Does Politeness Theory need multi-modal expansion? An investigation of the non-verbal multi-modal expression of politeness
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2018-07-24
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en
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The phenomenon of politeness has conceived an extensive number of theoretical frameworks. The most notable of these frameworks, Politeness Theory by Brown and Levinson, suggests a multi-modal applicability which has not yet been explicitly investigated. This thesis empirically explores this possibility. Previous literature on non-verbal politeness and gaze and gesture co-occurring with speech predicted a positive effect of connected gaze gestures on perceived politeness. An experiment in which participants were presented with a videotaped request of which the non-verbal dimensions of gaze and gesture were manipulated followed by a Likert-scale questionnaire testing the perceived level of politeness. The analysis of the results with independent t-tests indicate that neither of the predictions were validated with significant differences. None of the comparisons between conditions revealed a significant result. These findings and their implications are discussed in the light of the previous literature from which suggestions arise.
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