Gossip is at the heart of human evolution. It’s a resource that’s infinitely available — and costs businesses nothing to implement.

 

 

 

Read:

and decide if the sentences below are

True or False?

1. According to the article, it’s fact-based that rumours can hurt feelings.

2. Companies are trying to allure their employees back to the office adapting various internal incentives.

3. People are naturally inclined to be a part of a group.

4. Gossiping can help reduce stress.

5. Companies are configuring their office space differently to make it easier for employees to … gossip.

6. Disadavantages of gossiping exceed its benefits.

Glossary

• infinitely – to a very great degree
• quest – a long search for something that is difficult to find, or an attempt to achieve something difficult
• to tap – to get or make use of something
• to induce – to cause to do something; to bring about
• to whet appetite – to increase the feeling that you want to have or to do a particular thing

Practice Makes Perfect

Replace the words in bold in the extract of the article Gossip Boosts Self-Reflection with the words below:

disgraced        measure up     alertness      

    prompted        on guard            boosted

(…) In experiments designed to measure the effects of gossip, college students either recalled real gossip or role-played as sales reps hearing gossip about fictional co-workers. Hearing positive gossip about others 1. brought about a desire for self-improvement. Negative gossip 2. uplifted listeners’ egos but also put them 3. on their toes – it would be only too easy to become one of the 4. contempted.

The effects of negative gossip were stronger for women than for men and led to heightened 5. vigilance and self-protection concerns. Yet men who heard positive gossip about others experienced more fear than women, apparently because they worried they would not 6. rival it.

Now go to:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gossip-boosts-self-reflection/#:~:text=Get%20this%3A%20gossip%20is%20useful,improve%20behavior%20and%20identify%20threats

to check your answers:

Key: 1. prompted; 2. oosted; 3. on guard; 4. disgraced; 5. alertness; 6. measure up

Discuss:

• Have you ever been the victim of gossip?
• Do you like to know all the gossip about your friends, colleagues or neighbours?
• What are the most common subjects of gossip?
• What do you make of gossip columnists who make money writing bad things about people that may not be true?
• Do you think people who gossip lead gloomy lives?

Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!