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Experts say gossip
acts as instrument
for social guidance
Several professors contend
gossiping is nothing new
and that it helps some people
fulfill their social obligations
By Ayisha Yahya
News Editor
Many people have done it at some
point of their lives. In fact, some
people do it every day. Gossiping is
a practice that human beings in
dulge in on a constant basis. It
ranges from harmless comments
about someone's new shoes or latest
date to vindictive diatribe on who
stole whose girlfriend, or how so
and so only got a 4.0 GPA through
incessant cheating.
So why do people gossip?
"I would attribute part of it to
habit," University senior Erin
Lebow-Skelley said. She said gossip
is something people may learn
when they're young.
Associate psychology Professor
Holly Arrow said there is an evolu
tionary psychology perspective on
gossip. "Juicy gossip" is usually
about people breaking societal rules.
"It transmits quickly information
of those who are violating the
norm," she said.
People are usually more eager to
share news on those cheating on the
rules of a particular society than
those who are following them.
"It helps people detea and punish
bad behavior," Arrow said.
From this perspective, sharing
news on the rule-breakers may bene
fit the group, she added.
Frank McAndrew, a psychology
professor at Knox College in Gales
burg, 111.,, has written on the evolu
tionary psychology of gossip.
"People fulfill their social obliga
tions to others and avoid 'cheating' at
least in part because they fear that
they will be gossiped about, that their
reputation will suffer and they may
ultimately be excluded from the
group," he said in an e-mail interview.
McAndrew said people gossip be
cause "they cannot help it."
"An irresistible interest in gossip is
an evolutionary adaptation exactly
like our taste for sweet foods and our
attraction to people and places with
just the right qualities," he said. "In
order for our prehistoric ancestors to
be successful, they had to be up to
date on the comings and goings of
their allies as well as their rivals."
However, gossip can be used in
malicious ways.
"It can be negative," Lane Com
munity College freshman Ani Lar
son said, adding that gossip is usu
ally considered to be information
that is "none of your business."
"If it ever got around to the person
you're talking about it might hurt
their feelings," she said.
Arrow said one might take advan
tage of people's tendency to spread
information and start a negative ru
mor, and it may be hard for the vic
tim to know where the information
came from and to retaliate.
"It can be a relatively low-cost
form of personal damage," she said.
McAndrew said gossip can be
harmful to people and to relation
ships depending upon how it is used.
"At its worst, gossip is about the
manipulation of other people's rep
utations for the purpose of further
ing an individual's own selfish inter
ests," he said.
People not only gossip about
those close to them, but also about
celebrities.
Arrow said people may be inter
ested in powerful people because
they may want to be powerful
themselves.
"People who are powerful may
have an impact on your life so it's
useful to have information on
them," Arrow said. "Knowing what
popular people do may be intrinsi
cally interesting if we might want to
be more popular ourselves."
Perhaps gossiping is just a natural
part of being human.
"We are very social species, so infor
mation about other people is inher
ently interesting to us," Arrow said.
McAndrew has similar sentiments.
"Becoming part of a gossip net
work can increase the cohesiveness
of a group and help to quickly so
cialize newcomers into the life of a
group," he said.
Contact the news editor
at ayishayahya@dailyemerald.com.
MEAT
continued from page 6B
require certain preparation before
they are considered kosher to eat.
"Pork is not OK (to eat) and
shellfish is not OK — it depends
how strict you are," Oregon Hillel
Jewish Campus Service Cprps Fel
low Laura Don said. "There are dif
ferent degrees of keeping kosher."
She said it is certainly acceptable to
eat meats, such as chicken or beef,
once they are ritually cleansed, and
that dairy and meat products are not
meant to be consumed together in
one meal.
"In our Torah it says not to eat all of
those things," she said, referring
specifically to Leviticus.
According to the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, a veg
an diet — or "pure vegetarian" diet —
offers several nutritional benefits.
"Well-planned vegan and other
types of vegetarian diets are appropri
ate for all stages of the life cycle, in
cluding during pregnancy, infancy,
childhood and adolescence," the June
2003 article said. "Vegetarian diets of
fer a number of nutritional benefits,
including lower levels of saturated fat
and cholesterol."
Contact the freelance editor
atjennifersudick@dailyemerald.com.