Face Negotiation
buttons.Applications
As an intercultural communication theory, face-negotiation theory was first tested in and applied to the field of intercultural training and conflicts. However, researchers from other areas also find this theory applicable and relevant. Recent applications and examinations of the theory include following studies.
Intercultural conflict training
One direct application of face-negotiation theory is the design of intercultural conflict training frameworks. Part of the objective of face-negotiation theory, according to Ting-Toomey, is in fact to translate the theory into a viable framework for mindful intercultural conflict training. Ting-Toomey suggests that this theory can be most useful when it comes to application of the theory to intercultural training across cultures.
More specifically, intercultural conflict training revolves around international business negotiation, intercultural conflict mediation, managing intercultural miscommunication, and developing intercultural conflict competencies. Adapting face-negotiation theory, and also in combination with various communication researches such as Critical Incident, Intergroup Negotiation Simulation etc., Ting-Toomey designed a detailed three-day training session. Agenda outline, along with in class activities, lecture themes, and exercises, is provided in her design as well.
Face concerns in interpersonal conflict
This study by the author of the theory Stella Ting-Toomey and, Department of communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico, John G. Oetzel was done in order to discover if face was indeed a factor in determining "culture's influence on conflict behavior". There were 768 people from four different countries who partook in the study. The cultures represented were China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. China and Japan representing the collectivist countries and Germany and the United States as the individualist countries. Each contributor was given a survey in which they were to explain interpersonal conflict. The largest findings are as follows.
- "Cultural individualism-collectivism had direct and indirect effects on conflict styles".
- "Independent self-construal related positively with self-face and interdependent self-construal related positively with other-face".
- "Self-face related positively with dominating conflict styles and other-face related positively with avoiding and integrating styles".
- "Face accounted for all of the total variance explained (100% of 19% total explained) in dominating, most of the total variance explained in integrating (70% of 20% total explained) when considering face concerns, cultural individualism-collectivism, and self-construals".
Face and facework in conflicts with parents and siblings
This study, implemented by the author of this theory Stella Ting-Toomey, John Oetzel, Martha Idalia Chew-Sanchez, Richard Harris, Richard Wilcox, and Siegfried Stumpf, observed how facework in conflict with parents and siblings is affected by culture, self-concept, and power distance. There were 449 people from four different countries and cultures that participated. Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United States were the countries used in the study. The survey looked at 3 apprehensions of face and 11 behaviors of "facework". The results are as follows.
- "Self-construals had strong effects on face concerns and facework with independence positively associated with self-face and dominating facework and interdependence positively associated with other- and mutual-face and integrating and avoiding facework behaviors".
- "Power distance had small, positive effects on self-face, other-face, avoiding facework, and dominating facework".
- "National culture had small to medium effects with individualistic, small power distance cultures having more self-face and mutual-face and using more dominating and integrating facework and less avoiding facework".
- "Germans have more self-face and used defending more than U.S. Americans".
- "Japanese used more expression than Mexicans".
- "Individuals in conflict with parents were more likely to use respect and expression and less likely to use aggression, pretend, and third party than individuals in conflict with siblings".
Face negotiation with mothers
Motherhood of the Construction of "Mommy Identity" – Heisler & Ellis Face Negotiation Theory suggests that, "USA culture simultaneously encourages connection and autonomy among individuals". Mothers do not want to be vulnerable so there is a "face" that is developed in the culture of mothers. Heisler and Ellis did a study on the "face" and reasons for face in motherhood. The results portrayed that the main reasons for keeping "face" in a culture of mothers are:
- Acceptance and approval: There is a fear of criticism and rejection by others. There is the avoidance face which deflects others attention. Acceptance face attracts attention.
- Personal Reasons: There are many internal pressures that mothers face. These include the guilt that they do not spend enough time with their children, insecurities and values they have are not being in met, and their self-esteem is low because of the fear of judgment.
- Mentoring/helping others: Mothers put on a face in order to appear as a good mother figure to younger mothers that look up to them. There are cultural expectations that can contribute to personal expectations for how mothers should act. Women's thoughts on mothering are not their own original ideas. They take on a lot of societal pressures. An example would be, if a mother's child acts poorly in public, it makes the mother look bad.
Motherhood and "face": Results from the same study showed that mothers participate in "Mommy face work". Depending on who they are talking to or interacting with. Mothers said to put on their highest face with friends, spouses, mothers and other family members. This is not to say that mother's plan to be deceptive, but they feel more comfortable not showing weakness and hide it accordingly.
