Interpersonal Communication Principles and Models Practice Exam

Face refers to a person’s public self-image in social interactions. A face-threatening act is any communicative move that threatens that self-image or someone’s autonomy. The statement that a face-threatening act is a communicative move that threatens someone’s face best captures this idea, because it directly describes the core effect: the act undermines the listener’s desired social image or freedom of action.

Polite compliments aimed at protecting someone’s face illustrate face-saving behavior, not a threat to face. A request for information about a colleague’s background is an ordinary act whose impact on face depends on context, but it isn’t a general description of what defines a face-threatening act. A casual joke used to lighten a tense moment can either support or threaten face depending on how it’s received, so it isn’t the universal definition either.