The study showed that passing on rumours could help us monitor people who behave badly and prevent each other from being exploited by malicious individuals
Gossip is healthy because it helps calm you down and is important in maintaining social order, a new study claims.
Idle chatter in the workplace or over a coffee is often viewed as a damaging habit which spreads salacious rumours and harms people's reputations.
But new research suggests gossip could actually lower stress and help people overcome the frustration of seeing someone doing something wrong and getting away with it.
Psychologists from the University of California, Berkeley, found that volunteers' heart rates rose when they observed someone misbehaving, but that this stopped when they were allowed to discuss what they had seen with others.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, focused on "prosocial" gossip which helps spread information about dishonest people rather than voyeuristic chatter about celebrities' love lives, the researchers said.
In a trial designed to determine how strong our urge is to spread gossip, some participants even said they would spend money in order to send a note warning others about people they had seen cheating in a trust exercise.
Prof Robb Willer, one of the researchers, said: "Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip."
The study also showed that passing on rumours could help us monitor people who behave badly and prevent each other from being exploited by malicious individuals, Prof Willer added.
In an online trust game where players could lower their chances of winning by warning others about cheaters, the threat of being the subject of bad gossip encouraged people to play more fairly.
Prof Willer said: "Gossip gets a bad rap, but we're finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order."
一项新研究称，散播流言有益健康，因为散播流言能让人平静下来，对于维持社会秩序也很重要。
在工作场所闲聊或边喝咖啡边聊天常被视为有害的习惯，因为它会传播下流的谣言，损害人们的名誉。
然而新研究显示，散播流言其实能减轻压力，帮助人们克服看到有人做错事却没受惩罚的挫败感。
来自加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校的心理学家发现，当参加研究的志愿者看到某些人行为不端时心跳会加速，但当他们可以和别人谈论自己所看到的事情时心跳又会恢复正常。
该研究发表在《个性与社会心理学杂志》上。研究者称，这一研究关注的是帮助散播有关不正直的人的信息的“亲社会”流言，而非谈论名人感情生活的窥淫狂式的流言。
为了明确了解我们散播流言的欲望有多强烈，研究人员开展了一个试验，试验中有些参与者甚至表示，会花钱寄信警告别人要提防那个自己发现在信任练习中作弊的人。
其中一位研究人员罗伯•维勒教授说：“散播有关行为不端的人的信息会让人们感觉好一些，抚平那种促使他们去散播流言的挫败感。”
维勒教授补充说，研究还显示，散播流言能帮助人们监督那些行为不端的人，并防止大家受到恶人的利用。
在一个网上信任游戏中，如果玩家向他人告发作弊者，作弊者获胜的机会就会降低，害怕成为不利流言的主角的威胁鼓励人们更公平地玩游戏。
维勒教授说：“尽管人们对流言怨声很多，但我们找到了证据证明它在维持社会秩序方面也发挥着重要的作用。”