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Article published In: Pragmatics & Cognition
Vol. 32:2 (2025) ► pp.382–408

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“Troubles-talk”

How do we criticize and reply to criticisms in French? An experimental investigation

ORCiD logo with link | University of Bern
ORCiD logo with link | University of Neuchâtel
ORCiD logo with link | University of Bern
Published online: 13 November 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.24004.ber
Abstract
In everyday communication, criticisms are important and commonly occurring face-threatening acts. In this paper, we investigate the way people deal with criticisms by conducting two experiments in French involving the production of, and response to, criticisms using a written Discourse Completion Test. In each experiment, we presented participants with scenarios in which we manipulated power relations (equal vs. hierarchical) and horizontal social distance (close or distant). We also assessed the roles of age and gender of the participants. Results indicate that power and distance significantly impact the formulation of criticisms but not that of responses to criticisms. Similarly, age and gender significantly interacted in the formulation of criticisms, with younger women being less direct, but older women being more direct compared to men. No effect was found on responses to criticisms. Taken together, these findings provide a more comprehensive perspective of the factors affecting the production of, and response to, criticisms from an experimental perspective, thus contributing to our understanding of this pivotal but understudied speech act.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Defining criticism and replies to criticism
    • 2.2Direct vs. indirect criticism
    • 2.3Previous studies on criticism and complaints
    • 2.4Previous studies on the role of gender and age in the formulation of speech acts
  • 3.The present study
  • 4.Experiment 1: Goals and predictions
    • 4.1Methods
      • 4.1.1Participants
      • 4.1.2Materials
      • 4.1.3Procedure
      • 4.1.4Coding scheme
    • 4.2Results
      • 4.2.1Analysis
      • 4.2.2Results: Types of criticism
      • 4.2.3Results: Direct criticisms with or without downgrading external modifiers
      • 4.2.4Results: Direct criticisms with positive politeness or request for repair
      • 4.2.5Discussion
  • 5.Experiment 2: Goals and predictions
    • 5.1Methods
      • 5.1.1Participants
      • 5.1.2Materials
      • 5.1.3Procedure
      • 5.1.4Coding scheme
    • 5.2Results
      • 5.2.1Descriptive statistics
      • 5.2.2Results: Types of responses to criticism
      • 5.2.3Discussion
  • 6.Discussion and conclusion
  • Data availability statement
  • Declaration of competing interest
  • Author contributions
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
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