Sorry, Not Sorry: Exploring Face-Negotiation and Gendered Apologies Callie Parrish, Shanay Healy, Katie Olson, Emma Thompson, and Mati Tressler
Overview Project Origins Hypotheses Methodology Results Takeaways
Project Origins “Sorry, not sorry” as a rising theme in popular culture and press Project variables Apologies Gender and Conflict Face Negotiation Needs
Hypotheses H1: Men and women will differ in the motivation to apologize. H2: Face-negotiation needs mediate the difference between men and women and the inclination (i.e., motivation) to apologize.
Measures Apology Motivation (Bataineh, 2005) Offense Severity Apology Deservedness Likeliness to Apologize Face Negotiation Needs (Oetzel & Ting- Toomey, 2003)
Participants 96 Participants (49 female, 47 male) Age 18-74 (M = 31.86) Ethnicity 81.3% White/Caucasian 3.1% Latinx 3.1% Asian 2.1% American Indian 6.3% Mixed Race 4.2% N/A or Other
H1 Results H1: Men and women will differ in the motivation to apologize Significant difference of offense severity rating between women and men (t[94] = -2.36, p = 0.003) Women (M = 3.41) perceived higher offense severity than men (M = 3.06) No significant difference between women and men for apology deservedness (t[94] = -1.49, p = 0.029) Significant difference between women and men in apology likelihood (t[94] = -2.05, p = 0.116) Women (M = 5.07) were significantly more likely to apologize than men (M = 4.65)
H2 Results H2: Face-negotiation needs mediate the difference between men and women and the inclination (i.e., motivation) to apologize. No significant difference between women and men’s face negotiation needs (t[94] = -1.041, p = 0.16) Weak but positive correlation between face negotiation needs and apology motivation overall (r = 0.29, p < 0.01) No significant relationship between men’s face negotiation needs and apology likelihood (r = 0.15, p = 0.16) Women’s face negotiation needs significantly correlated with apology likelihood (r = 0.34, p = 0.01)
Takeaways Men and women generally differ in their inclination to apologize Women are more likely to apologize than men, which is supported by previous research In contradiction to previous research, face negotiation needs were only correlated with women’s inclination to apologize, and not men
Practical Implications Context and interpretation of apologies For men: Other factors should be considered in interpreting men’s inclination to apologize Other behaviors can save face beyond apologizing For women: How those apologies are being interpreted in various interactions How they can be most effective Overall: Greater intentionality when apologizing and more complex considerations of our interactions
Questions? Thank you!
Contact Info Callie Parrish at: callie.parrish@umontana.edu Shanay Healy at: shanay.healy@umontana.edu