1. Sorry, Not Sorry: Exploring Face-Negotiation and Gendered Apologies
Callie Parrish, Shanay Healy,
Katie Olson, Emma Thompson, and Mati Tressler

2. Overview
Project Origins
Hypotheses
Methodology
Results
Takeaways

3. Project Origins
“Sorry, not sorry” as a rising theme in popular culture and press
Project variables
Apologies
Gender and Conflict
Face Negotiation Needs

4. 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.

5. Measures Apology Motivation (Bataineh, 2005)
Offense Severity
Apology Deservedness
Likeliness to Apologize
Face Negotiation Needs (Oetzel & Ting- Toomey, 2003)

6. Participants 96 Participants (49 female, 47 male)
Age (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

7. 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)

8. 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] = , 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. Questions?
Thank you!

12. Contact Info
Callie Parrish at:
Shanay Healy at: