Face negotiation theory

In this theory, "face" is a metaphor for self-image, which originated from two Chinese conceptualizations: lien and mien-tzu. Lien is the internal moral face that involves shame, integrity, debasement, and honor issues. Mien-tzu, on the other hand, is the external social face that involves social recognition, position, authority, influence and power. Erving Goffman also situated "face" in contemporary Western research and conceptualized the terms lien and mien-tzu as identity and ego. He noted that face is a concern for one's projected image that is both immediate and spontaneous and is tied to the dynamics of social interaction. Goffman also notes that face is a part of a performance, in which performance is day-to-day activity that each individual uses to influence others. In a way, Western society views face as a marketable asset. The performance of "face" can be for the good of others or it can be for the good of one's self. Brown and Levinson further suggested that face can refer to two wants of the individual- the positive face that necessitates approval by others and the negative face that requires that one's actions or thoughts are unimpeded by others. Thus participant's wants are of more importance than the interaction itself in a face-saving view of politeness. In fact, researchers Brown and Levinson posit that face is something that "is emotionally invested, and can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction". Levinson and Brown did not, however, address culture-specific norms, which is why Ting-Toomey decided to do so in this theory. Ting-Toomey expanded this thinking and conceptualized face as an individual's claimed sense of favorable social self-image in a relational and network context. Facework is defined as clusters of communicative behaviors that are used to enact self-face and to uphold, challenge/threaten, or support the other person's face. Content conflict refers to the substantive issues external to the individual involved. Relational conflict refers to how individuals define, or would like to define, the particular relationship in that particular conflict episode. The identity-based conflict concerns issues of identity confirmation-rejection, respect-disrespect, and approval-disapproval. In this way, identity issues are tied closely to culture-based face-orientation factors. A face-threatening episode is an identity expectancy violation episode. Thus, the face-negotiation theory views conflict, intercultural conflict in particular, as a situation that demands active facework management from the two interdependent conflict parties. It can also be noted that in face-negotiation, individuals negotiate face not only with others but with themselves, as well. The theory has gone through multiple iterations since its creation. There is a 1988 version of seven assumptions and 12 propositions, a 1998 version of seven assumptions and 32 propositions, and, most recently, the 2005 version of seven assumptions and 24 propositions. ==Components==

Individualism vs. collectivism To understand Ting-Toomey’s theory, it is important to understand the difference between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The phrase originates from Geert Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences. In the book, Hofstede uses individualism and collectivism as one of the four dimensions that vary between cultures. In Ting-Toomey’s theory of face negotiation theory, individualism and collectivism are one of the main differences between Eastern and Western cultures. Individualistic cultures are less common than collectivistic cultures, as they make up only about a third of the world. In individualistic cultures, people are more likely to focus on themselves rather than any groups they are involved in. The Face-Negotiation Theory perspective stresses the impact of culture on the situated meaning of face and the enactment of facework. Thus, the theory assumes that: For example, in individualist cultures, such as the United States, Germany, and Great Britain, there is great value on personal rights, freedoms and the "do it yourself" attitude. Individualists cultures are seen as promoting independence for individuals In collectivist cultures such as Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia, more value is placed on "we" vs. "I". The needs of the group outweigh the needs of the individual, making independence or individualism viewed as selfish. Besides the cultural-level collectivism-individualism and power distance, face-negotiation also consists of the individual-level self-construal. Self-construal is an individual level of the construct in face-negotiation theory, and it can be regarded as an additional alternative to understand cross-cultural conflicts, and it is also closely related to cultural variability. There are two types of self-construal: independent self-construal and interdependent self-construal. Independent self-construal refers to the great degree to which people regard themselves as an isolated entity, whereas people who are more interdependent self-construal tend to conceive themselves as an integral part in interpersonal relationship. According to Gudykunst, in individualistic cultures, independent self-construal prevails, while in collectivistic cultures, people are more related to interdependent self-construal. Face movements Face movement refers to the options that a negotiator faces in choosing whether to maintain, defend and/or upgrade self-face versus other-face in a conflict episode. There are four opportunities a mediator has in regards to their concern for self-face, your personal