Standing in the Way of Control

Gossip

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.Gossip has been researched in terms of its origins in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means for people to monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party. Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large groups. more »