Facework and Politeness Theories

Face is an individual's desired public image. Because individuals have various public identities they wish to uphold simultaneously or in different circumstances, they possess both positive and negative face. Positive face is one's need for social desirability, while negative face is an individual's desire to be free from imposition. Communicators work to ensure they uphold their own and their communication partner's face during interactions. Yet, with multiple individuals communicating, all with their own face performances, it is inevitable that threats to an individual's face will occur, particularly in health-related interactions. Individuals engage in facework, both preventive and corrective, to uphold face performances during interactions. Preventive facework is used to proactively mitigate face threats by avoiding face-threatening acts, changing the topic or using disclaimers, or engaging in politeness. Politeness theory outlines specific strategies communicators can use to accomplish goals while minimizing face-threatening acts. Corrective facework involves using avoidance, humor, apologies, and/or accounts (which include excuses and justifications) to remediate face threats. This entry details facework and politeness theories in the context of health communication.