PITTSBURGH — When it comes to juicy gossip, it turns out women are more likely to spill the beans than men. In fact, a new study finds men are significantly less likely to spread negative details about themselves in comparison to women.
The study, which examined people’s tendencies to share information, reveals that women are more likely to engage in gossip than men, especially when it involves negative information about themselves. However, this contrast did not appear when it came to sharing positive news, as both genders showed a similar willingness to spread happy news.
The findings suggest that men are more concerned about how others will perceive them. Additionally, women reported finding more pleasure in gossiping, indicating higher levels of satisfaction with the amount they disclosed.
The research was conducted by an international team from institutions in the United States and Italy, including the Bayes Business School at Carnegie Mellon University in Philadelphia and Bocconi University in Milan. This study aimed to understand gender disparities in the context of the modern, internet-driven landscape of information sharing, considering that most prior research on the topic predates the digital era.
Over a thousand participants took part in three separate experiments. In the first, individuals recounted instances when they were eager to share information and whether they acted on this urge. The results showed no substantial difference in the eagerness to share positive news, such as a job promotion. However, men were less likely to share negative experiences, like being passed over for a promotion.
Further experiments measured the desire to share and the tendency to disclose both positive and negative information on various subjects and experiences. The researchers note that the pattern of women sharing negative information more freely than men was a novel discovery.
“The results from our studies revealed a consistent, and to the best of our knowledge not previously identified, nuanced pattern, wherein the tendency for women to disclose more than men depends crucially on the nature of the information shared,” says the first author of the study, Dr. Erin Carbone, a visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, in a media release. “These findings can help make sense of the existing literature, as well as clarify some existing stereotypes, around gender differences in disclosure.”
The study also finds that while women derived more satisfaction from their disclosures, men were more prone to withhold information about their thoughts and feelings, even in situations where sharing could be beneficial.
“Disclosure is increasingly prevalent and permanent in the digital age. The advent of social media and digital communication channels has enabled unprecedented levels of information sharing, which is accompanied by an array of social and psychological consequences,” concludes Irene Scopelliti, a Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Science at Bayes Business School and co-author of the study.
“Our results show that gender remains an important fault line when it comes to the desire and propensity to disclose negative information, and men may be differentially advantaged by, or vulnerable to, the consequences of information sharing compared to women.”
The research is published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
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South West News Service writer James Gamble contributed to this report.
