I’m sure it does. In any neighborhood I have lived in I had neighbors that were outright mean to others and would deliberately take part in arranging social/gossip groups to take the heat off of themselves.
In public schools, when girls are bored or jealous of others they begin their gossip sessions to avoid the inevitable heat upon themselves later in life for being less than they truly were at the time and will ever be.
I see the same thing today in many Christian groups as well.
Popularity: unranked [?]