More than one’s negative ties: The role of friends’ antipathies in high school gossip

Gossip is universal, and multiple studies have demonstrated that it can beneficial group-level outcomes when negative reports help identify defectors or norm-violators. Gossip, however, seldom happens in a social vacuum. Instead, enmeshed fabric of positive relationships creates opportunities, constraints, also motives to gossip. This article the importance friendships antipathies among three concerned parties (sender, receiver, target) for gossip adolescents. We contrast two theoretical accounts. According first, brings closer individuals who “enemies” common. Based on this, we infer appears triads where both sender receiver share their antipathy against target. The second position argues used compromise different opinions friends towards Thus, what predicts direct target being with someone dislikes (indirect antipathy) rather than combination antipathies. test these lines reasoning sociometric data from 17 classroom observations (13 unique classrooms time points) Hungary. Bayesian Exponential Random Graph Models yield support 13 (nine unique) indirect five. No evidence shared found. Results suggest that, at least adolescents, not about bonding potential allies but more consensus-making between friends. Also, results reveal concentrates ends reputational echelon, hinting classroom, high reputation might be contested instead rewarded.