Individuals engage in reputation management by adjusting their behaviour in front of others. As gossip plays an important role in human society, individuals need to concern themselves with not only a present observer's evaluations but also non-present people's impressions. In this study, we investigated whether 4- and 8-year-old children (N = 144) would adjust their sharing behaviours when presented with the possibility of an observer's gossiping. We manipulated whether the receiver of gossip could identify the child being gossiped about by using real-life group boundaries. The children shared their treats with an anonymous peer in front of an observer under three conditions. In the same-group gossip condition, the observer told the children that she would report their behaviour to their friends. In the different-group gossip condition, the children's behaviours were to be reported to an unknown peer (from a different kindergarten or elementary school). In the no-gossip condition, the observer would not gossip. Children from both age groups shared more treats in the two gossip conditions than in the no-gossip circumstance, regardless of whether the gossip receiver could identify them. These findings suggest that 4- and 8-year-old children attempt to manage their reputation when they could be a target of gossip.

中文翻译：

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孩子们通过关心八卦来管理自己的声誉

个人通过调整自己在他人面前的行为来进行声誉管理。八卦在人类社会中扮演着重要的角色，个人不仅需要关注当下观察者的评价，还需要关注不在场的人的印象。在本研究中，我们调查了 4 岁和 8 岁儿童（N= 144) 当出现观察者八卦的可能性时，他们会调整他们的分享行为。我们操纵了八卦的接收者是否可以通过使用现实生活中的群体边界来识别被八卦的孩子。在三种情况下，孩子们在观察者面前与匿名同伴分享他们的零食。在同组八卦的情况下，观察者告诉孩子们，她会向他们的朋友报告他们的行为。在不同组的八卦条件下，孩子的行为将被报告给一个未知的同伴（来自不同的幼儿园或小学）。在不八卦的情况下，观察者不会八卦。两个年龄组的孩子在两种八卦的情况下比在没有八卦的情况下分享更多的款待，不管八卦接收者是否可以识别它们。这些发现表明，当 4 岁和 8 岁的孩子可能成为八卦的目标时，他们会试图管理自己的声誉。