Although many women report being victimized by gossip, fewer report spreading negative gossip. Female gossipers might be unaware they are gossiping if they disclose such statements out of concern for targets. Four studies (N = 1709) investigated whether women believe their gossip is motivated by concern and whether expressing concern for targets insulates female gossipers against social costs, while simultaneously impairing targets' reputations. Study 1 examined sex differences in gossip motivations. Compared to men, women endorsed stronger concern than harm motivations, especially when gossiping about other women, suggesting these motivations characterize female intrasexual gossip. In Study 2, female gossipers who phrased their negative gossip with concern (versus maliciously or neutrally) were evaluated as more trustworthy and desirable as social and romantic partners. Study 3 replicated the favorable evaluations of concerned female gossipers. Female participants especially disliked malicious female gossipers, suggesting professions of concern might help to avoid women's scorn. Male participants reported lower romantic interest in female gossip targets when they learned concern (versus malicious or no) gossip, suggesting concerned gossip can harm female targets' romantic prospects. Study 4 revealed these patterns extend to face-to-face interactions. A female gossiper was preferred as a social partner when she phrased her gossip with concern versus maliciously. Moreover, concerned gossip harmed perceptions of the female target as effectively as malicious gossip. Altogether, findings suggest that negative gossip delivered with concern effectively harms female targets' reputations, while also protecting gossipers' reputations, indicating a viable strategy in female intrasexual competition.

中文翻译：

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祝福她的心：八卦用关切的措辞 为女性性内竞争提供优势


尽管许多女性报告说自己是八卦的受害者，但很少有人报告传播负面八卦。如果女性八卦者出于对目标的担忧而披露此类言论，则可能不知道她们在八卦。四项研究 （N = 1709） 调查了女性是否认为她们的八卦是出于担忧，以及表达对目标的担忧是否使女性八卦者免受社会成本的影响，同时损害目标的声誉。研究 1 检查了八卦动机的性别差异。与男性相比，女性赞同更关心而不是伤害动机，尤其是在八卦其他女性时，这表明这些动机是女性性内八卦的特征。在研究 2 中，以担忧（而不是恶意或中立的方式）表达负面八卦的女性八卦者被评估为作为社交和浪漫伴侣更值得信赖和可取。研究 3 复制了相关女性八卦者的好评。女性参与者特别不喜欢恶意的女性八卦者，这表明值得关注的职业可能有助于避免女性的轻蔑。男性参与者报告说，当他们了解到关心（与恶意或无恶意或无）八卦目标时，他们对女性八卦目标的浪漫兴趣较低，这表明关心八卦会损害女性目标的浪漫前景。研究 4 揭示了这些模式延伸到面对面的互动。当女性八卦者以关心而不是恶意的方式表达她的八卦时，她更倾向于作为社交伙伴。此外，令人担忧的八卦与恶意八卦一样有效地伤害了对女性目标的看法。 总而言之，研究结果表明，令人担忧的负面八卦有效地损害了女性目标的声誉，同时也保护了八卦者的声誉，这表明在女性性内竞争中是一种可行的策略。