Parasocial interaction, perceived celebrity credibility, and attitudes towards gossip as predictors of audiences' tendency to gossip

Abstract

Rationally, spreading gossip is a human nature especially in the era of mass communication. The low price of printing accelerates the spread of gossip. Stars come into people's sights under the impetus of the medium. This study tested three factors of the tendency to gossip, including PSI, PCC and ATG on the Chinese social network sites. The findings of presented study actuate previous studies on the tendency to gossip, and we applied the TPB as the basis theory to conduct the research. It is novel to integrate the three predictors PSI, PCC, and ATG to examine how they influence TTG concurrently within new media situation. In particular, an originally designed model aims testing the multiple interactions among variables has been brought forward. Besides the model, the study also tested how PCC, PSI, and ATG work on TTG separately, trying to further our understandings of individuals' TTG on SNSs in communication field.