Saving face with family members: Corrective Facework after reconciling with a romantic partner

This purpose in the present study was to examine how people manage face needs when talking with family about a romantic relationship reconciliation. The researcher completed an inductive analysis from data collected from 26 in-depth interviews and found that participants accounted for their reconciliation through active corrective facework (by updating family and accounting for reconciliation) and passive corrective facework (by choosing not to update family or account for reconciliation). The findings and interpretations shed light: (a) on how corrective facework is performed in ongoing relationships rather than one-time interactions or hypothetical situations, (b) the intersection between accounts and facework, and (c) the complexities of corrective facework.