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6B Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
Gossip: telling tales or building relatio'zships?
HERE'S TO
YOUR. HEALTH
AURA WHITTAKER
According to Frank McAn-
drew, a professor of psycholo-
gy at Knox College in Gales-
burg, Ill., gossip is "a social
skill, not a character flaw...
It's only when you don't do it
well that you get into trouble."
Gossip is defined in the dic-
tionary as idle talk or rumor,
especially about personal or
private affairs of others, or
light, familiar talk or writ-
ings. However, the notion of
gossip can be tricky to define.
A widely accepted definition
accepted by researchers
follows.
"The practice (of gossip) in-
volves talk about people who
are not present and this talk is
relaxed, informal and enter-
taining. Typically, the topic of
conversation also concerns in-
formation we can make moral
judgments about." We tend to
feel pleasure whenever we
share savory scraps of infor-
mation because gossip helps
build and cement connections
with others, McAndrew says.
It's possible those tidbits can
be the tool people use to en-
force unwritten societal com-
mandments.
Whether it happens around
the water cooler, in the locker
roorh or via text message,
we're all guilty of a little gos-
sip now and then. Even the
most virtuous fall prey to
some behind-the-back
chitchat once in a while. And
as technology advances, so-
cial networking sites, celebri-
ty blogs and smartphones
make it easier than ever to
transmit scandalous tidbits.
Though at face value, gossip
seems to do nothing more
than damage someone's repu-
tation and self-esteem, some
experts say the spreading of
gossip may actually be
healthy.
Why exactly do most hu-
mans seem to have such a lust
for gossip? Some researchers
blame it on our ancestors. Ap-
parently our predecessors
lived in intimate groups in
which members had to rely
Audubon visits GOP women
The "Grebe Project" will be
the topic when the League Of
Women Voters of Plumas
County meets Thursday, Oct. 6,
at the Quincy Library at 6 p.m.
David Arsenault, president
of the Plumas Audubon Soci-
ety, heads the four-year study
of these fascinating birds, fa-
miliar sights on four northern
C/illfornia lakes. One of them,
Clark's grebe, is on
Audubon's "watch list,"
which means the species is at
risk but not yet classified as
"endangered." The project's
goal is to reduce human inter-
ference with the breeding of
this less well-knOwn grebe as
well as the western grebe.
Joyce Scroggs, co-president
of the Plumas League, says,
"Not just bird watchers but
those of us who don't get out
as much as we'd like will
find much of interest in this
program and we cordially in-
vite them to attend." For
more information call 283-
0795 or 294:7206.
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on each other, but also engage
in competition for limited re-
sources. Those who had the
savvy to gather information
about their fellow group mem-
bers achieved more success.
Hence, our desire to get the
scoop on friends, colleagues
and enemies may be innate.
Many researchers believe
that, when controlled, gossip
can be a major asset to hu-
mans. Individuals not only
forge bonds by sharing infor-
mation, but they effectively
maintain the norms and
tenets of their group culture.
When one person is the target
of gossip, the group quickly
identifies him or her as a vio-
lator of its standards. After
all, researchers say gossip is
usually characterized by in-
formation we can evaluate on
a moral level. So by outing
those who defy social ethics,
the group as a whole can pros-
per and thrive.
Anthropologist, author and
professor at Rutgers Universi-
ty Helen Fisher says gossip is
left over from way back when
humankind still lived on the
savannah. It's likely the men
were out hunting, often alone.
Women, on the other hand,
needed to raise babies. They
needed to build a network.
Sharing information about
others was a way to start and
cement connections, accord-
ing to Fisher.
This does not mean, howev-
er, that distributing photo-
copies of your rival's diary is
a clever way to climb the so-
cial ladder. Because our mod-
em society no longer deals
with the perils of prehistoric
civilization, today's informa-
tion grapevine can be quite
damaging. Although we don't
rely on the primitive func-
tions of gossip to inform and
protect oflr social groups any-
more, we continue to engage
in gossip today.
Gossip may be considered
good when people use it selec-
tively for the good of their so-
cial group. It is important to
share information, but not in-
discriminately. Gossip is bad
when it serves no purpose but
to ingratiate yourself with a
group by saying awful things
about someone else. When the
gossip is good news, that's a
no-brainer -- it's commonly
accepted to share. Passing on
negative stuff is sometimes
acceptable when you think it
might protect a friend from
harm.
"In its rawest form (gossip)
• is a strategy used by individu-
als to further their own repu-
tations and selfish interests at
the expense of others," says
McAndrew.
It seems the gossip rule of
thumb is to acknowledge it as
a basic adaptive skill that
shouldn't be repressed, but to
engage in it with utmost cau-
tion. McAndrew says, "Suc-
cessful gossiping is about be-
ing a good team player and
sharing key information with
others in a way that will not
be perceived as self-serving
and about understanding
when to keep your mouth
shut." Just remember to be
choosy about the source. Like
most things in life, to keep
gossip from being detrimen-
tal, moderation and aware-
ness are key.
Diligence is payi W off for vets
VET TRx
MIKE McLEOD
Division Director, Veterans Services
During the week of Sept.
26 - 30, I will be attending the
necessary accreditation con-
ference in Bakersfield, as
required by the Veterans A d-
ministration and the Califor-
nia Department of Veterans
Affairs. There are several
new pieces of legislation to re-
view as well as policy and
procedure changes that could
have an effect on our nation's
veterans.
It is a good time to meet
.with my fllow county veter-
ans services officers and dis-
cuss events, programs and
issues they are facing. It is
SENIORSll
Enrollment- to Chain
• Has your current
insurance company
increased your monthly
premiums again?
• Are you aware that there
is a rule whereby "NO
ONE" is turned away
based on age or health?
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BRINES' INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
interesting to see what kinds
of resources are available in
other areas and how they
might be available to our rur-
al community.
Although the process is
painfully slow working with
the Veterans Benefits Admin-
istration, diligence is paying
off. Several veterans have fi-
nally received awards and
compensation for their ser-
vice-connected disabilities. At
the conference we will be
hearing from federal officials
on ways to possibly streamline
the dreadfully slow process,
I hope to return with some
good information and look
forward to serving our veter-
ans and dependents.
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