Face Negotiation Theory - Essay Example

Face Negotiation Theory Introduction The Face-negotiation theory was created to better comprehend the causes of conflict in terms of the cultural as well as individual understanding of identity management. ‘Face’ describes the assumed sense of complimentary social self-worth that an individual takes on when in public. The theory of face has been used to clarify the norms in different cultures that assign methods of apology, rituals of linguistic politeness, rapport-building, dealing with embarrassment, and conflict interactions. People in basically all cultures negotiate in different ways on face. Facework refers to particular non-verbal as well as verbal messages that help in maintaining or re-building the loss of face. Different aspects of the Face-Negotiation Theories Anxiety and uncertainty can result in conflict that brings discomfort. According to Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory, it is mainly based on individualism and collectivism (Ting -Toomey, 2010). Harry Triandis states that three important distinctions between collectivistic and individualistic cultures include the different ways in which members perceive the concepts of goals, self, and duty. More than 60% of the world’s population is born to collectivist cultures such as those in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America; while the remainder, in nations such as Switzerland and Germany, live in individualist cultures (Ting -Toomey, 2010). For collectivist cultures such as that of Japan, it is presumed that even the decisions made by the citizens on an individual basis end up affecting the community. This means that it is constructive for the accepted norms of the group to determine individual choices. The Japanese ‘We’ identity is comparable to the ‘I’ identity of the individualistic American society. In the use of mediation methods in the two types of cultures, the mediator encourages antagonists to deal directly with their differences and keeps the conversation focused on the possibility of a final agreement. Ting –Toomey states that in a culture, the citizens who make it up differ in terms of how much they identify with group solidarity or individualistic self sufficiency. Tiing-Toomey uses the terms ‘independent’ as well as ‘interdependent self’ to identify the extent to which a culture’s members view themselves as being autonomous or in relation to others around them. The psychologists Shinobu Kitayama and Hazel Markus refer to this concept as self image or self construal (Ting -Toomey, 2010). In seemingly individualistic cultures such as the American culture, there may be certain changes that are noted in different ethnic groups. There are ethnic immigrants, for instance, that still practice collectivist habits and bring up their children in a collectivist culture, and to be highly interdependent. These select immigrant populations also encourage their citizens to engage in self values that are interdependent and that highlight relational connectedness. It is common for the Western world to regard the maintenance of ‘face’ to be a predominantly Asian preoccupation. However, it is more common in other cultures as well, as it can be said to be a different definition of the self concept. The Max Plank Institute of Psycholinguistics’ Stephen Levinson and Penelope Brown have defined the concept of ‘face’ as being the public image of self that society’s members wish to claim as being their own (Ting -Toomey, 2010). Lin Yutang, a Taiwanese writer, on the other hand, defined face as being a psychological image that can be lost, granted to an individual, and even struggled for (Ting -Toomey, 2010). For Ting-Toomey, the concept of face is simply descriptive of the projective image of an individual’s self in a relational setting. While people in individualistic societies struggle to preserve their own best ‘images’, those in collectivist cultures tend to focus on preserving the good ‘images’ of their fellow man. The type of face –restoration that is encouraged in individualistic societies, which mostly has to do with self-concern, helps the individual to guard against the breaching of personal boundaries by others while also preserving autonomy. Moreover, the notion of extending face to others can be used to make others aware of the fact that they are included as being part of the community or group. Conflict Management According to Ting-Toomey, there are five responses that people all over the world can exhibit in times when there is a conflict in personal objectives or interests (Ting -Toomey, 2010). These include avoiding the issue, negotiating or compromising on a solution, integrating, giving-in or obliging, and competing against the expressed sentiments or opposing. There have been instances where it was discovered that there are individuals who show signs of identifying with both independence as well as interdependence. According to Ting-Toomey and Oetzel, such bi-construal people can make use of a wide range of behavioural options that can be used to find a solution to conflicting points of view (Ting -Toomey, 2010). A different characteristic that is demonstrated in different ways in collectivist and individualistic cultures is power distance. Collectivist cultures tend to support the institution of large power cultures which support the premise unequal power as being natural. Individualistic cultures are different because they sport small power distance norms and view every individual in the society as being equal. According to Ting-Toomey, this