Introduction

Author hopes to enrich the vocabular that people use when they talk about judgments and choices of others. Why be concerned with gossip? Because it is much easier, as well as far more enjoyable, to identify and label the mistakes of others than to recognize our own. Many of us spontaneously anticipate how friends and colleagues will evaluate our choices. The expectation of intelligent gossip is a powerful motive for serious self criticism. More powerful than new year's resolutions to improve one's decision making at work or home.