The DOI matches its Crossref record; 73 of the 74 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 1 are not checked yet.
Multiple gossip statements and their effect on reputation and trustworthiness
Open accessAbstract
Empirical and theoretical evidence from various disciplines indicates that reputation, reputation building and trust are important for human cooperation, social behaviour and economic progress. Recently, it has been shown that reputation gained in games of indirect reciprocity can be transmitted by gossip. But it has also been shown that gossiping has a strong manipulative potential. We propose that this manipulative potential is alleviated by the abundance of gossip. Multiple gossip statements give a better picture of the actual behaviour of a person, and thus inaccurate or fake gossip has little power as long as it is in the minority. In addition, we investigate the supposedly strong connection between reciprocity, reputation and trust. The results of this experimental study (with 11 groups of 12 students each) document that gossip quantity helps to direct cooperation towards cooperators. Moreover, reciprocity, trust and reputations transferred via gossip are positively correlated. This interrelation might have helped to reach the high levels of cooperation that can be observed in humans.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“This matches previous findings on the effects of social influence in terms of gossip on the behavior, which seems to be stronger if gossip comes from fewer sources (34).”
From How social influence can undermine the wisdom of crowd effect (2011) · cites this paper as [34]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.3.497 · Cited by 23,245
Axelrod, R., & Hamilton, W. D. (1981) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.7466396 · Cited by 20,065
The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism
Trivers, R. L. (1971) · The Quarterly Review of Biology · doi:10.1086/406755 · Cited by 11,010
Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation
Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1997) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/003355300555475 · Cited by 7,484
Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History
Berg, J., Dickhaut, J., & McCabe, K. (1995) · Games and Economic Behavior · doi:10.1006/game.1995.1027 · Cited by 5,548
Trust: making and breaking cooperative relations
Gambetta, D. (1989) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.26-3664 · Cited by 4,045
Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature02043 · Cited by 3,475
Zak, P. J., & Knack, S. (2001) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/1468-0297.00609 · Cited by 2,810
Elinor Ostrom, B. (2010) · Public Administration Issues · doi:10.17323/1999-5431-2010-0-1-5-52 · Cited by 2,787
Evolution of indirect reciprocity
Nowak, M. A., & Sigmund, K. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04131 · Cited by 2,762
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 · DOI · Paper page
- Emler N. 2001 Gossiping. In The new handbook of language and social psychology (eds W. P. Robinson & H. Giles) pp. 317–338. Chichester UK: Wiley.
- Goodman R.F& Ben-Ze'ev B. 1994 Good gossip. Lawrence KS:University Press of Kansas.
- Sugden R. 1986 The economics of rights cooperation and welfare. Oxford UK:Basil Blackwell.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–157 of 157
The evolutionary advantage of limited network knowledge
Larson, J. (2016) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2016.03.017 · Cited by 4
Martinescu, E., Janssen, O., & Nijstad, B. A. (2019) · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190494087.013.9 · Cited by 4
Four Puzzles of Reputation-Based Cooperation
Giardini, F., Balliet, D. P., Power, E. A., Számadó, S., & Takács, K. (2021) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-021-09419-3 · Cited by 42
Organizational Cynicism and Communication: “Onstage” and “Offstage”
Adamska, K. (2023) · Roczniki Psychologiczne · doi:10.18290/rpsych2023.0006 · Cited by 3
Reputation in Wirtschaftsbeziehungen
Abraham, M., & Grimm, V. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-531-19907-8_15 · Cited by 2
Partner selection supported by opaque reputation promotes cooperative behavior
Capraro, V., Giardini, F., Vilone, D., & Paolucci, M. (2016) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1610.01993 · Cited by 3
Luna, A. L., Garcia, D. C., Chou, S. Y., & Jackson, S. (2013) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 3
Neeß, C. (2015) · Journal for Labour Market Research · doi:10.1007/s12651-015-0179-4 · Cited by 3
Rudnicki, K., Declerck, C. H., Backer, C. J. S. D., & Berth, M. (2019) · Interaction Studies Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems · doi:10.1075/is.18015.rud · Cited by 3
Gossip is distinct from other topics in spontaneous conversation
Pápay, B. T., Kubik, B. G., Galántai, J., & Takács, K. (2022) · Intersections · doi:10.17356/ieejsp.v8i4.939 · Cited by 2
Gossip and coping with social isolation: the case of migrant truck drivers in Western Europe
Martinescu, E., & Beersma, B. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1334780 · Cited by 2
Abraham, M., & Meyer, C. (2012) · Zeitschrift für Soziologie · doi:10.1515/zfsoz-2012-0302 · Cited by 2
Nordin, A. (2016) · Sociology and Anthropology · doi:10.13189/sa.2016.040210 · Cited by 2
How Reputation Systems Change the Psychological Antecedents of Fairness in Virtual Environments
Collodi, S., Fiorenza, M. M., Guazzini, A., & Duradoni, M. (2020) · Future Internet · doi:10.3390/fi12080132 · Cited by 5
Pooch, C. S. (2014) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2404252 · Cited by 2
Virtual Courtrooms: Concept & OverviewPreprint
Negi, C. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2765766 · Cited by 2
Social evolution of pragmatic behaviour
Scott‐Phillips, T. C. (2009) · ERA · Cited by 2
The Miracle of Peer Review and Development in Science: An Agent-Based ModelPreprint
Righi, S., & Takkcs, K. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2807289 · Cited by 2
Proposing Knowledge Sharing as a Mediator Between Positive Gossip and Success of IT Projects
Shah, H., Hashmi, S. D., & Naz, I. (2021) · International Journal of Information Technology Project Management · doi:10.4018/ijitpm.2021070103 · Cited by 1
