Fig. 1.

The evolutionary cycle of gossip. From the top of the circle, when there are some gossipers existing in the population, the reputation dissemination function of gossip makes reputations more accessible and, thus, leads more individuals to condition their behavior on others’ reputations. As a result, more individuals get concerned about their own reputations, which drives them to manage their reputations by behaving more cooperatively when interacting with gossipers, manifesting the selfishness deterrence function of gossip. The deterrent power of gossip gives gossipers an evolutionary advantage over nongossipers, which leads to the evolution of more gossipers. Again, the evolution of more gossipers facilitates the reputation dissemination and selfishness deterrence functions of gossip and sustains this cycle.