Gossip harms power. Across 6 pre-registered primary studies and 7 pre-registered supplemental studies, we demonstrate that a reputation for engaging in negative gossip (sharing negatively-valanced information about an absent target) reduces expert power (power derived from being regarded as a superior source of expertise). A reputation for engaging in negative gossip harms expert power in two ways: (1) it reduces the likelihood that others will ask experts for advice, even when experts are clearly competent, and (2) it harms perceptions of the experts' competence. We also find that reputations for general, neutral, and sometimes even positive gossip reduce the likelihood that experts are asked for advice. Our results advance our understanding of who gains power in organizations and highlight an important cost of gossip for both individuals and their organizations. Our findings also underscore the important relationship between advice and power. Whether or not and from whom individuals seek advice determines who is accorded power.

中文翻译：

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八卦、权力和建议：八卦者被赋予的专家权力较少


流言蜚语损害权力。在 6 项预先注册的主要研究和 7 项预先注册的补充研究中，我们证明，参与负面八卦（分享有关缺席目标的负面信息）的名声会降低专家权力（因被视为高级信息来源而产生的权力）。专业知识）。参与负面八卦的名声会在两个方面损害专家权力：（1）它降低了其他人向专家寻求建议的可能性，即使专家显然有能力；（2）它损害了对专家能力的看法。我们还发现，一般、中立、有时甚至是积极八卦的声誉会降低向专家寻求建议的可能性。我们的研究结果加深了我们对谁在组织中获得权力的理解，并强调了八卦对个人及其组织的重要成本。我们的研究结果还强调了建议和权力之间的重要关系。个人是否以及向谁寻求建议决定了谁被授予权力。