The study looked at how people cooperate in different games when they know their partner might gossip about them. They found that gossip makes people more likely to cooperate by sharing resources. However, in a game where strategy is involved, like the ultimatum game, people are less likely to cooperate in future interactions. Without gossip, those who played the ultimatum game are more trusted, but with gossip, those who played the dictator game are more trusted and more likely to cooperate. Overall, gossip helps cooperation, but fear of rejection from a partner can hurt future cooperation, especially when gossip is involved.