Stella Ting-Toomey begins discussion of her Face-Negotiation Theory by defining the concept of face. The theory states that we are constantly attempting to negotiate the way others perceive us - our public self-image, or face. There are two facets to face-negotiation; face concern and face need. Face concern deals with the question of whose face an individual is trying to save, his or her own or someone else's. Face need questions whether autonomy (space and privacy) is valued, or whether inclusion (respect and approval) is the primary concern.
Low-context cultures (such as ours) primarily emphasize individuals and value autonomy, while high-context cultures (like some Asian societies) view others as more important and inclusion as a higher value.
The four types of face work include:
Face-restoration - protecting your own autonomy
Face-saving - protecting the autonomy of another person
Face-giving - protecting another's need for inclusion
Face-assertion - protecting your own need for inclusion
The below examples will illustrate all four methods of face work.
Face-restoration is the most common type of face work in a low-context culture. Face work of this type seeks to protect yourself from an infringement on your autonomy by others.
Face-restoration can be illustrated by the actions of Matt Damon's character in the movie Good Will Hunting.
In this movie, Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a lower-class guy who works as a janitor for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One night he solves a complicated math problem that had been posted on the chalkboard for a professor's class to work on. The professor (Gerald Lambeau, played by Stellen Skarsgard) discovers that Will is a genius and starts working on high level math with him.
As the movie progresses the professor subtly begins to attempt to mold Will into an "ideal student." Will rebels against this and asserts his own individuality by goofing around in job interviews that the professor has set up for him. He senses the professor infringing on his autonomy and performs face-restoration work to reassert his nonconformity to the professor's wishes. He does not seek inclusion in the world of intellectuals and uses the skills of face-negotiation to prevent that inclusion.
Will's friend Chuckie also performs a type of face-negotiation in this movie when he pushes Will to break away from the group of "guys that will work construction all of their lives." Chuckie says that Will is meant for better things and should take advantage of his opportunities. Asserting Will's need for autonomy like this is an example of face-saving.
Face-giving is the opposite of face-restoration. It is the emphasis on another person's need for inclusion that is most commonly found in high-context cultures. Although face-giving is not as common as face-restoration in our society, it can be found most often, in my experience, in groups with high cohesiveness. For example, face-giving occurs among members of the Ohio University Forensics Team.
Often members of the team will plan an event, such as a team dinner at Erika's house, through conversation in the team room. Members of the team who were not part of the original conversation may enter the room while the discussion is taking place. The newcomers will sometimes be unsure of whether to join the conversation, especially if they are novices (who aren't aware of the dynamics of the team yet.)
Instead of asserting their right to inclusion (which would be face-assertion), they will often sit quietly and wait for someone to mention that, "Oh, you can come too, of course!" The varsity member of the team who vocally includes the newcomer in activities of the team is involved in face-giving and serves to allay the novice's fear of exclusion.
Links
Return to Natalie's Title Page for an overview of Face-Negotiation Theory
View Tony's Research to see additional research on the theory
View Brian's Research to see another research page
View Heidi's Critique for an indepth look at the theory
View Natalie's Links for more information
When people use face-negotiation theory (saving face and other strategies) to "protect" themselves and others they are attempting to make their lives smoother and more comfortable. This goal is similar to result of reducing cognitive dissonance - making your beliefs and actions coincide so that you can move smoothly through life. This research page on cognitive dissonance explains some ways to recognize dissonance so that you can eliminate it. Using this strategy, as well as the tenets of face-negotiation theory, will allow you to be more comfortable in many different situations.
Last modified on 3/15/00
