Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 24, Issue 3 , Pages 208-216 , May 2003

Why humans value sensational news: An evolutionary perspective

Received 25 September 2002 ,Revised 7 March 2003

References 

  1. Abrahams RD. A performance-centered approach to gossip. Man. 1970;5:290–301
  2. Anonymous . Disreputable journalism. Gunton's Magazine. 1898;322
  3. Barkow JH. Beneath new culture is old psychology: gossip and social stratification. In:  Barkow JH,  Cosmides L,  Tooby J editor. The adapted mind. New York: Oxford Univ. Press; 1992;p. 627–637
  4. Bergmann JR. Discreet indiscretions: the social organization of gossip. New York: Aldine De Gruyter; 1993;
  5. Bird E, Dardenne W. News and storytelling in American culture: reevaluating the sensational dimension. Journal of American Culture. 1990;13(2):33–37
  6. Boyer P. Religion explained. New York: Basic Books; 2001;
  7. Clayman SE, Reisner A. Gatekeeping in action: editorial conferences and assessments of newsworthiness. American Sociological Review. 1998;63:178–199
  8. Crocodiles tear apart Thai suicide woman. Reuters news service. Retrieved August 27, 2002, from http://asia.cnn.com/ASIA/archive/2002/08172002.html.
  9. Danson L, Soothill K. Murder followed by suicide: a study of the reporting of murder followed by suicide in The Times 1887–1990. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry. 1996;7(2):310–322
  10. Dunbar R. Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language. Massachusetts: Harvard Univ. Press; 1996;
  11. Enquist M, Leimar O. The evolution of cooperation in mobile organisms. Animal Behavior. 1993;45(4):747–757
  12. Gallacher P. Big Macs ‘poisoned us’ Parents to sue burger firm over bacteria claim. The (UK) Express. December 6, 1996;
  13. Gaulin SJC, McBurney DH. Psychology: an evolutionary approach. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall; 2001;
  14. Gluckman M. Gossip and scandal. Current Anthropology. 1963;4:307–316
  15. Haviland JB. Gossip as competition in Zinacantan. Journal of Communication. 1977;27:186–191
  16. Mott FL. American journalism: a history: 1690–1960. New York: Macmillan; 1962;
  17. Nordin KD. The entertaining press: sensationalism in eighteenth century Boston newspapers. Communication Research. 1979;6(3):295–321
  18. Palmer JA, Palmer LK. Evolutionary psychology. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon; 2002;
  19. Pinker S. How the mind works. New York: W.W. Norton; 1997;
  20. Scalise-Sugiyama M. The origins of narrative: storyteller bias as a fitness-enhancing strategy. Human Nature. 1996;7:403–425
  21. Siegel S. Non-parametric statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1956;
  22. Sorenson SB, Peterson Manz JG, Berk RA. News media coverage and the epidemiology of homicide. American Journal of Public Health. 1998;88:1510–1514
  23. Sparks C, Tulloch J. Tabloid tales: global debates over media standards. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 2000;
  24. Zaller, J. (1999). Market competition and news quality. Retrieved August 27, 2002, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/zaller.

PII: S1090-5138(03)00012-6

doi: 10.1016/S1090-5138(03)00012-6

Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 24, Issue 3 , Pages 208-216 , May 2003