Periodic Reporting for period 4 - FORCE-OF-GOSSIP (The unknown force: How gossip shapes the functioning and performance of organizational groups.)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2023-03-01 do 2024-02-29
Within the ERC Consolidator Grant project “The unknown force: How gossip shapes the functioning and performance of organizational groups”, we studied the antecedents and consequences of gossip in organizations.
Most people have a general idea of what “gossiping” entails and often, we tend to see it as either a trivial, or even as a morally reproachable type of behavior. At the same time however, gossip, which is defined as exchanging information about somebody behind their back, is an activity that many people engage in. In organizations, in which people work together and are interdependent, that is, influence one another in various ways, gossip is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Interestingly, research examining the impact of gossiping on teams in organizations, has thus far not led to conclusive insights. On the one hand, studies have sometimes underlined the negative “lay” perspective on gossip, by demonstrating that gossiping is associated with distrust in teams, and lowered team cooperation and viability. On the other hand, other studies have demonstrated that gossip can motivate people to behave more in accordance with (cooperative) group norms and therefore has been found to enhance cooperation and team outcomes. As such, gossip is currently an “unknown force” in organizations; we cannot answer the question of when and why it is functional or dysfunctional for work groups.
The purpose of our research project “The unknown force: How gossip shapes the functioning and performance of organizational groups” is to change this. In this project, by using different research methods, we aim to increase understanding of the meaning and (dys)functionality of gossip in organizations.
Most people have a general idea of what “gossiping” entails and often, we tend to see it as either a trivial, or even as a morally reproachable type of behavior. At the same time however, gossip, which is defined as exchanging information about somebody behind their back, is an activity that many people engage in. In organizations, in which people work together and are interdependent, that is, influence one another in various ways, gossip is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Interestingly, research examining the impact of gossiping on teams in organizations, has thus far not led to conclusive insights. On the one hand, studies have sometimes underlined the negative “lay” perspective on gossip, by demonstrating that gossiping is associated with distrust in teams, and lowered team cooperation and viability. On the other hand, other studies have demonstrated that gossip can motivate people to behave more in accordance with (cooperative) group norms and therefore has been found to enhance cooperation and team outcomes. As such, gossip is currently an “unknown force” in organizations; we cannot answer the question of when and why it is functional or dysfunctional for work groups.
The purpose of our research project “The unknown force: How gossip shapes the functioning and performance of organizational groups” is to change this. In this project, by using different research methods, we aim to increase understanding of the meaning and (dys)functionality of gossip in organizations.
This research project consists of four subprojects which have their own focus and methodology.
Subproject 1
Objectives: Distinguishing proself and prosocial gossip and examining effects of social information processing on gossip recipients' attributions of, and reactions to, gossip.
Main results: We found that gossip can be driven by prosocial (group-enhancing) as well as proself (self-enhancing) motives. Furthermore, study results showed that when gossip receivers interpreted negative gossip as pro-socially (vs. pro-selfishly) motivated, they trusted gossipers more and gossip targets less (measured as behavioral as well as attitudinal indicators of trust). As such, our results show that for recipient reactions to gossip, motive attributions play a pivotal role. In addition, we found that people who process information deeply rather than superficially are better able to distinguish between proself and prosocial gossip.
Subproject 2
Objectives: Examine the effects of gossip and type of task on group functioning and performance.
Main results: Gossip can have functional effects on group member behavior, that is, our studies show that people are more honest when they know that they can be gossiped about than when they are not gossiped about because the fear of gossip increases people's reputational concerns.
Subproject 3
Objectives: Examine gossip processes in a self-organizing computer model, enabling tests of group composition effects and feedback loops.
Main results: Gossip mainly has a negative effect on cooperation when compared to only first-hand information. While pro-self and emotion-venting gossip always decrease cooperation, the positive role of pro-social gossip depends on the agents’ initial propensity to cooperate. We also examined how large collectives can sustain cooperation given that information provided through gossip can be unreliable. Our results revealed that as long as gossip receivers ignore the information provided by gossipers they deem unreliable, but do not punish them by refraining from cooperative interactions with them, cooperation can be sustained.
Subproject 4
Objectives: Establish external validity by examining gossip in organizational samples, and enabling tests of variables not included in the simple version of the GOSSIPP framework.
Main results: In a Dutch community sample, we sampled daily events in which people either sent or received gossip about a target Gossip senders frequently shared information about targets’ cooperativeness and did so in ways that minimize potential retaliation from targets. Receivers overwhelmingly believed gossip to be true and updated their evaluation of targets based on gossip. In turn, a positive shift in the evaluation of a target was associated with higher intentions to help them in future interactions, and with lower intentions to avoid them in the future. Thus, gossip is used in daily life to impact and update reputations in a way that enables partner selection and indirect reciprocity.
