FaceIn action in

Intercultural Communication and

Face-Negotiation Theory

What it means to ‘Save Face’

Face: Self-image presented to world

- Identity Respect Self-Construal: independent vs interdependent self

Facework: Restoring Face Protect from Judgment

Cultural CharacteristicsChina and Japan:

- Collectivist- High context- Complacent, Indirect, likely to Avoid

US and Germany - Individualist- Low Context - Dominant, Direct, likely to Conflict

Cross-Cultural Conflicts

Appropriate Conflict Conduct in Cultural Environment

Use of face can result in CONFLICTIncompatibility over substantial

issues Miscommunication, Face is not savedConflict Management Style Leads to Face Negotiation Theory

Face Negotiation TheoryFace is mechanism for conflict

managementNegotiate face in all communication Situated Identities questionable Cultural, Individual, or Situational

variablesFive Conflict Styles:

- Avoidance - Compromise - Integration - Oblige - Domination

Specific Studies

US and Germany vs China and JapanPurpose: FACE is the explanation for

culture’s influence on conflict behaviorProcess

- Hypothesis, QuestionnaireResults

- Cultural features had direct effect - Situational Scenarios low impact

Specific Studies China vs Japan Purpose: To test

shared face, social debt, and independence

•Results:Cultural conflict recognized for integration

•Method: Qualitative Data from structured interviews

What does it all mean?Results not conclusive

Identity Based Goals- Confirmation/Rejection- Respect/Disrespect- Approval/Disapproval

Unresolved Identity Conflicts

Solutions?Face Identity Respect Knowledge of Facework

Taxonomies- Face Concerns - Face Movements or Patterns - Facework Interaction Strategies

Change in Tendencies - Conflict Communication Styles - Face Content Domains

Implications for Modern World

SocietiesPolitics WorkforceWar and Conflict EconomyIdentities of Countries in Global Market

Conclusion

“God had given you one face, and you make yourself another.”

-Hamlet, William Shakespeare

BibliographyGudykunst, William B. Theorizing about intercultural communication . Thousand

Oaks, CA : Sage, 2005. Print.

Matsudaira, Tomomi "Cultural Influences on the Use of Social Support by Chinese

Immigrants in Japan: 'Face' as a Keyword." Qualitative Health Research

13.3 (2003): 343. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov.

2009.

Oetzel, John G., and Stella Ting-Toomey "Face Concerns in Interpersonal Conflict:

A Cross-Cultural Empirical Test of the Face Negotiation Theory."

Communication Research 30.6 (2003): 599-624. Academic Search Premier.

EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.

Questions?