concept affects how people from different cultures respond to conflict. In addition, ant threats to the concept of face can influence an individual from any of these cultures’ perception of the significance of face (Ting -Toomey, 2010). Intercultural Facework According to Ting-Toomey, there are qualities that can facilitate smooth interaction and communication between people from the individualistic and collectivist cultures in spite of their big differences (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003). Some of these characteristics are mindfulness, prior knowledge about the norms of the opposite culture, and interaction skills in understanding the other’s interpretation of the concept of ‘face’. Knowledge about the other’s culture allows an individual to avoid committing unintentional errors. Mindfulness involves having the understanding that what one may see or perceive may not necessarily be what is really taking place or being represented. It calls for an individual to perform a re-assessment of his or her own personal assumptions as well as ethnocentric tendencies. Interactive skills include the ability to adapt whenever necessary in order to accommodate the other party. Questions Afghanistan is obviously has a collectivist culture with a large power distance. The concept of ‘face’ in Afghanistan is given more weight and defined as honour. If citizens do not comply with accepted social and moral norms that are used to define the concept of honour, they are considered as outcasts in Afghani society. In addition, the reality of personal existence is not really recognized in Afghanistan culture. For instance, if an individual chooses to go against social norms, it is not only him but his entire family and clan that will be castigated for his actions. I see myself as an individual that embraces the good aspects of both individuality as well as collectivism. Though my culture is mainly collectivist, it is immersed in a society that is individualistic. This means that while the elderly members of the community extol collectivist qualities, the young tend to increasingly identify with the individualistic qualities of the mainstream society while still retaining positive aspects of the native collectivist culture of the community. My religious faith, Christianity, embraces mutual face in that it encourages people to be concerned with ensuring that their neighbours are well represented while also encouraging them to conduct themselves in an honourable manner so that their behaviour may attract others to the religion. In relationships my preference tends to vacillate between self face and other face, depending on the circumstances. For instance, in a personal relationship, I will be more concerned with focusing on other face in order to show genuine concern with the person I am relating with. In a more competitive setting, such as in the workplace or campus where competition is vital for one to succeed, I will be more involved in utilizing self face so as to cater to my own needs and ensure a prosperous future. With a member who turned registered poor results, I would decide to play the role of the mediator who tries to understand the reason for this without necessarily antagonizing the personal character and abilities of the worker. I would also research on the cultural background of the worker so as to understand how to best present an issue without destroying the face needs of the worker. This response is based on social norms in my culture. The use of the Face Negotiation Theory by Musicians According to Ting-Toomey, the objective of the Face Negotiation Theory is to express the process of effective communication across different cultures. Knowledge, interactive skill, and mindfulness are the three factors that facilitate intercultural communication. The Beatles were an extremely popular group in the 60s and 70s across the world. They used the three factors of knowledge, mindfulness and interactive skills to positively pass their communication with different cultures across the world through their music. For instance, the group was quite knowledgeable about the main issue of contention in the 60s- the Vietnam War. They made their position clear, as anti-war activists, and included political messages that millions across different cultures could identify with. They also propagated the message of peace and unity in a world that was weary of war and wished for it to end. Different cultures could identify with the importance of peace and so embraced the messages in the songs sung by the Beatles. The Beatles were also mindful of the needs of the American youth who were being sacrificed to win the War. They took up the cause of the youth who demanded to know if the Vietnam War was necessary, and wondered where the funds for sustaining it were coming from. The Beatles were also quite effective in their communication and interactive abilities. All four of them had lyrical skills and could be quite poetic in how they presented their views about controversial subjects. They therefore attracted large multitudes of followings across the world in spite of the fact that they could only speak English and no other languages and were from a British background. References Oetzel, J. G., & Ting-Toomey, S. (2003). Face concerns in interpersonal conflict: a cross-cultural empirical test of the face negotiation theory. Communication Research, 30(6), 599-624. Ting -Toomey, S. (2010). Applying dimensional values in understanding intercultural communication. Communication Monographs, 77(2), 169-180. Read More