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Gossip: Does it Play a Role in the Socialization of Nurses?
Author(s) -
Laing Milli
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1993.tb00751.x
Subject(s) - gossip , socialization , reputation , entertainment , public relations , sociology , social psychology , psychology , political science , social science , law
Despite its generally negative reputation, gossip continues to be a significant genre of communication in every society. The initial purpose of this paper is to scrutinize gossip from historical, analytical and feminist perspectives. An extensive review of the literature suggests gossip serves three primary functions: information, influence or social control and entertainment. The second purpose is to explore how the functions of gossip may contribute to the socialization of nurses to their professional role and to their work culture.