TENDENCY OF GOSSIP AMONG UNIVERSITY WORKERS

Year 2022, , 26 - 33, 30.07.2022

Savas Sımsek

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2022.1573

Abstract

Purpose- Human, living gregariously is continiously in interaction and communication with their fellow creatures. These activities of human
can occur either positive, or negative. Gossip which is called as negative is also seen as a different kind of interaction and communication
among people. In this study the gossip that is being done in organizational settings and its characteristics are tried to be established.
Methodology- In this study Tendency to Gossip Questionnaire-TGQ was employed to university workers composed of academic and nonacademics. And the data gathered was analysed accordingly.
Findings- It was observed that most of the university workers that participated to the questionnaire gossip and those who gossip does their
action in different subjects/dimensions, such as physical appearance, success and social information.
Conclusion- By starting with the reality that every individual gossips without making any sex seperation, it was concluded that women value
more to the physical appearance that is the sub-dimension of Tendency to Gossip Questionnaire-TGQ than men.

Keywords

Gossip, organizational behavior, gossip classification, organizational communication, tendency to gossip

ÜNİVERSİTE ÇALIŞANLARINDA DEDİKODU EĞİLİMİ

Abstract

Amaç- Toplum halinde yaşayan insan, hemcinsleri ile sürekli iletişim ve etkileşim halindedir. İnsanların bu faaliyetleri kimi zaman olumsuz
kimi zaman olumlu şekilde tezahür edebilmektedir. Çoğunlukla olumsuz olarak nitelendirilen dedikodu da insanlar arasındaki etkileşim ve
iletişimin farklı bir şekli olarak görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada örgütsel ortamlarda yapılan dedikodunun tespiti ve niteliği yapılmaya çalışılmıştır.
Yöntem- Bu çalışmada akademik ve akademik olmayan üniversite çalışanlarına Dedikodu Eğilimi Anketi uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler de
buna uygun olarak analiz edilmiştir.
Bulgular- Ankete katılan üniversite çalışanlarının çoğunluğunun dedikodu yaptığı ve bu eylemlerini fiziksel görünüm, başarı ve sosyal bilgi
konularında/boyutlarında gerçekleştirdikleri gözlemlenmiştir.
Sonuç- Cinsiyet farkı gözetmeksizin herkesin dedikodu yaptığı gerçeğinden hareketle dedikodu eğilimi ölçeğinin alt boyutlarından olan fiziksel
görünüme, kadınların erkeklerden daha fazla önem verdiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

Dedikodu, örgütsel davranış, dedikodu sınıflandırması, örgütsel iletişim, dedikodu eğilimi