Physician communication in the operating room
Kristin Kirschbaum applied face-negotiation theory to the health communication context, and specifically in the operating room environment. In the research, a survey was administered to anesthesiologists and surgeons at a teaching hospital in the southwestern United States to measure three variables commonly associated with face-negotiation theory: conflict-management style, face concern, and self-construal. The results strongly support the theory, and significant positive correlations were found between independent self-construal and self-face concern for anesthesiologists and surgeons. Specific to this health communication context, the research shows differences between the two groups of operating-room physicians: surgeons are potentially more other-face oriented and that anesthesiologists are potentially more independently oriented. Further, both anesthesiologists and surgeons recognize the importance of collaboration as surgical team members.
The survey also found that specific terms were contextually inappropriate for this population, e.g. the terms pride, dignity, or credibility demonstrated a need for error correlation. This suggests unique considerations of language. Along this line of thinking, the research recommended physician communication training to address both unique language considerations and different orientations to face concern and self-construal.
Safe sex negotiation
Gust Yep, noticing the potential vulnerability and emotional volatility of sexual interaction, applied face-negotiation theory to the safe sex negotiation context.
The study integrated various components of face-negotiation theory, and eight propositions are derived from empirical testing in intimate communication scenarios including east–west romantic dyads. The research is based on preliminary observations on personal interviews with two Asian women, aiming to predict intimate communication patterns between Asian women and Euro-American men. Specifically, low-high context and individualism-collectivism frameworks are used to draw the eight propositions.
Face saving in business request emails
A study conducted on the exchange of business emails between Chinese & American business associates presented how the structure of email requests affected the person's face & impacted how the associates viewed the request. It was observed that direct requests in an email threatened the face of the recipient & sender. It resulted in loss of face because the recipient was denied autonomy and acted in a socially unacceptable manner.
Face negotiation and online gift-giving
Research into the world of community gift-giving on livestream services found that face plays a role in purchases on live video streaming platforms. Consumer competitive arousal, gift design aesthetics, and broadcaster's image all make a difference in an audience's decision to purchase these gifts for livestreamers. Though research found it is easy to make purchasing decisions online, face plays a role in moderating how much someone is willing to give gifts to a person on a livestream.
Face threat and disability
Research was conducted to gauge how disabled persons interact with able bodied individuals with regards to protecting one's face and self-identity. The study considered students with not only physical disability but also disabilities not visually identifiable such as heart conditions and hearing impairment. Those with disabilities were threatened by the way others treated them and hence they chose more face-saving strategies. For instance, communication apprehension was noted in students with a hearing impairment and they reported less disclosure in the conversation. In fact, the study found that disabled students viewed asking help from able bodied individuals as a face threatening act.
Responding to unethical communication
Research in people's reaction to unethical communication revealed that people use face-threatening acts in order to counter the apprehension in communication. According to Bisel et al. (2011), "denying unethical communication challenges both positive and negative face of the hearer". An expression of disapproval threatens a person's positive face which indicates the hearer's need for approval and it impacts the person's negative face because it affects the person's autonomy.
The study put forth a research question of associating politeness strategies and unethical communication. The strategies considered were don't' do the face threatening act, negative politeness, positive politeness and bald on strategy. The unethical communication was classified as one that was either deceptive, manipulative, exploitative, intrusive or coercive. The ideal strategic responses have been highlighted in the figure.
Face saving in artwork reviews
A research was conducted to study the use of face saving and face threatening acts in reviewing artwork. For the study, twelve reviews from the periodical Literatūra ir menas (Literature and Art) were randomly selected. The source for the research analysis was between 1970 -1975.
It was observed that reviewers generally had the face of the artist in mind before presenting their reviews. When presenting a negative review, reviewers threatened the positive face of the artist and hence also presented positive feedback in order to ‘save face' of the artist.
Face concerns and the intent to apologize
A study was conducted among 317 Chinese and American participants to determine how the cultural variation between the two affected the intention to apologize. The cultural norms were categorized as the individualistic and collectivist cultures. According to Hofstede, an individualistic culture lays emphasis on the identity of the "I" while collectivist cultures place more importance on the "we" and the harmony in groups.
This study also took into account culture when trying to understand the intention to apologize. Apology, according to Goffman, is the "offender's device to remedy a social breach and to re-establish social harmony".
The cultural differences were more prominent especially as the intention took into account if the member (whose face was threatened by an act and thus necessities an apology) was an in-group or an out-group member. The study thus found that Chinese participants had a greater intention to apologize especially if their act threatened the positive face of the other individual. On the other hand, the U.S. participants had the intention to apologize when their act threatened the negative face of the person.