The Speech Act of Complaining: Preliminary Quantitative Research

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar VII

Abstract

There has been little research into complaining as an interpersonal speech act. What research has been conducted has focused on consumer or patient complaint behavior, the boss-employee or spousal relationships. Participants kept a complaint journal over 4 days, recording complaints heard and made by the participant and metadata concerning the complaint. Findings indicated many areas for further study, including statistically significant relationships between: relative age, gender, fixability, severity, solicitation, interest, self-perception, power, and relationship type.

Authors

• Kurtis David Miller, College of Charleston

• Merissa Ferrara Elisei, College of Charleston