Abstract This piece explores how positive and negative gossip communicated by either a friend or an acquaintance impacts a target of gossip’s expectancy violations, emotions (i.e., pride, shame, and hurt), state self-esteem, and desire to interact with the gossiper. Two pilot studies were conducted to ensure realistic scenarios were employed for the main analyses. Participants (N = 602) were recruited from a survey-based platform, Prolific. The survey was a 2 (gossip valence) x 2 (relationship with gossiper) x 2 (gossip scenario) between subject factorial design created through Qualtrics. Results revealed that gossip valence had a significant effect on expectancy violations such that positive gossip was perceived as a positive expectancy violation whereas negative gossip was perceived as a negative expectancy violation. Similarly, gossip valence impacted one’s desire to affiliate with the gossiper. Results indicated individuals who were positively gossiped about rated intentions to affiliate with the gossiper higher than individuals who were negatively gossiped about. Next, a series of multiple regressions were conducted to determine how expectancy violations influenced emotions and in turn how those emotions influenced one’s state self-esteem and desire to affiliate with the gossiper. Finally, three serial mediation models were analyzed to explore whether the relationship between gossip valence and intentions to affiliate with the gossiper were mediated by positive expectancy violations and pride, negative expectancy violations and hurt, and negative expectancy violations and shame. The theoretical and pragmatic implications of these findings are discussed throughout the manuscript.
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