Are Explicit Apologies Proportional to the Offenses They Address?

We consider here Goffman's proposal of proportionality between virtual offenses and remedial actions, based on the examination of 102 cases of explicit apologies. To this end, we offer a typology of the primary apology formats within the dataset, together with a broad categorization of the type...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDiscourse processes Vol. 53; no. 1-2; pp. 5 - 25
Main Authors Heritage, John, Raymond, Chase Wesley
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Routledge 02.01.2016
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Apologies
Classification
Contingencies
Correlation
Datasets
Discourse analysis
Interaction
Interpersonal Communication
Language Usage
Pragmatics
Responses
Responsibility
Speech Acts
Telecommunications
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Summary:We consider here Goffman's proposal of proportionality between virtual offenses and remedial actions, based on the examination of 102 cases of explicit apologies. To this end, we offer a typology of the primary apology formats within the dataset, together with a broad categorization of the types of virtual offenses to which these apologies are addressed. We find a broad proportionality between apologies and the offenses they remediate when the offenses to be remediated are minor; however, this relationship is not sustained among larger apologies and offenses. In the latter cases, relational and contextual contingencies are important intervening factors influencing apology construction.
ISSN:0163-853X
1532-6950
DOI:10.1080/0163853X.2015.1056695