14 DAY TRIAL // Could there be anything good in bad gossip? "We certainly do not deny that gossip behavior has it drawbacks. Still, if there is a positive side of gossip, we believe it is that shared, mild, negative attitudes toward others can create and/or amplify interpersonal intimacy," researchers write.
Jennifer K. Bosson, from the department of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma, and her colleagues have conducted the following study: At first scientists wanted to know whether people weight more the positive or the negative aspects of other people. So, the participants were asked to list the positive and negative attitudes they shared at the early and later stages of close relationships. Researchers found that people recalled more negative than positive attitudes about others.
Then, the participants listened to a conversation between two fictional characters. They were asked to explain what they liked or did not like about one of the characters. They were then told that they shared or did not share the same thoughts as another participant. The two participants, who did not know each other previously, were then left together to see how they get along.
The authors found that those whose partner had a mutual dislike of the character got along better and felt closer to this stranger than people who learned that they shared a liking. Thus, disliking a third person creates a more powerful social connection than a mutual preference for somebody.
They draw the conclusion that after all sharing negative attitudes about others may have positive consequences: it promotes closeness and friendship. The authors found that negative attitudes are frequently shared among friends and, as their experiment revealed, can even promote friendships among strangers.
Researchers say that people gossip because this is how the in-group/out-group boundaries are drawn; gossip boosts self-esteem and conveys information not only about other but more importantly about the attitude holder.