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In our constantly plugged-in and connected world, image is everything. People, groups, organizations, and countries frequently come under suspicion of wrongdoing and sometimes require defense. This fully updated edition of the 1994 volume investigates the situations in which threats to image arise and describes the image-repair strategies that may be used to help defuse these threats, such as denial and apology. The author reviews various theories on image repair, and extends prior research on the topic to include work on persuasion or attitude change.Five contexts for image repair are examined: corporate, political, sports/entertainment, international, and third party (when one person or organization tries to repair the image of another). New case studies include the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Anthony Weiner, Lance Armstrong, Apple s apology to China over the iPhone, and Prime Minister David Cameron s apology for Bloody Sunday."
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Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies S E CO N D E D I T I O N Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies S E CO N D E D I T I O N IMAGE REPAIR THE ORY AND RESEARCH William L. Benoit Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2015 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Ryan Morris Marketing by Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benoit, William L. Accounts, excuses, and apologies: image repair theory and research / William L. Benoit.—Second edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-5399-6 (hardcover: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4384-5398-9 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Discourse analysis. 2. Verbal self-defense. 3. Rhetorical criticism. I. Title. P302.87.B46 2014 401'.41—dc23 2014002125 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix 1 Communication, Persuasion, and Image Repair 1 2 Image Repair Theory 13 3 Corporate Image Repair 47 4 Political Image Repair 63 5 Sports/Entertainment Image Repair 75 6 International Image Repair 87 7 Third Party Image Repair 97 8 Conclusion 123 References 133 Author Index 149 Topic Index 153 Illustrations Figure 1.1 Communication, Crisis Communication, and Image Repair 4 Table 2.1 Image Repair Strategies 28 Table 2.2 Image Repair Strategies and Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action 30 Relationship of Image Repair Strategies and the Elements of Persuasive Attack 31 SCCT Crisis Type and Appropriate Crisis Response Strategy 36 Table 2.5 SCCT Postures and Crisis Response Strategies 37 Table 7.1 Image Repair from Secretary of State Rice, First Lady Bush, and President Bush Table 2.3 Table 2.4 vii 117 Preface The central theme of this book is that human beings engage in recurrent patterns of communicative behavior designed to repair, reduce, redress, or prevent damage to their image (reputation or fac