the concept of face

Face is an image of oneself that one wants others to believe and realise

essential for understanding communication behavior, especially in contexts like negotiation or conflict.

Face represents social respect and standing.

• gain face through success and recognition

• lose face through public failure or embarrassment

Example: gaining face - Academic success of children brings face to family

Loosing face- Failing to meet social expectations fe stay unmarried, Causes shame

Social status, marriage, and behavior were closely tied to face.

Hospitality is tied to honor and dignity. Not visiting a family after a birth may be seen as offensive requiring corrective actions to restore face, like meeting in a neutral location.

• family reputation strongly influences individual face

• If family member makes a mistake, can cause shame for the whole family

Goffman introduced the face concept in the West.

Face is a self-portrayed image and is temporary depends on others in the interaction

Goffman considers that every person has two selves, he uses a card game metaphor:

1. Hand of cards- values society offers

2. How you play them = how you present yourself socially.

Brown and Levinson introduced the relationship between politness and face and how this influences self expresssion

They say each individual has:

1. Positive face: the desire to be appreciated and approved of

2. Negative face: the need to be independent and free

protect a person’s face through politeness when a face-threatening act is unavoidable. The goal is to reduce the social damage. There are four strategies:

1. On-record: no attempt to soften a face-threatening act

2. Positive politeness: soften it by making the other feel good

3. Negative politeness: avoid imposing on the other

4. Off-record: indirect speach (hints, suggestions)

   The greater the threat, the more careful the strategy.

People across countries manage face differently in conflicts

1. Face orientation or concern

2. Face movements or face move patterns

3. Facework interaction strategies

4. Conflict communication styles

5. Face content domains

It refers to whether a person’s primary concern in conflict is for:

• Self-face → protecting one’s own image

• Other-face → concern for the other person’s image

• Mutual-face → concern for both parties’ images and the relationship

→ These orientations are shaped by whether a culture is individualistic or collectivistic.

1. Mutual-face protection → High concern for both self-face and other-face

2. Mutual-face obliteration → Low concern for both self and other

3. Self-face defence → High concern for self-face, low concern for other-face

4. Other-face defence → High concern for other-face, low concern for self-face

   
   

• Low-context cultures → Use explicit, direct communication

• High-context cultures → Use indirect, layered

Used to prevent face loss before a conflict or sensitive message. Examples:

1. Credentialing: certify one’s status before sending face hurting comments ("I am your coach…", "I have more experience…")

2. Suspended Judgment Appeal: ask to suspend premature judgment ("Before you make your mind…")

3. Pre-apology: apologize to lower expectations ("Before I start, please accept my apologies for…")

4. Hedging: fudging phrases to minimize potential face loss ("I may be mistaken, but please hear me out…")

5. Disclaimer: use praising cushion statements ("Since you are all experts…")

Used to repair face loss after it has happened:

• Direct aggression – yelling, screaming, physical violence

• Excuses – shifting responsibility

• Justifications – downplaying the severity

• Humor – laughing at oneself or encouraging others to relax

• Physical remediation – fix physical damage

• Passive aggressiveness – verbally passive, nonverbally emotional ("No, nothing is wrong." – while sulking or slamming the door)

• Avoidance – physically distancing from the situation

• Apologies – self-deprecating offers to express guilt or shame

there are two dimensions whiche are affecting conflict styles: the concern for self and for others

There are eight styles of conflict communication

1. Dominating: one person forces own position upon the other, who gives up their own viewpoint → one wins, the other loses

2. Avoiding: evading the conflict → both lose, as the conflict stays unsolved

3. Obliging: concern for the other’s interests is higher than for one’s own → one party undermines own goals

4. Compromising: focus on conflict solution → both parties give up parts of their goals

5. Integrating: both parties care about their own and the other’s interests

1. Emotional Expression: using one’s emotions to guide communication behavior during conflict

2. Third-Party Help: involving another person to help solve the conflict

3. Neglect: using indirect aggressive responses to threaten the other party’s face

➤ Individualistic cultures tend to use more direct styles (e.g. dominating, integrating)

➤ Collectivistic cultures prefer indirect styles (e.g. obliging, avoiding) and often seek third-party help due to high power distance

What are the Face Content Domains? (Part 1)

• Autonomy face: → independence, boundaries,

• Inclusion face: → Need to be accepted socially

• Approval face: → Need for others to admire our personal assets

• Reliability face: → Need to be seen as trustworthy, dependable

• Competence face: → Need for others to recognize our social abilities

• Moral face: → Need for others to acknowledge our integrity, morality