Abstract

The study of facework (communicative strategies people use in order to enact self-face and to uphold, support, or challenge another person's face [Oetzel et al. 2000]) during discussion is in its infancy. Previous studies focused on participants’ recollections of face-to-face discussions. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of facework behavior and online discussion outcomes. In the study, 103 participants used an online discussion board to discuss a controversial topic. The results show that different outcomes of online discussions are related to different facework behaviors, and gender plays a moderating role.

Share

COinS