Long considered the domain of women, gossip may be just as likely to be spread by the mouths of men, new study findings suggest.

　　'Men have fewer social interactions than women, but proportionately speaking, they gossip just as much,' said Holly Hom, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

　　In a study reported here at a recent meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Hom and a colleague asked 51 college students to keep a diary for seven days, recording details and feelings of every social interaction that lasted at least 10 minutes.

　　Of the interactions that involved gossip about someone else, the discussions centered on relationship conflict, deceptive behavior, personal failure, sexual behavior or special achievements, findings revealed. In about half of the cases, the conversation was critical of others.

　　When asked why they gossiped, it appeared that men had more to gain than women. Men were more likely to say that telling gossip made them feel empowered, popular and close to their friends. They also were more likely to say that gossiping gave them a better understanding of behavioral standards, including an improved sense of right and wrong.

　　Still, both men and women felt a greater elevation in status when hearing critical rather than positive or neutral gossip. Men, however, were more likely than women to feel remorse after hearing negative gossip.

　　In a separate study, the researchers surveyed 73 college students about what defines gossip and how they perceive it.

　　Overall, participants said the main purpose of gossip is to entertain.




美国学者研究表明：男人也爱讲是非
　　人们一直觉得讲是非是女人的“专利”，但最近一项研究显示，很多是非是通过男人之口流传开来的。

　　据负责这项调查的维吉尼亚大学心理学硕士荷里-霍姆说：“男人们的社交活动没有女人多，但按讲话的比例而言，他们讲是非的比例和女人一样多。”

　　这次研究中，霍姆和他的同事让51名大学生连续七天记录下每天超过10分钟的社交活动，以及他们对此的感受如何。结果显示，在讲别人是非的“社交活动”中，人们的交谈集中在人际关系冲突、欺骗行为、个人过失、性行为和特别成就等方面。其中约半数的谈话都是在批评别人。

　　至于讲是非的原因，显然男人比女人“获得”较多。男人们表示讲是非让他们觉得自己权威、受欢迎和与伙伴关系良好。他们更表示讲是非可以让他们更好地了解行为准则，包括提高对事物对错的判断。然而，这项调查显示，男人们如果听到一些不好的是非会比女人更感自责。

　　根据另一项对73名大学生的调查显示，人们表示他们讲是非只是为了消谴。