What Matters Most in Supporting Cooperation, the Gossip Content or the Gossiper’s Intention? Simulating Motive Interpretation in Gossip Dynamics

Gossip provides individuals a great volume of information, which allows them to make informed decisions and better adapt to the environment around them. Like all pieces of information, however, if not correctly interpreted, gossip can lead to harmful consequences for individuals. Indeed, computational models have portrayed a complex picture on how gossip impacts cooperation, identifying several limitations of the mechanism. Recent theoretical models and empirical studies have shown how interpreting the information received through gossip is a key component to understand how gossip influences individuals and groups. Thus, we built an agent-based model where we examine two reaction mechanisms for different reputation systems, in which agents first interpret the motive behind gossip and then react on the basis of this interpretation. While the first mechanism relies on an encompassing reputation system in which all pieces of information are used to inform future decisions with other group members, the second mechanism comprises a two-layer reputation system, in which agents’ actions are separate from agents’ reliability as gossipers. Our results support previous empirical findings asserting gossip as an effective way to sustain initial cooperation, and offer a solution for gossip driven by negative motives: as long as gossip receivers ignore the information provided by gossipers they deem unreliable and don’t punish them by refraining from cooperative interactions with them, cooperation can be sustained.