References

• Abbajay, M. (2021). The Danger of Workplace Gossip. Careerstone Group. https://careerstonegroup.com/blog/105/The-Danger-ofWorkplace-Gossip.
• Abrahams, R. D. (1970). A Performance-Centred Approach to Gossip. Man, 5(2): 290–301.
• Allport, G. W., & Postman, L. J. (1945). The basic psychology of rumor. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 8: 61–81.
• Argyris, C. (1964). Integrating the Individual and the Organization. New York :John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• Aries, E. (1976). Interaction Patterns and Themes of Male, Female, and Mixed Groups. Small Group Research, 7(7): 7-18.
• Baumeister, R.F., Zhang, L., Vohs, K.D. (2004). Gossip in Cultural Learning. Review of General Psychology, 8(2): 111-121.
• Ben Ze’ev, A. (1994). The Vindication of Gossip. İçinde “Good Gossip”, (Ed.: Goodman, R.F. & Ben Ze’ev, A.), University Press of Kansas, Kansas.
• Demirci, K. (2004). Dedikodu Kavramına Dair. Milli Folklor, 16(64): 11-17.
• DiFonzo, N., Bordia, P., Rosnow, R. L. (1994). Reining in rumors. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1): 47–62.
• Dunbar, R.I.M. (2004). Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective. Review of General Psychology, 8(2): 100-110.
• Eagly, A.H. (1987). Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-Role Interpretation. New Jersey :Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.
• Elias, N., Scotson, J.L. (1994). The Established and The Outsiders : A Sociological Enquiry into Community Problems. London: Sage Publications.
• Fine G.A., Rosnow R.L. (1978). Gossip, Gossipers, Gossiping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,4(1):161-168.
• Foster, E.K (2004). Research on Gossip: Taxonomy, Methods, and Future Directions. Review of General Psychology, 8(2): 78–99.
• French, J.R.P., Raven, B. (1959). The Bases of Social Power. İçinde Studies in Social Power (Ed. Dorwin Cartwright). Ann Arbor University of Micigan, Insitute for Social Research, 150-167.
• Gelles, B. E. (1989). Gossip: An Eighteenth-Century Case. Journal of Social History, 22(4):667-683.
• Gluckman, M. (1963). Papers in Honor of Melville J. Herskovits: Gossip and Scandal. Current Anthropology, 4(3): 307–316.
• Houmanfar, R., Johnson, R. (2003).Organizational Implications of Gossip and Rumor. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management,23(2-3): 117-138.
• Jaeger, M.E., Skelder, A.A., Rosnow, R.L. (1998). Who’s Up on the Low Down: Gossip in Interpersonal Relations. İçinde The Dark Side of Close Relationships, (Ed.: Brian H. Spitzberg and William R. Cupach), New Jersey:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 103-117.
• Kniffin, K.M. & Wilson, D.S. (2010). Evolutionary Perspectives on Workplace Gossip: Why and How Gossip Can Serve Groups. Group & Organization Management, 35(2): 150-176.
• Koçel, T. (2020). İşletme Yöneticiliği. İstanbul:Beta Yayıncılık.
• Kurland, N.B., Pelled, L.H.(2000). Passing the Word: Toward a Model of Gossip and Power in the Workplace. The Academy of Management Review, 25(2): 428-438.
• Lanzetta, J.T. (1955). Group Behavior Under Stress. Human Relations, 8(1):29-52.
• Levin, J. & Arluke, A. (1987). Gossip: The Inside Scoop. New York:Plenium Press.
• Litman, J. A.& Pezzo, M.V. (2005). Individual differences in attitudes towards gossip. Personality and Individual Differences, 38: 963–980.
• Mayo, E. (1945). The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Boston:Harvard University Press.
• McAndrew, F. (2008). The Psychology of Gossip. Psychology Teacher Network, 17: 5-7.
• Michelson, G., Iterson, A.V., Waddington, K. (2010). Gossip in Organizations: Contexts, Consequences, and Controversies. Group & Organization Management, 20(10):1-20.
• Mitchell-Kernan, C. (1981). Signifying. İçinde “Mother Wit from The Laughing Barrel”, (Ed.: Dundes, A.), USA :Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Nevo, O., Nevo, B. & Derech-Zehavi, A. (1993). The Development of The Tendency to Gossip Questionnaire: Construct and Concurrent Validation for A Sample of Israeli College Students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53: 973-981.
• Paine, R. (1967). What is Gossip About? An Alternative Hypothesis. Man, 2(2): 278–285.
• Radlow, R. & Berger, P. (1959). Relationship of Degree of Self-Esteem to Gossiping Behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 50: 153-155.
• Rosenbaum, J.B. & Subrin, M. (1963). The Psychology of Gossip. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 11(4): 817-831.
• Rosnow, R.L.(2001). Rumor and Gossip i Interpersonal Interaction and Beyond: A Social Exchange Perpective. İçinde Behaving Badly: Aversive Beaviors in Interpersonal Relationships, (Ed.: R. M Kowalski), American Psychological Assosiciation, 203-232.
• Rosnow, R.L., Foster, E.K. (2005). Rumor and Gossip Research. Psychological Science Agenda, 19(4): 1-4.
• Rysman, A. (1977). How the “gossip” became a woman. Journal of Communication, 27:176-180.
• Schein, S. (1994). Used and Abused: Gossip in Medieval Society. İçinde “Good Gossip”, (Ed.: Goodman, R.F. & Ben Ze’ev, A.), Kansas :University Press of Kansas.
• Spacks, P.M. (1982). In Praise of Gossip. Hudson Review, 35(1): 19-38.
• Stirling, R. B. (1956). Some Psychological Mechanisms Operative in Gossip. Social Forces, 34(3): 262–267.
• Taylor, C. (1994). Gossip as Moral Talk. İçinde “Good Gossip”, (Ed.: Goodman, R.F. & BenZe’ev, A.), Kansas:University Press of Kansas.
• Watson, D.C. (2011). Gossip and the Self. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(7): 1818-1833.
• Wittek, R. & Wielers, R. (1998). Gossip in Organizations. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2: 189-204.
• Yerkovich, S. (1977). Gossiping as a Way of Speaking. Journal of Communication, 27(1):192-196.