image and other-face, the counterpart's image of themselves that define face movements: • If there is a high level of concern for both self-face and other-face, the result is mutual-face protection. • If there is a low level of concern for both self-face and other-face, the result is mutual-face obliteration. • If there is a high level of concern for self-face but a low level of concern for other-face, the result is self-face defense. • If there is a high level of concern for other-face but a low level of concern for self-face, the result is other-face defense. Ting-Toomey asserts that several conditions must be perceived as severe in order for a negotiator to feel his face is threatened; the importance of the culturally approved facework that is violated, feelings of mistrust because of a large distance between cultures, the importance of the conflict topic, the power distance between the two parties, and the perception of the parties as outgroup members are all conditions which must be made salient for face-threatening communication to occur. Collectivistic cultures tend to employ more preventive strategies than individualistic cultures. Restorative facework attempts to repair face that was lost. Restorative strategies include excuses, justifications, direct aggression, humor, physical remediation, passive aggressiveness, avoidance, and apologies. based his classification of conflict styles into two dimensions. The first dimension demonstrates the concern for self, how important it is for the individual to maintain their own face or that of their culture (this is rated on a high to low continuum) and the second is concern for others, how important is it to the individual to help them maintain their own face (also rated on a high to low continuum). The two dimensions are combined to create five styles for dealing with conflict. The individual will choose a style of handling conflict based on the importance of saving their face and that of the face of the other. • Dominating: One person's position or goal above the other. • Avoiding: Eluding the conflict topic, the conflict party, or the conflict situation altogether. • Obliging: High concern for the other person's conflict interest above a person's own interest. • Compromising: A give-and-take concession approach in order to reach a midpoint agreement. • Integrating: A solution closure that involves high concern for one's self and high concern for the other. In 2000 Ting-Toomey, Oetzel, and Yee-Jung incorporated three additional conflict communication styles to the original five. These three have further enhanced conflict communication across cultures. • Emotional Expression-Articulating a person's feelings in order to deal with and control conflict. • Third Party Help-Resolving conflicts by enlisting additional help to manage communication. • Passive Aggressive-Reacting to conflict in a roundabout way, placing blame indirectly. Other researchers used a different way to group the conflict tactics. Ting-Toomey (1983) grouped strategies into three categories of tactics for handling conflict; integrative, distributive and passive-indirect. Integrative conflict tactics incorporated integrating and compromising styles and is reflective of mutual-face and the need for a solution. Those who chose this tactic work with the other person involved in the conflict to get the best possible solution for both parties. Examples of Integrative tactics may include listening to the other, respecting their feelings, and providing their own personal viewpoints in a manner that assists in the negotiation. Distributive conflict tactics use the dominating style of handling conflict, and emphasizes the individuals own power over the other. This style reflects self-face. Passive-indirect conflict tactics are consistent with obliging and avoiding styles of handling conflict and reflects other-face. Face content domains Face content domains refer to the different topics an individual will engage in facework on. Individuals have different face wants or face needs in a diverse range of communicative situations. To be mindful of intercultural facework differences, we have to learn to see the unfamiliar behavior from a fresh context. Thus, on a general level, mindfulness demands creative thinking and living. ==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. 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" (Ting-Toomey & Oetzel, 2003). 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." • "Power distance had small, positive effects on self-face, other-face, avoiding facework, and dominating facework." 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 on 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 (1980), 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 (1971), is the “offender's device to remedy a social breach and to re-establish social harmony”. It is a study on relational transgressions in two different cultures: the high-context communication of China, and the low-context communication of United States. Participants of this study include 327 college students in United States and 176 college students in central China. The researchers compared five hypotheses on relationship between the central constructs of face-negotiation theory and victims’ behavioral consequences. The final result indicates a negative relationship between self-face concern and forgiveness, independent self-construal and forgiveness in both cultures. It also suggests a positive association between other-face concern and forgiveness, interdependent self-construal and forgiveness, offender apology and forgiveness in both countries. ==See also==