The Relative Effectiveness of Positive and Negative Gossip in Promoting Prosocial Giving: The Examination of the Valence of Gossip Content and Reputational Consequences

Abstract

Gossip promotes prosocial behavior via reputational concern. However, the relative effectiveness of positive and negative gossip has been understudied. I examined to what extent positive and negative gossip promoted prosocial behavior when a potential consequence of gossip was positively framed (a third party offering a financial bonus) and negatively framed (a third party deducting a bonus). I found that gossip, irrespective of its valence, promoted generosity via reputational concern in both contexts. Yet, analyses suggested that positive gossip may have a stronger effect in promoting prosociality. The findings, together with previous findings, call for further investigation of the relationship between the effectiveness of positive and negative gossip in promoting prosociality and types of reputational consequences.