to serious medical complications.
The next day, all participants had a neutral conversation with the researcher about the study they were involved in.
The results concluded that levels of oxytocin were higher in the individual’s saliva after engaging in a gossip conversation than either an emotional non-gossip conversation or a neutral conversation.
