We all enjoy chattering about the latest rumour or scandal from time to time.
But ladies, beware – as women who gossip about others are driven by jealousy and low self-esteem, a study suggests.
Researchers recruited 190 women aged between 23 and 35, who were asked to rate their own physical attractiveness and self-esteem on a scale.
They were then randomly assigned to look at pictures of women who were categorised as either high or low in attractiveness.
Participants were asked to imagine themselves in a social group with a ‘target’ man, and to picture the woman they had seen a picture of entering the group and getting close to the man.
We all enjoy chattering about the latest rumour or scandal from time to time. But ladies, beware – as women who gossip about others are driven by jealousy and low self-esteem, a study suggests (stock image)
They rated their jealousy on a scale, after which they were presented with negative information about the woman and asked to rate the likelihood of sharing this information in various social contexts.
Analysis revealed participants were more likely to spread negative information about the woman to their own friends, rather than to anyone else.
They were also more likely to report feeling higher levels of romantic jealousy if the woman was attractive, which in turn was linked to higher chances of gossiping about her.
Participants with low self-esteem were slightly more likely to gossip, particularly when the competitors were highly attractive, the researchers found.
The team, from Beijing Normal University, published their findings in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science.
Analysis revealed participants were more likely to spread negative information about the woman to their own friends, rather than to anyone else (stock image)
‘This research investigated whether and how young women used gossip strategies to win opportunities for themselves when facing physically attractive potential romantic competitors,’ they wrote.
‘Our results suggest that when facing physically attractive potential competitors, young women experienced higher levels of romantic jealousy and were thus more likely to transmit negative information that could harm potential competitors’ sexual reputations to their friends.
‘Furthermore, women with low self-esteem were more likely to experience higher levels of romantic jealousy and were more likely to transmit negative information to their friends.’
