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Reinforcing or eroding norms? The team consequences of negative gossip network
Rui Zhong1, Yimin He2, Yinbo Bowie Zheng2
1Department of Management and Organization, Pennsylvania State University.
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|August 10, 2026
Summary
Negative gossip erodes team norms, contrary to individual-level findings. High gossip prevalence weakened team norms, increasing counterproductive work behavior, especially with high reciprocity or low centralization.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Social Psychology
- Team Dynamics
Background:
- Prior research shows negative gossip reinforces individual norms against misconduct.
- Its impact on team-level norms remains unclear, with potential for norm erosion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how team-level gossip influences proscriptive team norms (norms against harmful behaviors).
- To test competing hypotheses of norm-reinforcing versus norm-eroding effects.
- To examine the roles of gossip prevalence (density) and distribution (reciprocity, centralization).
Main Methods:
- A multiwave, multisource, round-robin study.
- 104 work teams (1,344 members) and 104 supervisors participated.
- Analysis integrated social network perspective and behavioral regulation theory.
Main Results:
- Findings supported a norm-eroding effect at the team level.
- Gossip density weakened proscriptive team norms, increasing counterproductive work behavior.
- This effect was amplified by higher gossip reciprocity and lower gossip centralization.
Conclusions:
- Team-level gossip erodes norms, unlike its individual-level effects.
- Gossip density, reciprocity, and centralization significantly shape team norms and behavior.
- Implications for managing team dynamics and preventing counterproductive work behavior are discussed.
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