Réponse :

He is openly frowned upon, but secretly loved: gossip. But why are we so eager to listen to stories of others' success and failure? Some psychologists have now investigated this question. They come to the conclusion: gossip provides us with important information that we need in order to be able to assess and evaluate ourselves better. Because we compare ourselves to those we’ve heard gossip about. So gossip is an important tool for self-reflection.

Clapping or gossiping about others in their absence is generally considered a negative thing. Gossip therefore often takes place in a small circle among confidants, or behind closed doors. But the fact that man delights in what others have achieved or what they have failed to achieve quite satisfies a meaningful purpose - not only within a social group, but also for the individual. At least that’s what some psychologists  suspected. So gossip could help improve and adapt to a social environment. For example, positive stories about others could be informative, because they show ways to be successful yourself. Negative gossip, on the other hand, could have a flattering effect, "Because it suggests that others work worse than we do," explains study director Elena Martinescu. At the same time, negative gossip could also be threatening, because it shows the possibility that one can also become a victim of negative treatment by one’s fellow human beings. “

To verify their suspicions, the scientists asked participants in a first attempt to recall an incident in which they had heard gossip about another person. They then tried to use questions to assess the value of this Gossip information for the subject - in terms of the three functions of self-optimization, self-promotion and self-protection. This showed: Positive gossip has a significance especially for self-optimization (How can I achieve this?).

In contrast, negative gossip plays a role, especially for self-promotion and self-protection. On the one hand, negative stories created a feeling of pride in the subjects, because they could compare themselves with the gossip victim and come to the conclusion that they were better than this person. On the other hand, this kind of gossip also caused worries and fears. After all, in the future one could become a victim of negative gossip and lose one’s reputation in this way.

Therefore gossip may be good when use for promoting people's values that could be useful for ouselves.

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