ABSTRACT
The focus of the current lesson is on how to appropriately manage rumors and gossip. Gossip gives us information about the misadventures of others and is a very common form of communication for adolescents and even adults; the latter is evidenced by the popularity of gossip shows and tabloid magazines. It has been proposed that gossip is mostly negative because people learn more from negative instances of others in order to avoid the same mistakes (Baumeister, Zhang, & Vohs, 2004). Rumors (negative information about someone) begin in the context of gossip. Research suggests that denial is the best means to dispel the negative effects of rumors, and the best denial has strong arguments about why the rumor is not true and how the source of the rumor is not credible (Bordia, DiFonzo, Haines, & Chaseling, 2005). The form of denial reviewed in this chapter does not involve confrontation with the originator of gossip. Confronting the source of the gossip may only lead to further retaliation. Teens will be taught to “spread a rumor about themselves” that indirectly denies the original rumor and simultaneously discredits the gossip.
