Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Communication Studies
Committee Chair
Keith D. Weber.
Committee Co-Chair
Matthew M. Martin
Committee Member
Scott A. Myers
Abstract
Two studies were conducted for the purpose of validating Foster's (2004) Gossip Functions Questionnaire (GFQ) which measures the reasons why people gossip (i.e., the functions of gossip). The GFQ originally consisted of four subscales that measured the functions of gossip: information, entertainment, friendship, and influence. In Study One, an exploratory factor analysis failed to reveal the four subscales Foster originally conceptualized. However, three factors were apparent that seemed to measure three separate functions of gossip: trivial gossip, influential gossip, and behavioral guidance gossip. In Study Two, a confirmatory factor analysis of a second data set failed to validate the 3-factor Gossip Functions Questionnaire. It was also proposed that the GFQ would be related to indirect interpersonal aggression, Machiavellianism, and tendency to gossip. The data from Study Two indicated that the 3-factor Gossip Functions Questionnaire was, in fact, significantly positively related to each of the variables above.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Elycia M., "Gossip as an interpersonal communication phenomenon" (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 860.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/860