User:Hannah.Morey/Face negotiation theory

Lead
Face-Negotiation Theory is a theory conceived by Stella Ting-Toomey in 1985 to understand how people from different cultures manage rapport and disagreements. The theory posited "face", or a version of self-image when communicating with others, as a universal phenomenon that pervades across cultures. In conflicts, one's face is threatened; and thus the person tends to save or restore his or her face. This set of communicative behaviors, according to the theory, is called "facework". Since people frame the situated meaning of "face" and enact "facework" differently from one culture to the next, the theory poses a cross-cultural framework to examine facework negotiation. It is important to note that the definition of face varies depending on the people and their culture and the same can be said for the proficiency of facework. According to Ting-Toomey's theory, most cultural differences can be divided by Eastern and Western cultures, and her theory accounts for these differences.

Background
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.

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. In other words, facework is the sum of all messages received by someone that helps them gain or lose face.

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 ⅓ of the world. According to psychology professor Harry Triandis, the three ways to tell apart individualistic and collectivistic cultures are through self, goals, and duty.

'''In individualistic cultures, people are more likely to focus on themselves rather than any groups they are involved in. A self-introduction would look simply like the name of the person, their age, etc. In collectivistic cultures, some of the most important aspects of the self are the groups they are involved in. Those from collectivistic cultures are more likely to define themselves by any group affiliation they find themselves in. Those from individualistic cultures focus on their own personal goals, rather than how those from collectivistic cultures want to achieve goals for their groups. To an individualistic culture, it would be unusual to think about pride in one's company over pride in oneself. Finally, those raised in collectivistic cultures are more likely to be sacrificial in their duty to others, unlike those raised individualistic. Collectivistic cultures have an emphasis on family dynamics and the duty one has to their loved ones. Meanwhile, people from individualistic cultures will feel less of a duty towards their family because they were likely not socialized with traditional family values.'''

Assumptions

 * 1) Those from any culture practice facework whenever communicating.
 * 2) Example: Humans constantly maintain upkeep for their self-image.
 * 3) Face is problematic when identities are questioned.
 * 4) Differences in individualistic vs. collectivistic and small vs. large power distance cultures profoundly shape face management.
 * 5) Individualistic cultures prefer self-oriented facework while collectivistic cultures prefer other-oriented facework.
 * 6) Example: Individuals from individualistic cultures are more likely to protect their own faces during threatening social situations. Meanwhile, those from collectivistic cultures integrate their face with the face of others involved in threatening social situations (less "every man for himself").
 * 7) Small power distance cultures prefer an "individuals are equal" framework, whereas large power distance cultures prefer a hierarchical framework.
 * 8) Example: These differences are often seen in the political climate of each of the different power distance cultures.
 * 9) Behavior is also influenced by cultural variances, individual, relational, and situational factors.
 * 10) Competence in intercultural communication is a culmination of knowledge and mindfulness.

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 Negotiation and Online Gift Giving
'''Research into the new 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 & Disability
A 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.

Face Concerns, Self-construal and Forgiveness
Ting-Toomey and other researchers conducted a latest research in 2019 on the effects of the three main individual-level constituents of face-negotiation: face concerns, self-construal and apology on victims’ choice of forgiveness, reconciliation and revenge to offenders. 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.