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LONDON: The first evidence that learning about bad gossip changes how our brain visualises people, not just our feelings about them, has been found by researchers in the U.S.
The study, published in the current issue of Science, used a technique called binocular rivalry to discover that students unconsciously looked longer at faces they'd been told bad things about. The findings suggest that our brains may keep an eye on potential villains to give us time to decide whether to avoid them in future.
They also add to growing evidence suggesting our visual experiences aren't simply copied from the outside world, but are changed by our perceptions.
"This is the first time anyone has shown communicating social information about a face or person influences visual consciousness," said cognitive neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett from Northeastern University in Boston and senior study author.
Why we gossip
Scientists have speculated that humans evolved to be insatiable gossips because our rumour-obsessed ancestors were more likely to survive to have children.
Gossip may have helped humans living in large groups to learn indirectly about each others' characters. The theory is that keen gossips were better at attracting and keeping lovers, and deciding who was a threat to their survival.
"Gossip helps us predict who is friend and foe without first-hand experience of that person, and probably evolved to protect us from liars and cheaters," said Feldman Barrett.
Paying attention to the face
Previous experiments using binocular rivalry have shown that people's attention is grabbed by potential threats like disgusting images and frightened faces.
But these images have visually striking light and dark patches, says Feldman Barrett. This study suggests rumours of a person's bad character attract attention to their face - regardless of its appearance.
"We didn't know prior experience - hearing about negative behaviours - would influence a face's ability to be seen over and above its visual properties," said Feldman Barrett.
Seeing double
Feldman Barrett and her colleagues carried out binocular rivalry using a mirror stereoscope. This equipment allows a facial image to be shown to one eye and a picture of house to the other.
The person consciously sees the images alternating, but the length of time that they see each image can't be consciously controlled. The team showed 66 Boston College students pictures of expressionless faces with a sentence of bad, good or neutral gossip written underneath.
Bad gossip included "hit a small child". Neutral gossip might be "rode the elevator with a co-worker". An example of good gossip was "helped an elderly woman with her groceries".
