Gossip and Pro Social Behavior

Abstract

Volunteerism is pro-social behavior that positively affects both society and the volunteers themselves. Gossip is also a pro-social behavior, but usually perceived as negative. This research focuses on the effect of pro-social attitudes, age, and gossip on pro-social behavior, and specifically on the intention to volunteer. A mixed method design was employed, combining manual and automated classification methods. Predicated on data elicited from 598 respondents, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for convergent and discriminant validity were conducted. Path Analysis was used for goodness-of-fit analysis. The findings confirmed the hypotheses, suggesting that age, anti-gossip, and pro-social attitudes precede the intention to volunteer. Gossip was found to be perceived as negative despite its positive characteristics. This study represents an important attempt at determining the antecedents of the intention to volunteer as well as adding to our knowledge of gossip and refuting ageist stereotypes.