The gossipor “gossip” has its roots in evolutionary mechanisms that have guaranteed the survival and the cohesion of human groups. The tendency to exchange information and opinions about absent people allowed our ancestors to select allies and of discourage dangerous behavior. On a biological level, the pleasure you feel in telling and listening to other people’s stories is linked to release of rewarding substances in the brain, like dopamine, capable of strengthening the search for social bonds. From a simple pastime, the exchange of indiscretions is thus transformed into a “relational currency” with which we create trust, orient the reputation and maintain the unity of the group. Understanding these deep roots helps to recognize gossip as not just entertainment, but also a powerful tool of social regulation.
What is gossip and why is it part of us
If, generically, when we talk about gossip it makes us think about it scoopat the “notice” about the personal life of some Hollywood star, it is interesting to discover that the gossipin itself, affects all of us. Whenever someone talks about us and shares details about our life when we are absent, or when we do it about some other person who is not present at that moment, we are doing gossip. Gossip, chatter, “things for women”: gossip is actually important group behavior which played a crucial role in the survival of our ancestors.
To understand why, let’s imagine a prehistoric tribe, where there are no state institutions, law enforcement or ways to communicate remotely. For these human beings, knowing the behaviors of group members – who had proven loyal or who was unreliable – was not an affectation, but determined the strength and community well-beinghow much group members could trust each other. It was therefore a fundamental tool for keeping potential allies close and avoiding those who could have betrayed trust: the gossip contributed significantly to establish rules and shared values, strengthening social cohesion and discouraging antisocial behavior even when the leader was not around to directly monitor.
Gossip gives us dopamine
The biology of our brain encouraged the spread of this behavior, promoting those among us who enjoyed it to “gossip”. As a result, for most of us, hearing or telling the facts of others activates the reward circuit, releasing dopamine and making us feel pleasure.
Just like when we eat chocolate or watch a movie we love, there dopamine activates a chemical reinforcement mechanism which, through pleasure, pushes us to research and repeat behaviors which provide the release of this neurotransmitter. This explains why the gossip can become irresistible: it is a social pleasurea connection that makes us feel an active part of a group and that our brain has learned to promote to increase the chances of survival, benefiting from the protection of people close to us.
Gossip and social ties: a connection tool
If the gossip it’s so prevalent, so the reason is that it helps us build relationships. Talking about others allows us to create a common language, to share opinions and judgments and to establish complicity with those who listen to us. It’s as if the gossip it was a “social currency” with which we gain trust and a sense of belonging.
Furthermore, the gossip acts as a guide in social dynamics, offering us valuable information to understand who has more influence, who is unreliable or who breaks the rules. In this sense, it is a sort of compass that orients us in the complexities of group life.
Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar defines the gossip as a linguistic mechanism of “social grooming”, similar to mutual cleaning practices (il grooming) that monkeys do on each other. For Dunbar, language itself evolved for the sharing of especially social information, and the gossip acts as a regulator of reputationa way to collectively distribute critical information about others’ conduct, promoting large-scale cooperation.
