Face-Saving as Affected by Subjects' Sex, Audiences' Sex and Audience Expertise

Twenty males and 20 females were asked to sing a ballad before an audience of male or female evaluators. Subjects, preselected for poor singing voices, received incompetent singing evaluations prior to singing publicly. Facesaving, defined as sacrificing tangible (monetary) rewards to keep a deficiency from public visibility, was measured by singing time before the audience. (Longer singing time increased earnings.) Face-saving was greater among females than males but was pronounced among females facing a female audience. In a second experiment, 20 females sang before an audience of females who were excellent or poor singers. Face-saving was greater before excellent singers. The results are discussed in terms of the need to prevent deficiencies from becoming visible to others.