Antecedents & Consequences of Gossip : A Social Network Approach
Estévez, J. L. (2021) · Institute for Analytical Sociology dissertation series · doi:10.3384/9789179290603 · Cited by 1
Robust Reputation in Decentralized Markets
Franks, H. P. W., & Griffiths, N. (2014) · Computational Intelligence · doi:10.1111/coin.12036 · Cited by 1
Intermediaries in Trust: An Experimental Study on Incentives and Norms
Bravo, G., Squazzoni, F., & Takács, K. (2012) · Cited by 1
Dilemas Sociales y Reciprocidad Indirecta: Una revisión sistemática
Acosta, C., Ortiz, M. V., Revilla, R. G., & Reyna, C. (2014) · Escritos de Psicología / Psychological Writings · doi:10.24310/espsiescpsi.v7i2.13253 · Cited by 2
Reputation for Complex Societies
Giardini, F., Conte, R., & Paolucci, M. (2017) · Understanding complex systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-66948-9_18 · Cited by 2
Political Juicy Gossips Hit the Job: A Case Study from Health Sector
Mahmood, I., Bukhari, S. M. H., Khan, S. A., & Nawaz, N. (2020) · Journal of Management Sciences · doi:10.20547/jms.2014.2007202 · Cited by 1
Social Cohesion and Cooperation for Public Goods
Bruggeman, J., & Corten, R. (2021) · Connections · doi:10.21307/connections-2019.020 · Cited by 1
Niche Construction Through Gossip and Mobbing: The Mediation of Violence in Technocognitive Niches
Bertolotti, T. (2015) · Studies in applied philosophy, epistemology and rational ethics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17786-1_8 · Cited by 1
Leveraging social networks for agricultural development in Africa
Ross, M. (2017) · doi:10.18174/413526 · Cited by 1
Gossip and Indirect Reciprocity
Jones, S. N., & Kazanas, S. A. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_3756 · Cited by 1
Arai, S., Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/yjhw2 · Cited by 1
The role of reputations in the evolution of human cooperation
Sylwester, K. (2011) · OpenGrey (Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique) · Cited by 1
Solidarity, synchronization and collective actionPreprint
Bruggeman, J. (2013) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam)
Interaction Rituals and CooperationPreprint
Bruggeman, J. (2013) · arXiv (Cornell University)
Ethical and Legal Issues in Transitioning the Lifespan
Nisenbaum, S., Weiss, M. C., & Shapiro, D. (2009) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0748-6_14
Moral Mental States: Four Methods in Metaethics
Sula, C. A. (2011) · CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York)
Social learning and human cooperation
Molleman, L. (2014) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology)
Power and Information: The Significance of Communication for Iceland's Non-Persons and Social Elite
Ebbs, E. K. (2016) · NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives
Less Sensitive Reputation Spurs Cooperation: An Experiment on Noisy Reputation SystemsPreprint
Greiff, M., & Paetzel, F. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2817296
The effects of gossip on interpersonal trust depend on prosociality of the gossipers
Rudnicki, K., Backer, C. J. S. D., & Declerck, C. (2018) · International Conference on the Evolution of Language (EvoLang) · doi:10.12775/3991-1.104
Consensus, Cohesion and ConnectivityPreprint
Bruggeman, J. (2016) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1602.00614
A hierarchy of mindreading strategies in joint action participation
Landes, T. L., Howe, P. D. L., & Kashima, Y. (2021) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s1930297500008019
Grooming interactions and cooperation in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)
Molesti, S. (2014) · Lincoln Repository (University of Lincoln) · doi:10.24385/lincoln.24327271
Bertolotti, T. (2012) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2931-8.ch016
(2015) · Presses Universitaires de France eBooks · doi:10.3917/puf.origg.2015.01.0291
Gossip and Indirect Reciprocity
Jones, S. N., & Kazanas, S. A. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3756-1
Arora, P., Kugler, T., & Giardini, F. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/978019006080.013.13
Workplace Gossip Among Dog Trainers
Mongale, L., & Carrim, N. M. H. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-99-2691-6_10
(2023) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/10400.003.0029
Reputation and cooperation in social dilemma games
Samu, F. (2023) · CUB Ph.D. Dissertations (Corvinus University of Budapest) · doi:10.14267/phd.2023036
Introduction to the special issue on gossip and group processes
Beersma, B., Peters, K., & Balliet, D. P. (2025) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104733
Value computations underpin flexible emotion expression
Teoh, Y. Y., & Hutcherson, C. A. C. (2025) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-025-00343-1 · Cited by 1
"Did you Hear?" : Gossip as a Manifestation of Trait Aggression
Granecki, J. W. (2014) · The Scholarship East Carolina University's Institutional Repository (East Carolina University)
Peters, K., & Fonseca, M. A. (2026) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2026.03.001
Wang, J., Xu, W., Hu, H., Yu, F., Dai, W., & Li, B. (2026) · Chaos Solitons & Fractals · doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2026.118247
Beyond expectations: exploring the multifaceted role of positive gossip in organizations
Mutlu, M. D., Aynur Çiğdem, A. T. A., & YILDIRIM, E. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1824097
Metadata
- Authors
- Sommerfeld, R. D., Krambeck, H.-J., & Milinski, M.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (DE)
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- ORCID
- Milinski, Manfred
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2008-07-29
- Volume
- 275
- Issue
- 1650
- Pages
- 2529-2536
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC2603203
- OpenAlex
- W2125299127
- Cited by
- 158
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 27.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- gossip, reputation, trustworthiness, indirect reciprocity, cooperation, trust, reputation building
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Austria, Cooperative Behavior, Germany, Humans, Social Behavior, Social Desirability, Observation, Information Dissemination, Trust
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review