Tell Me the Gossip: the Self-Evaluative Function of Receiving Gossip About Others

We investigate the self-evaluative function of competence-related gossip for individuals who receive it. using the self-concept enhancing tactician (scent) model,we propose that individuals use evaluative information about others (i.e.,gossip) to improve,promote,and protect themselves. results of a critical incident study and an experimental study showed that positive gossip had higher self-improvement value than negative gossip,whereas negative gossip had higher self-promotion value and raised higher self-protection concerns than positive gossip. self-promotion mediated the relationship between gossip valence and pride,while self-protection mediated the relationship between gossip valence and fear,although the latter mediated relationship emerged for receivers with mastery goals rather than performance goals. these results suggest that gossip serves self-evaluative functions for gossip receivers and triggers self-conscious emotions. © 2014 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.