2 min readLondonSep 8, 2009 05:00 PM IST
First published on: Sep 8, 2009 at 05:00 PM IST
When it comes to gossip woman are stereotyped as bigger tittle-tattle than their male counterparts but a new study says that men are twice as likely to engage in catty comments about people’s appearance.
A research by Dr Nicholas Emler,University of Surrey,who has studied 300 people found that 80 per cent of conversation people engage in is gossip which is “absolutely fundamental” to human society.
“But,while gossip accounts for up to 80 per cent of our conversation,only around five per cent is malicious”,Emler was quoted by Daily Mail speaking during the British Science Festival.
And despite women being stereotyped as being bigger gossips than men,males are twice as likely to engage in catty chats about people’s appearance,he said.
Emler said that the swapping of juicy tit-bits is fundamental to human society and separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.
“It fosters trust and co-operation,allowing us to build bigger,richer and more complex societies than other creatures”,he said.
The social psychologist said that gossip might have developed from the cave age as a tool for survival,with the trading of information helping cavemen catch thieves and elect leaders.
“In fact it is gossip that sets us apart from other animals. It is fundamental to being human. It allows us to know about people that we have never met”,Emler said.
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