"Did you Hear?" : Gossip as a Manifestation of Trait Aggression

Abstract

This study sought to ascertain how trait aggression relates to individuals' motives and tendencies to participate in various types of gossip; while empirically differentiating between the application of negative and positive gossip within organizations. Based on the association between both gossip and aggression with dominance and power, the current study proposed that individuals' tendency to gossip would be a function of trait aggression and their motive to gossip. In other words, aggressive individuals possess a strong desire to harm and gain power from others and they are likely to perceive gossip as a means to fulfill this need. Results (N = 353) indicated that there is a relationship between trait aggression and gossip. Specifically, the interaction between implicit and explicit aggression had a direct positive relationship with the tendency to gossip about others' achievements. Additionally, implicit aggression had a direct positive relationship with the motive to gossip for negative influence, information gathering/validation, and group protection as well as the tendency to gossip about social information and others' physical appearance. Moreover, explicit aggression had a direct positive relationship with both the motive to gossip for negative influence and the tendency to gossip about social information. Last, and most intriguing, only the motive to gossip for negative influence had a direct positive relationship with the tendency to gossip about social information, others' physical appearance, others' appearance, and sublimated gossip. Taken together, results imply that trait aggressive individuals gossip more than their non-aggressive counterparts and are motivated to do so in order to have a negative influence on others.