
Researchers showed 7-year-olds videos of dolls telling good gossip, bad gossip, or neutral gossip.
Children are constantly learning and growing, and their early childhood experiences have a huge impact on their social and emotional development. A new study has revealed how even simple playground rumors can affect children’s perceptions of their peers.
In a study published in Royal Society Open Science, the authors argue that “it is a functional phenomenon that children adjust their behavior based on negative gossip simply to avoid harmful situations caused by future interactions with malicious people.” may actually be exploited or harmed by malicious actors. ”
Researchers investigated how 7-year-olds navigate the world of gossip. We found that children readily accept positive rumors, especially if they hear them from multiple sources. However, the study revealed a worrying trend. Even one negative rumor can cast a long shadow, making children wary of building friendships with targeted classmates.
The reason behind this one-sided trust remains unclear. Scientists suspect it stems from a natural defense mechanism that protects children from befriending people who might have a negative influence on them.
Japanese researchers showed 7-year-olds videos of dolls with good gossip, bad gossip, or neutral gossip. When multiple dolls confirmed it, children rewarded the dolls with more positive gossip. Even one bad rumor lowered his pay. This research suggests that children value agreement and fairness, rewarding good behavior but quick to punish negative behavior.
“Children acted on positive gossip from multiple informants rather than from a single informant,” the authors write. “On the contrary, they relied on negative gossip, regardless of the number of sources.”