https://sputnikglobe.com/20220503/moral-outrage--juicy-gossip-research-reveals-which-people-can-be-trusted-to-keep-secrets-1095231205.html
‘Moral Outrage & Juicy Gossip’: Research Reveals Who Can Be Trusted to Keep Secrets
‘Moral Outrage & Juicy Gossip’: Research Reveals Who Can Be Trusted to Keep Secrets
Sputnik International
In their study, a research team from Arizona State and Columbia universities attempted to present a guidance model to predict when, how often, and why people... 03.05.2022, Sputnik International
2022-05-03T12:10+0000
2022-05-03T12:10+0000
2022-05-03T13:08+0000
secrets
society
gossip
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There are specific categories of people who can't keep a secret and they are the ones to avoid when you feel the urge to “come clean”, claims a recent study.It is always difficult to know whether to share private facts about oneself with others, as one might have to deal with some pretty unpleasant consequences of this decision.Research on keeping secrets, published in an online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, could help to identify which people one might safely divulge one's innermost thoughts, sentiments and actions to.The research, titled 'Morality, punishment, and revealing other people’s secrets' by Jessica Salerno of Arizona State University and Michael Slepian of Columbia University, is based on a series of nine studies. Using hypothetical scenarios, events such as hackers leaking citizens’ private information and modelling participants’ behavioural choices to keep or reveal diverse secrets, the ASU-Columbia research team singled out the following categories of “secret-keepers”.The first are those who are inclined to reveal “immoral” secrets as a form of punishment, driven by their own sense of “moral outrage”. If this feeling of outrage is high enough, then individuals falling into that category will reveal the secret, even if the secret-teller is a friend.The second category are those naturally inclined to gossip.If a juicy secret is deemed “highly gossip-worthy” by these people, even if it doesn’t evoke “moral outrage”, they will be compelled to share it with others.Other people are also prone to reveal secrets if they believe that they might earn them “social capital”. Social capital refers to the links and bonds people form through friendships and acquaintances.Identifying which secrets are the most difficult for people to keep, the research suggested that one should first determine the level of moral outrage or gossip-worthiness linked to them.Thus, secrets about a stealthy habit or addiction (non-drug-related), planning an abortion, organising a surprise for someone, or cheating or lying to get into work or school were the easiest to keep.On the other hand, the most difficult secrets to keep, according to the study, were those involving hurting another person or oneself, and being dissatisfied with one’s work or private relationship.“Across a wide variety of commonly kept secrets - ranging from being unhappy at work to sexual infidelity - people revealed other people’s secrets 30 percent of the time on average,” said Salerno, adding:Those involved in the study concluded that although confiding in someone provided relief to the secret-holder, it is important to know how to “choose those confidants wisely”.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20200906/pope-francis-gossip-is-a-worse-plague-than-covid-1080382391.html
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‘Moral Outrage & Juicy Gossip’: Research Reveals Who Can Be Trusted to Keep Secrets
12:10 GMT 03.05.2022 (Updated: 13:08 GMT 03.05.2022) In their study, a research team from Arizona State and Columbia universities attempted to present a guidance model to predict when, how often, and why people reveal others’ secrets.
There are specific categories of people who can't keep a secret and they are the ones to avoid when you feel the urge to “come clean”, claims a recent study.
It is always difficult to know whether to share private facts about oneself with others, as one might have to deal with some pretty unpleasant consequences of this decision.
Research on keeping secrets,
published in an online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, could help to identify which people one might safely divulge one's innermost thoughts, sentiments and actions to.
The research, titled 'Morality, punishment, and revealing other people’s secrets' by Jessica Salerno of Arizona State University and Michael Slepian of Columbia University, is based on a series of nine studies. Using hypothetical scenarios, events such as hackers leaking citizens’ private information and modelling participants’ behavioural choices to keep or reveal diverse secrets, the ASU-Columbia research team singled out the following categories of “secret-keepers”.
6 September 2020, 15:29 GMT
The first are those who are inclined to reveal “immoral” secrets as a form of punishment, driven by their own sense of “moral outrage”. If this feeling of outrage is high enough, then individuals falling into that category will reveal the secret, even if the secret-teller is a friend.
The second category are those naturally inclined to
gossip.
If a juicy secret is deemed “highly gossip-worthy” by these people, even if it doesn’t evoke “moral outrage”, they will be compelled to share it with others.
Other people are also prone to reveal secrets if they believe that they might earn them “social capital”. Social capital refers to the links and bonds people form through friendships and acquaintances.
Identifying which secrets are the most difficult for people to keep, the research suggested that one should first determine the level of moral outrage or gossip-worthiness linked to them.
Thus, secrets about a
stealthy habit or addiction (non-drug-related), planning an abortion, organising a surprise for someone, or cheating or lying to get into work or school were the easiest to keep.
On the other hand, the most difficult secrets to keep, according to the study, were those involving hurting another person or oneself, and being dissatisfied with one’s work or private relationship.
“Across a wide variety of commonly kept secrets - ranging from being unhappy at work to sexual infidelity - people revealed other people’s secrets 30 percent of the time on average,” said Salerno, adding:
“Across many studies and situations, people were significantly more likely to reveal someone else’s secret if they considered the secret to be an immoral behaviour.”
Those involved in the study concluded that although confiding in someone provided relief to the secret-holder, it is important to know how to “choose those confidants wisely”.
