八卦的科學(以及為什么每個人都會八卦)

八卦的科學(以及為什么每個人都會八卦)

People feed off gossip. It's one reason why, in the 1960s, the National Enquirer swapped the gory, gruesome headlines they were known for with celebrity scoops and scandal.

人們喜歡八卦。這就是為什么在20世紀60年代，《國家詢問報》用名人獨家新聞和丑聞取代他們所知道的血腥、可怕的頭條新聞的原因之一。

Social scientists have found that everyone is hardwired to pay attention to gossip, and to participate in it. In fact, it's an evolutionary adaptation.

社會科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)，每個人都會關(guān)注八卦，并參與其中。事實上，這是一種進化適應(yīng)。

McAndrew, an expert on human social behavior and gossip, explains that to thrive in the time of cavemen, we had to know what was happening with the people around us.

麥克安德魯是人類社會行為和八卦方面的專家，他解釋說，要想在穴居人的時代茁壯成長，我們必須了解周圍的人發(fā)生了什么。

"Who is sleeping with whom? Who has power? Who has access to resources? And if you weren't good at that, you weren't very successful," he said.

“誰跟誰睡覺?”誰有權(quán)力?誰有權(quán)使用資源?如果你在這方面做得不好，你就不會很成功。”他說。

Gossip generally has a negative connotation, especially when you think about hurtful rumors and a person's right to privacy.

八卦通常有負面的含義，尤其是當你想到有害的謠言和一個人的隱私權(quán)時。

But in everyday life, researchers say, our chatter about other people tends to be relatively boring and neutral and serves its own unique purpose.

但研究人員說，在日常生活中，我們談?wù)搫e人往往是相對無聊和中立的，有其獨特的目的。

52 minutes of gossip a day

每天52分鐘的八卦時間

Most researchers define gossip as talking about someone who isn't present and sharing information that isn't widely known.

大多數(shù)研究人員將八卦定義為談?wù)摬辉趫龅娜艘约胺窒聿粸槿酥男畔ⅰ?/p>

And according to an analysis by researchers at the University of California Riverside, the average person spends 52 minutes every day doing exactly that.

根據(jù)加州大學河濱分校研究人員的一項分析，每個人每天平均花52分鐘八卦。

Yet the majority of our gossip is harmless. About 15% of our gabbing involves negative judgment -- or what researchers call "evaluative" -- but outside of that, the average person is just stating facts, such as "she's stuck late at work," or "he had to go to the hospital."

然而，我們大多數(shù)的八卦是無害的。在我們的閑聊中，約有15%的八卦涉及消極的判斷——也就是研究人員稱之為“評價性的”——但除此之外，一般人只是在陳述事實，比如“她工作到很晚”或“他必須去醫(yī)院”。

This kind of neutral chitchat actually helps us build friendships, community or learn information that's vital for having a social life, said Megan Robbins, a UC Riverside psychology professor.

加州大學河濱分校的心理學教授梅根·羅賓斯說，這種中性的閑聊實際上有助于我們建立友誼、建立社區(qū)，或者了解對社交生活至關(guān)重要的信息。

Everyone gossips -- and it's not all bad

每個人都會八卦，但也不全是壞事

The practice becomespurely harmful when it doesn't provide any opportunity for social learning, scientists say, such as with rude comments about someone's appearance or health and comments that are blatantly untrue.

科學家說，這種做法如果沒有提供任何社會學習的機會，比如對某人的外貌或健康做出粗魯?shù)脑u論，以及公然不真實的評論，那么它就變得純粹有害。

Where judgmental or negative gossip can be useful is when it provides cultural learning and compels people to behave better.

判斷性的或負面的八卦可能有用的地方是，它提供了文化學習，并迫使人們表現(xiàn)得更好。

Robbins said there is compelling research that gossip might serve as a check on people's moral behavior, deterring potential cheaters or slackers in a group setting because we care about our reputations and the risk of others gossiping about our bad decisions.

羅賓斯說，有一項令人信服的研究表明，八卦可以用來檢查人們的道德行為，阻止群體中潛在的騙子或偷懶者，因為我們關(guān)心自己的聲譽，也擔心別人會八卦我們的錯誤決定。

It can also be a way to figure out unwritten rules. For example, when we start a new job, the water cooler talk helps us find out what is acceptable office attire, who we might want to avoid working with on a team project, and whether it's acceptable to take a monthlong vacation.

它也可以是一種找出不成文規(guī)則的方法。例如，當我們開始一份新工作時，茶水間的閑聊可以幫助我們了解什么是可以接受的辦公室著裝，在團隊項目中我們可能不想與誰一起工作，以及是否可以接受休一個月的假。

Why do we care about celebrities?

我們?yōu)槭裁匆P(guān)心名人?

Humans are hardwired to care about the lives of people who are friends, foes or family. Researchers call those people "socially important." But why do we care about famous people we've never actually met?

人類天生就關(guān)心朋友、敵人或家人的生活。研究人員稱這些人具有“重要的社會地位”。但我們?yōu)槭裁匆P(guān)心那些我們從未見過的名人呢?

This is especially true today thanks to the internet and social media, which meanswe know a lot about people we don't actually know. Being privy to that information tricks our brains into thinking celebrities are socially important to our lives. One of McAndrew's studies showed that we even gravitate toward celebrity tabloid stories about people of the same gender and age group.

這在今天尤其如此，這要歸功于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和社交媒體，這意味著我們對自己不認識的人了解很多。了解這些信息會讓我們的大腦誤以為名人對我們的生活具有重要的社會意義。麥克安德魯?shù)囊豁椦芯勘砻?，我們甚至會被有關(guān)相同性別和年齡的名人小報所吸引。

Celebrity gossip also gives us common ground with others. Pop culture knowledge gives us something to talk about during those awkward small talk encounters or at parties where we don't know many people.

名人八卦也讓我們和別人有了共同點。流行文化知識讓我們在尷尬的閑聊中或在不認識很多人的聚會上有話題可談。