COERCIVE POTENTIAL AND FACE-SENSITIVITY - THE EFFECTS OF AUTHORITY AND DIRECTIVES IN SOCIAL CONFRONTATION

Individuals sometimes feel compelled to confront a rule-violator. Beca use the goal of a confrontation is to stop the objectionable action, t he violator may feel that his or her autonomy is being threatened and may resist complying To reduce the likelihood of negative outcomes, co nfronters are advised to engage in discourse that makes them appear fa ce-sensitive. However, we argue that the authority of a speaker and th e type of directive (imperative or suggestion) that is spoken interact so as to affect the degree efface-sensitivity attributed to a confron ter We conducted an experiment to test this notion. Consistent with ou r position, authorities are perceived as more sensitive when expressin g suggestions and are attributed coercive potential regardless of the directive enacted Peers, however, are attributed greater coercive pote ntial when communicating imperatives, while face-sensitivity is unaffe cted by the type of directive. Implications for confrontation are disc ussed.