Download Tabloids[1].

Of Tabloids and Family Secrets:
The Evolutionary
Psychology of
Gossip
By:
Alex Reivitis
Krystal Gamez
Kyle Glassman
Introduction
• Levin & Arluke (1987): Social learning & Social
Comparison.
• Crawford (1998): enhances fitness.
• Alexander et al. (1979): Helps us predict the.
behaviors of others.
• Trivers (1971): Detection of cheaters.
• Boehm (1999): neutralizing dominance.
Hypothesis #1
• Participants should express greater interest in gossip
about others of the same gender and approximately
the same age as themselves
Hypothesis #2
•Participants should show greater interest in
positive information about allies (e.g friends and
relatives) than in positive information about nonallies.
Hypothesis #3
Participants should be more likely to spread
positive information about allies and negative
information about non-allies.
Experiment 1
• Participants: 128, (61 male, 67 female).
• Materials:
– 12 articles about celebrities from tabloids in 1996.
– Divided by age group of the celebrities.
• Procedure:
– Participants ranked each article based on their interest.
– They disclosed their age, gender, and occupation.
Celebrities Featured in
Tabloids
• Under age 35
–
–
–
–
Robert Downey, Jr.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Courtney Cox
Oksana Baiul
• Ages 36-55
–
–
–
–
Don Johnson
Kelsey Grammar
Christie Brinkley
Jamie Lee Curtis
• Over age 56
–
–
–
–
Frank Sinatra
The Frugal Gourmet
Barbara Walters
Jane Wyman
Experiment 1: Results
• Most participants under the age of 30 selected
tabloids about celebrities under the age of 36.
• Most participants who were over the age of 30
showed the opposite pattern.
• Individuals tended to be more interested in celebrities
their own age and gender.
– John F. Kennedy Jr. (exception to rule).
• Results support the hypothesis #1.
Experiment 2
• Participants: 83, (39 males, 44 females).
• Materials:
– 12 hypothetical gossip scenarios.
– Themes of the scenarios included: promiscuity, drug abuse,
sexual infidelity, drunken behavior, etc.
• Procedure:
– Participants read each scenario and answered two questions:
• 1. how likely he/she would be to seek more information about situation.
• 2. how likely he/she would be to pass along the information.
Experiment 2: Results
• Positive information about non-allies was not
considered interesting.
• Positive information about allies was spread quickly.
• Girls were significantly more interested in the
happenings of celebrity girls (gender differences).
• People found information about their “friends” most
interesting.
Discussion
• People actively seek information about others that
will be most useful in social competition.
• We seek exploitable information about people of high
status and non-allies.
• Evolution is not the only explanation.
• Need more research to determine evolutionary
influence.
Critical Review
• Pros.
• Cons
• All three hypotheses
were supported by
findings.
• Sex differences in
terms of what tabloids
were considered
“interesting”.
• The JFK exception.
• Sample size (small)
• Self-Report,
• No causation.
• Evolutionary
adaptations are difficult
to scientifically prove.
Who do you find yourself
Gossiping about?