It Turns Out There Is Such a Thing as Good Gossip, According to New Research

It doesn't have to be dishonest to talk about someone behind their back. New research shows that if the information being shared is true, it can have a positive effect on our relationships.

The findings are based on a mathematical model of gossip that won the Ig Nobel Prize, a satiric award designed to make people laugh and then make them think.

Human interaction is a staple of this form of communication. There is a good chance that gossip is useful.

Some of the social functions of gossip are shown in a growing body of research.

It could be a good way to judge someone. A form of social punishment is when the listener can detect lies and come to distrust the liar.

If someone gives true information about a third party, this could improve trust between individuals.

Using a simplified mathematical model, an international team of researchers attempted to explore when gossip is likely to be honest and how it will affect everyone involved.

The model was put together by Paul van Lange from Vrij Universiteit Amsterdam, Szabolcs Szmad from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and JunhuiWu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

They talked as a triangle. The gossiper is at one corner of the triangle, the recipient is at another and the third person is not present.

Four games that captured the repercussions of gossiping were used to explore four different social interactions.

If the exchange benefited the person who heard the gossip or if it was costly to either of them.

The researchers tested their hypothesis that gossipers would choose to spread lies to maximize their own benefit without costing their reputation, all the while weighing what connection they had to the other two people involved.

Gossipers decide to be honest when they share a goal with the other two parties.

They were more likely to lie when their goals were not in line with the person they were talking to.

"For example, you may be competing with a co-worker for a prized promotion, where only one of you can get the job," explains Tiokhin.

One person's failure means another person's success in such a situation. When the gossip is already negative, dishonest gossip can be expected to harm co-workers.

The models used by researchers are only theoretical and do not reflect the complexity of social interactions. The recipient of gossip is assumed to believe what they hear.

The gossiper knew if other people were going to cooperate or not.

Tiokhin says that the assumptions were made for tractability.

Researchers found that gossipers can make better decisions about whether to lie or not depending on the situation.

Gossiping about other people is more likely to be dishonest if the other person's intentions are actually good.

Gossiping about loved ones is more likely to be positive according to other studies.

The field is still in the early stages of understanding individuals' strategies to share honest or dishonest gossip.

The marginal cost/benefit is what determines honesty.

The study was published in a journal.