Go Ahead and Gossip---Science Says It's the Right Thing to Do

Discover the surprising health benefits of gossip, as studies reveal it can serve as a public service and relieve stress.

He did what? Innnnteresting...

Thorough scientific study has revealed that lots of supposed vices can have surprising upsides: alcohol

. Thanks to UC Berkeley researchers, we can now add another so-bad-but-oh-so-good habit to the list: Gossip, their new study suggests, can be a selfless act of public service

. Surreptitiously passing along the news that someone has behaved badly---what's technically called "prosocial gossip"---can relieve stress, as well as warn others to regard the rule-breaker with a wary eye, the researchers say. (The study didn't look directly at other forms of gossip---rumormongering, telling lies, anything said to a confessional cam on reality TV---so make of that what you will.) In one experiment, the scientists found that people's heart rates spiked when they saw one of two people playing a game cheating, but calmed again when they had the chance to jot a note, middle school-style, to the ...