RESEARCH_FILE
Matthew Feinberg
University of California, Berkeley (later University of Toronto)
Known for:Experimental work on prosocial gossip — how sharing reputational information protects others and sustains cooperation
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I'm just listening — that's not gossiping”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I can stay in the room without helping this part along.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open your recent messages or mental replay from the last social hangout and write three words for what you actually did: listened, nodded, joked, changed the subject, stayed quiet. Do not judge it; just name it.
Key findings
- 2012
Observing an antisocial act generates negative affect that compels people to warn a potentially vulnerable person; passing on the warning reduces that distress, and participants with more prosocial orientations were the most motivated to gossip this way — even at personal cost. The Virtues of Gossip: Reputational Information Sharing as Prosocial Behavior ↗
- 2014
In groups playing repeated economic games, allowing gossip and the exclusion of free-riders sustained high cooperation — and ostracized individuals returned cooperating at levels comparable to everyone else, indicating gossip-based exclusion reformed rather than merely punished. Gossip and Ostracism Promote Cooperation in Groups ↗