Words that Hurt: Trait Aggression and Gossiping Behaviors

Abstract

This study sought to assess the association between trait aggression and gossiping behaviors. Gossip is typically regarded as a negative behavior that often leads to negative feelings being felt by the target of the gossip. Subsequently, gossip is typically considered to be a form of aggressive behavior. One major driver of aggressive behavior is trait aggression which can be broken down to both the conscious aspects of aggression (i.e,, explicit) and the unconscious aspects (i.e., implicit). Thus, it was hypnotized that trait aggression - both explicit and implicit - would be positively associated with engaging in gossiping behaviors as reported by both peer- and self-reports. Results (N = 554) suggest that there is an empirical link between explicit aggression and gossiping behaviors. More specifically, explicit aggression was significantly associated with both peer- and self-reports of gossiping behaviors. Interestingly, implicit aggression did not demonstrate a significant relationship with gossiping behaviors. Additionally, there was no significant interaction between implicit and explicit aggression as often found in the literature. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed.