The Availability to Gossip, Life Satisfaction and Social Cynicism among. Romanians

Transcription

1 Alin Gavreliuc 1 Manuella Cîmpean 2 Dana Gavreliuc 3 The Availability to Gossip, Life Satisfaction and Social Cynicism among Rezumat: Romanians Principalul scop al acestui studiu realizat pe un lot de 60 subiecți este centrat pe strădania de a prezice comportamentul în interacțiunile cotidiene, precum partajarea vieții de zi cu zi într-un cartier de blocuri din Timișoara. În această investigație am examinat disponibilitatea de a bîrfi, ca normă implicită. Obiectivele acestui studiu sunt, pe de o parte, examinarea relației dintre disponibilitatea de a bărfi, ca parte a interacțiunii interpersonale și, pe de altă parte, relația dintre disponibilitatea de a bîrfi și cinismul social ca axiomă socială. Mai mult, studiul de față examinează diferența de gen în privința disponibilității de a bîrfi, precum și relația dintre cinismul social și satisfacția în viață. Rezultatele atestă pe eșantionul românesc prezența unei corelații negative între disponibilitatea de a bîrfi și cinsmul social, deopotrivă în registrul cognitiv, cît și în cel afectiv. În același timp, există o corelație negativă între cinismul social și satisfacția în viață. Cînd se discriminează în cadrul lotului de subiecți în funcție de gen, se observă cum femeile sunt mai eficiente decît bărbații în privința disponibilității de a bîrfi, îndeosebi în registrul afectiv. Toate aceste tendințe subliniază rolul normelor implicite în modelarea strategiilor sociale de autodezvăluire în România contemporană, în care căile de acțiune oficiale probează deseori o auto-eficacitate modestă. Pentru sporirea resurselor de capital simbolic angajat în rețelele sociale, mulți dintre românii obișnuiți mobilizează frecvent acest mod de deschidere interpersonală, urmînd logica relațională a bîrfei. 1 West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, Department of Psychology, agavreliuc@socio.uvt.ro 2 West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, Department of Psychology, dark_red_poison@yahoo.com 3 West University of Timisoara, Department for Preparing Educational Personal, dana_gavreliuc@yahoo.com 1

2 Ca și în multe alte locuri din societate, spațiul cotidian al întîlnirii devine scena înfruntării dintre resursele implicite și explicite ale capitalului simbolic, iar bogăția normelor implicite se arată a fi deseori decisivă în aceste confruntări. Abstract: The general aim of this study realized on a sample of 60 subjects is focused on predicting behaviors in quotidian interaction, like the sharing of ordinary life in a block of flats in a district of Timisoara. In this investigation we are examining the availability to gossip, as an implicit norm. The objectives of this study are, on the one hand, the examination of the relationship between the availability to gossip, as part of interpersonal interaction, and life satisfaction, and, on the other hand, the relationship between the availability to gossip and social cynicism, as a social axiom. Furthermore, the present study examines gender differences in the availability to gossip, as well as the relation between social cynicism and life satisfaction. These outcomes attests that our Romanian sample is configured with a negative association between availability of gossip and social cynicism, in the affective and also in the cognitive register. At the same time, there is a negative correlation between social cynicism and satisfaction with life. When we are going to discriminate our sample through gender criteria, women are more efficient in availability of gossip then men, especially in the affective register. All of these tendencies underline the significant role of implicit norms in modeling social strategies of self-disclosure in contemporary Romania, where the official way of acting creating often a low level of self-efficacy. For increasing amount of symbolic capital in the social networks, ordinary Romanians activate frequently this way of opening, following the gossip logic of interpersonal relationships. Like many other places in society, the quotidian spaces of encountering become the scene of fighting between the explicit and the implicit resources of symbolic capital, and the richness of implicit norms is often decisive in those confrontations. Gossip and social axioms as a subject of research in contemporary Romania In our study we are trying to examine the role of implicit rules in predicting behaviors in quotidian interaction, like the sharing of ordinary life in a block of flats in a district of Timisoara. We have selected pairs of subjects in neighborhood relationships in order to distinguish the specific way of disclosure and the particularly way of influence of rumor in this kind of social opening. The interest manifested by mass-media and people, in general, in gossip does not seem to ever vanish. However, psychological research in rumor has been sporadically, and that dedicated to gossip has been mostly absent. The general aim of this present study is the investigation of the availability to gossip, as an implicit norm. The objectives of this study are, on the one hand, the examination of the relationship between the availability to gossip, as part of interpersonal interaction, and life satisfaction, and, on the other hand, the relationship between 2

3 the availability to gossip and social cynicism, as a social axiom. Furthermore, the present study examines gender differences in the availability to gossip, as well as the relation between social cynicism and life satisfaction. As such, we hypothesize that: the availability to gossip is negatively related with life satisfaction; life satisfaction correlates negatively with social cynicism; the availability to gossip correlates positively with social cynicism; there are significant gender differences in the availability to gossip. To begin with, by referring to the social norm in its prime sense of order, custom, standard (~ of life), we can distinguish between two forms: explicit and implicit (~ norm). The implicit characteristic of the norm, as opposed to explicit, declared, attests its informality, the latency of its nature. The implicit norm is the rule that is implied without the complete consciousness of the individual, conferring to the norm an unrevealed, internalized character. Why the availability to gossip an implicit norm? Briefly, because gossip implies a set of dispositions more or less recommended at a declarative level in interpersonal interaction. Although gossip is stated as an undesirable behavior from a declarative point of view, it represents an acquisition that comes beyond its social and cultural determinations, which confers its status a character of determined, rooted profoundness. Moreover, Leung & Bond (2004) offer a definition to social axioms as general beliefs about oneself, social groups, social institutions, physical environment, or spiritual world, as well as beliefs about types of events and phenomena in the social world. The label axiom is used to reflect the axiomatic nature that general beliefs have upon life, because a person assumes their validity without meticulous evaluation. The attribute social refers to the idea that these axioms are acquired through social experiences (Leung et al., 2007). Social cynicism reflects a negative view of human nature, mostly because it is being easily corrupted by power; a biased attitude against some groups of people; a mistrust of social institutions, and a disregard of ethical means to achieve an end. Finally, life satisfaction refers to a cognitive, judgmental process, which is an overall evaluation of one s life and can be understood as the subjective perception of discrepancy between one s aspirations and outcomes. 3

4 Method Participants A total of 60 Romanian people living in blocks of flats (22 males and 38 females) with ages between 20 and 69 years of age, participated in the present study. The mean age was years (SD=14.86). All were invited to participate in this study on voluntary basis. Instruments The availability to gossip inventory, has two major domains of the gossip: affective (e.g. In which way do you enjoy to discuss with your close ones about your neighbors actions? ) and cognitive (e.g. Do you consider that discussions between neighbors about one s personal life strengthens their bounds between themselves?, In which way do you consider that neighbors that do not discuss about themselves or about others are arrogant? ). This scale was constructed for the purpose of this present study and applied pretest to a group of 30 students. The Alpha Cronbach in this study was: α=.82, for affective gossip, and α=.84, for the cognitive gossip. The inventory is consisted of 10 questions (6 concerning the cognitive domain and 4 concerning affective domain of the availability to gossip ). All the responses were made on a 9-point scale, ranging from (no, never-1 to yes, totally-9). General Well Being Scale, standardized by Andrews & Withey and used in social research since 1976, measures the subjective perception on quality of life in various life areas. The Alpha Cronbach coefficient in this study was α=.93. Social Cynicism Scale; factor of Social Axioms Survey developed by Leung et al. (2002) to measure social beliefs. The Alpha Cronbach reliability coefficient for social cynicism in this study was: α=.93. Results Correlative hypotheses: 1. The availability to gossip was negatively related to life satisfaction: r (58) =-.36, p<.01 (1-tailed), confirming one of the hypotheses. 4

5 The results are presented in the table nr. 1: Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, reliability coefficients (α), correlations (r Spearman) of the availability to gossip and its domains (affective and cognitive) and social cynicism with life satisfaction. Correlation with Measure Mean SD α Life satisfaction The availability to gossip ** Affective gossip ** Cognitive gossip ** Social cynicism ** *p<.5; ** p<.01 Rosnow (1980, 1991, 2001) identified the purpose of gossiping as coping with our anxieties and unease. Therefore, gossip can be discussed as one s adaptation form to social life, adaptation that confers at least the illusion of a certain control on world events by expressing personal ideas or beliefs. Therefore, it is understandable why a person with low life satisfaction finds an ease or pleasure in the act of gossiping. The availability to gossip, as an implicit norm, finds its base in social unity. As such, the social group that sustains and promotes this norm is constituted as a cohesive group where face-to-face communication, the feeling of affiliation, as well as other common characteristics of the group (attitudes, age, social status etc.) offer its members the feeling of social identity, security, acceptance and self-esteem. All in all, gossip unites the social group, as an accepted norm, conferring positive feelings. To obtain those feelings, one with low life satisfaction uses gossip as a way of finding pleasure and self-esteem. Because gossiping is a source of information about social comparison (Suls, 1977; Wert & Salovey, 2004a, 2004b) we can refer to distort or negative perception that members of an out-group have in social comparison. In the act of gossiping, discussing the other one, pumping him, finding his flaws, is 5

6 a cognitive act, as well as affective, enthusiastic, through which the person unsatisfied with his life detaches from it, living actively the life of the other, subject of gossip. It is understandable why, the one with few personal satisfactions, focusing on the other perceived negatively, untimely seeks to valor aspects of the personal self. 2. Life satisfaction was related negatively to social cynicism: r (58) =-.46, p<.01 (1-tailed). The specific results that imply life satisfaction and the social cynicism are presented below, in table nr. 2: Table 2. Means, Standard Deviations, reliability coefficients (α), correlations (r Spearman) of the availability to gossip and its domains (affective and cognitive) and life satisfaction with social cynicism. Correlation with Measure Mean SD α Social Cynicism The availability to gossip * Affective gossip * Cognitive gossip * Life satisfaction ** *p<.5; ** p<.01 Different studies on social cynicism paint a detailed image of the social cynic: social alienated, competitive, mistrusting, pessimistic, disappointed. It is well expected that frustration, feelings of helplessness, disillusion and mistrust in others and in ideology, mistrust in the government and social institutions associated to social cynicism to be related negatively to life satisfaction. 3. Social cynicism showed a significant positive correlation with the availability to gossip : r (58) =.24, p<.05 (1-tailed). This kind of relationship could be also seen in table nr. 2. Studies of social axioms placed Romania high on the scale of social cynicism, and this was expected if we refer to decades of 6

7 communism where authority was excessively valorized, maintaining willingly, amongst people, a climax of fear and mistrust in others. It is clear for those who look back critically that the authority wanted a country of solitary people, where interpersonal interactions and solidarity were feared, discouraged. As such, after decades of suspicious and duplicated interactions, we find that we have forgotten to cooperate. Therefore, many of present behavior patterns have descended from this: lack of responsibility and cooperation, mistrust in the institutions and their significant members, fatalism, deficient social hope, public disengagement all those characteristics of the social cynicism find their outcome in the contempt of the other. Into a cynic climax of valorous judgments, the other one, subject of gossip, is nothing more than an instrumental actor, threatening, that takes advantage of us, uses us, in who we cannot trust. The cynic feels and then he thinks that the dices have been thrown beyond his power, engaging in an act of contempt towards the threatening one. The cynic version of the human nature transforms gossip into a criticism of others that reveals frustrations of the self, frustrations that emerge through a form of passive, verbal aggression such as gossiping. Gossiping is a way of obtaining a personal advantage because nothing is done by the cynic without following a personal gain. As such, gossip would be misunderstood as small talk, because it is being formed on the basis of one s intention to influence others. Comparative hypotheses: 4. There were significant gender differences in the availability to gossip : t (57. 7) =-8. 02, p<.001 (2-tailed). Women tend to have a greater availability to gossip than men, confirming social stereotypes of the gender, as we can see in tables nr. 3, 4 and 5. 7

8 Table 3. Gender, N, mean, mean, standard deviation, F Levene, coefficient of compare t, df, difference of means, difference of standard errors for the variable availability to gossip. gender N mean SD F t df difference of difference of standard means error 1 male * - 57, female *** *p<.05; *** p<.001 Table 4. Gender, N, mean, mean, standard deviation, F Levene, coefficient of compare t, df, difference of means, difference of standard errors for the domain affective of the variable availability to gossip. gender N mean SD F t df difference of difference of standard means error 1 male * -7.87*** female *p<.05; *** p<.001 Table 5. Gender, N, mean, mean, standard deviation, F Levene, coefficient of compare t, df, difference of means, difference of standard errors for the domain cognitive of the variable availability to gossip. gender N mean SD F t df difference of difference of standard means error 1 male *** female *** p<.001 As we can see, at the same time in the cognitive and in the affective register of availability to gossip we can identify gender differences, in order to underline the specific resource of disclosure for women relatively to men, for sustaining an identitary strategy for supplying a deficit in the symbolic capital in social network. Although a discussion about women and gossip 8

9 implies assuming the risk of sustaining an implicit prejudice, the association between women and gossip not only that is being confirmed by the results of this present study, but it also exists in our popular culture. Stereotypes about women gossiping are widely spread and even accepted by them. For example, the invitation thrown by one woman to another is no offense, but more of an invitation to relax. Conclusions These outcomes attests that our Romanian sample is configured with a negative association between availability of gossip and social cynicism, in the affective and also in the cognitive register. At the same time, there is a negative correlation between social cynicism and satisfaction with life. When we are going to discriminate our sample through gender criteria, women are more efficient in availability of gossip then men, especially in an affective register. All of these tendencies underline the significant role of implicit norms in modeling social strategies of self-disclosure in contemporary Romania, where the official way of acting creating often a low level of self-efficacy. For increasing amount of symbolic capital in the social networks, ordinary Romanians activate frequently this way of opening, following the gossip logic of interpersonal relationships. Like many other places in society, the quotidian spaces of encountering become the scene of fighting between the explicit and the implicit resources of symbolic capital, and the richness of implicit norms is often decisive in those confrontations. For that reason, supplementary studies in the area of implicit norms could be very useful, in order to describe accurately the species of Romanian social behaviors. 9

10 References: Andrews, F. M., Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being. America s perception of life quality. New York: Plenum. Bond, M.; Chen, S; Cheung, F; Leung, J. P. (2006). Going beyond self-esteem to predict life satisfaction: The Chinese case, Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 9, Leung, K., & Bond, M. H. B (2004). Social Axioms: A Model for Social Beliefs in Multi-cultural Perspective. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 36). Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Leung, K; Au, A; Huang, X; Kurman, J; Niit, T; Niit, K. (2007). Social Axioms and Values: A Cross-Cultural Examination, European Journal of Personality, 21, Rosnow, L. R.; Fine, G. A.(1976). Rumour and Gossip; The Social Psychology of Hearsay. New York: Elsevier. Rosnow, R. L. (1980). Psychology of rumor reconsidered. Psychological Bulletin, 87, Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Inside rumor: A personal journey. American Psychologist, 46, Rosnow, R. L. (2001). Rumor and gossip in interpersonal interaction and beyond: A social exchange perspective. In R. M. Kowalski (Ed.), Behaving badly: Aversive behaviors in interpersonal relationships (pp ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Rosnow, R.; Foster, E. (2005). Rumour and Gossip Research, Psychological Agenda, American Psychological Association, 19 (4); Suls, J. M. (1977). Gossip as social comparison. Journal of Communication, 27, Wert, S. R., Salovey, P. (2004a). A social comparison account of gossip. Review of General Psychology, 8, Wert, S. R., Salovey, P. (2004b). Introduction to the special issue on gossip. Review of General Psychology, 8,