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Extending the Politeness Theory to Meditation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference? University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2005 Extending the Politeness Theory to Meditation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference? Andrew Craig Tollison University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Tollison, Andrew Craig, "Extending the Politeness Theory to Meditation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference?. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2005. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4594 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Andrew Craig Tollison entitled "Extending the Politeness Theory to Meditation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference?." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Communication. Kenneth Levine, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Michelle Violanti, John Haas Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Andrew Craig Tollison entitled "Extending the Politeness Theory to Mediation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference?" I have examined the final paper copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Communication. We have read this thesis And recommend its acceptance: ':D��� Michelle Violanti John!= Accepted for the Council: Vice Chance1lor Dean of Graduate Studies /�"<" 'S.1 s 2o,. -' C 7:., > Extending the Politeness Theory to Mediation Discourse: Does Facework Make a Difference? A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The Universityof Tennessee, Knoxville Andrew Craig Tollison August 2005 Copyright ©.2005 by Andrew Craig Tollison All rights reserved. 11 Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, Kim Andrew Tollison and MaryLynn Tollison, who have taught me a lot about life, always encouraged me to strive for greatness, and helped make achieving my goals possible. lll Acknowledgments I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who helped me in the completion of my Master of Science degree in Communication. Foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Levine fornot only his · academic leadership but also his unwavering dedication, and most of all patience. I would like to thank Dr. Violanti for her meticulous attention to detail and teaching me the proper way to research methods. I would also like to thank Dr. Haas forhis enthusiastic support and knowledge as well as providing me with many invaluable opportunities. Lastly, I would like to thank my friends and family who have encouraged me along this journey; I could not have done it without you all. lV Abstract Previous research has failed to determine which mediator characteristics have the greatest affect on participant satisfaction during the mediation process. The four characteristics being analyzed in this study are politeness, facework, eye contact, and trust. The concept of politeness suggests that mediation participants have an interest in maintaining face (i.e. positive and negative) while in the mediation session. To avoid threatening the participants' face, the mediator has five facework strategies to choose from. These facework strategies, when articulated by the mediator, have the potential to combat potential face­ threatening acts which can occur during the mediation process. The use of eye contact by the mediator can help regulate the flow of communication with the mediation participant. Finally, trust in the mediator should help to ensure a successful interaction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between politeness, facework, eye contact, and trust with the satisfaction of the mediation participant. Respondents included 91 adults who were in the process or had previously completed mediation in Tennessee. The survey was distributed to mediation centers around the state and was also made available online. Findings revealed moderate to strong correlations among politeness, facework, eye contact, trust and participant satisfaction. To V help produce satisfaction in the mediation participant, the mediator must understand the expectations of the participant, create a working relationship with the participant, and respect the participant's desire to · be free from constraints. When utilized by the mediator, the use of eye contact creates feelings of acceptance for the participant, which in tum increases participant satisfaction. Also, the ability of the mediator to eliminate face-threatening acts helps and enhance trust helps determine participant satisfaction. Further analysis and approaches for future research are discussed. VI Table of Contents Chapter Page I. Introduction........................................................................... 1 II. Review of Literature .............................................................. 3 Mediation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 Advantages to Mediation ..................... � ............................... 6 Mediator Roles.................................................................... 7 Mediation Agenda ............................................................... 9 Mediation Process of Divorce .............................................. 9 Politeness ...............................................................................11 Face .................................................................................. 11 Face-Threatening Acts ....................................................... 12 Facework Strategies................. .......................................... 15 Dimensions of Politeness ................................................... 18 Soliaarity. ................................................................. _ 1 9 Approbation .............................................................. 20 Tact...... - ....................................................................21 Ey-e Conta.ct ............................................................................ 2 2 Trust......... .............................................................................25 Satisfaction ............................................................................29 Purpose and Objectives .......................................................... 31 Hypotheses and Research Question ........................................ 31 Vl1 III. Methodology....................................... ................................ 33 Subjects ................................................................................ 33 Overall Method and Design ................................... �................ 34 lnstrumen ts........................................ ................................... 34 Politeness ......................................................................... 34 Solidarity................................ ...................................... 35 Approbation............................ ...................................... 35 Tact .............................................................................. 35 Eye Con tact ...................................................................... 36 Facework .......................................................................... 3 7 Trust............................................ .................................... 38 Satisfaction................................... .................................... 38 Statistical Analysis ................................................................ 40 IV. Results & Discussion .......................................................... 41 Face-Threatening Acts and Participant Satisfaction................ 41 Eye Contact and Participant Satisfaction............................... 45 Approbation and Participant Satisfaction............................... 48 Solidarity and Participant Satisfaction................................... 50 Tact and Participant Satisfaction........ ................................... 52 Trust and Participant Satisfaction....... ................................... 54 Facework and Participant Satisfaction................................... 57 Further Analysis._................................................................... 61 Vlll V. Conclusions ..........................................................................66 Recommendations to Mediators .............................................. 6 7 Scenario.. .......................................................................... 67 Exam pies .......................................................................... 6 7 VI. Limitations & Future Research ........................................... 73 . Conclusions ........................................................................... 7 5 List of References ....................................................................
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