Browsing by Subject "facework"

This master’s thesis focuses on any potential differences in how people with a high number of narcissistic personality traits present themselves and their self-image by using conversation analytic methods and utilizing Goffman’s theory on facework. Narcissistic personality traits are considered in this thesis as potentially atypical in interactional practices. The concept of face is used in demonstrating the public self-image that people create in social interaction. Every interaction is a possibility to work against the threats to the face by conducting facework. The research suggests that persons with a high number of narcissistic personality traits seem to be particularly sensitive to the presentation of self in social interaction. According to studies, narcissism appears to differ in social interaction from ordinary facework in the utilization of recognition. Conversation analysis qualitatively analyzes social interaction. The focus is on rules, patterns, and sequential actions. Conversation analysis is considered a technical method, however focusing on a very detailed level to the intersubjective meaning of the actions in the specific interaction. The research question is, how are the differences in the facework of narcissistic and non-narcissistic personalities characterized in face-to-face interaction? The empirical research in this thesis is based on research project called Facing Narcissism which explores narcissistic personality features in face-to-face social interaction. The data was collected from conversations between persons with a high number of narcissistic personality traits and persons with a low number of narcissistic personality traits. The data was analyzed by using conversation analytical methods. According to the research, narcissistic personalities might not benefit from the facework provided by the respondent and might be unable to benefit from the reciprocal facework. The empirical study of the thesis shows possible atypical facework by reversing the valence of the story. The extracts analyzed in the empirical research present that the persons with a high number of narcissistic personality traits might present themselves in a favorable light throughout the story by using the reverse of the valence in the story and self-sufficient face-saving actions. The discussion shows that more research is needed on the relationship between personality traits and interactional processes.