Interpersonal Communication Politeness Theory

1. Interpersonal CommunicationPoliteness Theory Chris Lewis

2. Key Theorists • Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987).

3. Definitions • Face: the desired self-image you wish to present to others. • Positive Face: a person’s needs to be liked, appreciated, and admired. • Negative Face: a person’s desire to act freely, without constraints or imposition from others. • Face-Threatening Acts: common behaviors such as apologies, compliments, requests, and criticism.

4. Key Components of Politeness Theory Assumptions Preserving Face Factors that Influence Politeness

5. Assumptions • All individuals are concerned with maintaining face. • Human beings are rational and goal oriented. • Some behaviors are fundamentally face threatening.

6. Preserving Face • Facework: specific messages that deter or minimize face-threatening acts. • Preventative Facework: strategies that a person can use to help themselves or another avoid face-threatening acts. • Corrective Facework: messages an individual can use to restore their own face or the face of another once a face threatening act has occurred.

7. Suprastrategies used when Communication Threatens Face • Avoidance: when a speaker chooses not to communicate in a way that would create embarrassment or loss of face for another. • Going off Record: when a speaker subtly hints the face-threatening topic. • Negative Politeness: when the speaker makes an effort to recognize the other’s negative face needs.

8. Suprastrategies Continued… • Positive Politeness: when the speaker emphasizes the receiver’s need for positive face. • Bald on Record: when the communicator makes no effort to protect the other’s face and simply commits the face-threatening act.

9. Factors that Influence Politeness • Prestige: taking into consideration whether the status of the other person is higher or lower than their own status. • Power: taking into consideration whether the other person has more power over them at the time. • Risk: taking into consideration whether or not the other person’s feelings will be hurt.

10. What I Learned about Politeness Theory • We learned that politeness theory is how we manage our own and others identities through interaction. • We learned there are 3 primary assumptions of politeness theory: maintaining face, humans are rational when achieving face needs, some behaviors are face threatening. • Facework is vital to create and maintain a desired self image. • There are other key behaviors that can contribute to face: preventive facework, corrective facework, avoidance, going off the record, negative and positive politeness.