All in all, project results indicate that gossip can be driven by prosocial and proself goals, and that even negative gossip can be appreciated by receivers as long as it is attributed to prosocial goals. Furthermore, gossip can be functional for organizations and the groups working within them. because it stimulates moral behavior by group members. However, these results must be regarded with nuance: whereas receiving gossip can serve receivers' learning for example, being the target of gossip can lead to seeking feedback about one's behavior (an effect that may be considered functional in an organizational context), but it can also reduce feedback seeking behavior because it increases negative affect.
Subproject 1
Objectives: Distinguishing proself and prosocial gossip and examining effects of social information processing on gossip recipients' attributions of, and reactions to, gossip.
Main results: We found that gossip can be driven by prosocial (group-enhancing) as well as proself (self-enhancing) motives. Furthermore, study results showed that when gossip receivers interpreted negative gossip as pro-socially (vs. pro-selfishly) motivated, they trusted gossipers more and gossip targets less (measured as behavioral as well as attitudinal indicators of trust). As such, our results show that for recipient reactions to gossip, motive attributions play a pivotal role. In addition, we found that people who process information deeply rather than superficially are better able to distinguish between proself and prosocial gossip.
Subproject 2
Objectives: Examine the effects of gossip and type of task on group functioning and performance.
Main results: Gossip can have functional effects on group member behavior, that is, our studies show that people are more honest when they know that they can be gossiped about than when they are not gossiped about because the fear of gossip increases people's reputational concerns.
Subproject 3
Objectives: Examine gossip processes in a self-organizing computer model, enabling tests of group composition effects and feedback loops.
Main results: Gossip mainly has a negative effect on cooperation when compared to only first-hand information. While pro-self and emotion-venting gossip always decrease cooperation, the positive role of pro-social gossip depends on the agents’ initial propensity to cooperate. We also examined how large collectives can sustain cooperation given that information provided through gossip can be unreliable. Our results revealed that as long as gossip receivers ignore the information provided by gossipers they deem unreliable, but do not punish them by refraining from cooperative interactions with them, cooperation can be sustained.
Subproject 4
Objectives: Establish external validity by examining gossip in organizational samples, and enabling tests of variables not included in the simple version of the GOSSIPP framework.
Main results: In a Dutch community sample, we sampled daily events in which people either sent or received gossip about a target Gossip senders frequently shared information about targets’ cooperativeness and did so in ways that minimize potential retaliation from targets. Receivers overwhelmingly believed gossip to be true and updated their evaluation of targets based on gossip. In turn, a positive shift in the evaluation of a target was associated with higher intentions to help them in future interactions, and with lower intentions to avoid them in the future. Thus, gossip is used in daily life to impact and update reputations in a way that enables partner selection and indirect reciprocity.
All in all, project results indicate that gossip can be driven by prosocial and proself goals, and that even negative gossip can be appreciated by receivers as long as it is attributed to prosocial goals. Furthermore, gossip can be functional for organizations and the groups working within them. because it stimulates moral behavior by group members. However, these results must be regarded with nuance: whereas receiving gossip can serve receivers' learning for example, being the target of gossip can lead to seeking feedback about one's behavior (an effect that may be considered functional in an organizational context), but it can also reduce feedback seeking behavior because it increases negative affect.
Before the project started, disparate research findings caused gossip, a ubiquitous phenomenon in organizational groups, to remain an "unknown force" in organizations.
The project changes this by:
- bridging disciplinary approaches and research paradigms (e.g. experiments suggesting group interaction, interactive group experiments, computer modelling, qualitative studies) that have previously only been employed separately from one another for gossip research.
- integrating insights based on these various paradigms in significant contributions (i.e. journal publications) in the fields of organization science, social / organizational psychology, communication science, and complexity science, which explain previously disparate research findings and therefore lead to much needed understanding of gossip. Please see the project's publications for details.
- generating knowledge on motivations driving gossip and effects of gossip. Project results can therefore inform practitioners about the dynamics of gossip in organizations, enabling the development of evidence-based interventions.
- opening up possibilities to increase understanding of gossip even further by linkages to other fields and disciplines (i.e. institutional / cultural change in organizations, conflict resolution, impression management and organizational learning).
The project changes this by:
- bridging disciplinary approaches and research paradigms (e.g. experiments suggesting group interaction, interactive group experiments, computer modelling, qualitative studies) that have previously only been employed separately from one another for gossip research.
- integrating insights based on these various paradigms in significant contributions (i.e. journal publications) in the fields of organization science, social / organizational psychology, communication science, and complexity science, which explain previously disparate research findings and therefore lead to much needed understanding of gossip. Please see the project's publications for details.
- generating knowledge on motivations driving gossip and effects of gossip. Project results can therefore inform practitioners about the dynamics of gossip in organizations, enabling the development of evidence-based interventions.
- opening up possibilities to increase understanding of gossip even further by linkages to other fields and disciplines (i.e. institutional / cultural change in organizations, conflict resolution, impression management and organizational learning).