Can I trust you? Children's perceptions of friends and classmates who gossip

Abstract

This study examined children and adolescents' perceptions of trustworthiness about peers who shared gossip. Participants (N = 134, ages 8–16 years) completed vignettes from the gossip listener's perspective and evaluated how trustworthy the sharer was. The main findings revealed that a classmate gossiping negatively about the listener's friend was considered less trustworthy than the other relationship type conditions. Furthermore, in negative gossip scenarios, the sharer was rated more trustworthy when gossiping about the target's behavior that affected another person compared to an action only affecting themselves. Finally, compared to children, adolescents rated their friend who gossiped about another friend more trustworthy. This study helps in understanding to what extent children and adolescents trust individuals to provide them with important social information.