Francesca Giardini Libri

Gossip serves as a powerful tool for maintaining cooperation by influencing reputations, but its effectiveness is often misunderstood. The book introduces Goal Framing Theory, which suggests that three competing cognitive frames—hedonic, gain, and normative—shape our motivations. It argues that a strong normative goal frame is essential for gossip to impact reputations effectively. However, the hedonic mindset often prevails, leading to gossip driven by pleasure rather than reputation management. The work explores various factors influencing gossip and its consequences, supported by empirical evidence.

This Element argues that gossiping is the most powerful mechanism to sustain cooperation without formal intervention. Propositions on cultural, structural, dispositional, situational, and technological gossip antecedents and consequences are developed and illustrated with evidence from the empirical record.