Displaying a Critical Stance

Abstract

This study examines eyebrow contractions within processes of argumentative decision-making in children’s interaction. Based on a collection of 23 instances, we examine this subtle resource in two oppositional actions: contradicting and putting something into question. We describe how eyebrow contractions are combined with other facial (e.g. nose wrinkling, squinting/opening the eyes, gaze aversion/confrontational gaze), bodily and verbal and prosodic resources to display a critical stance. The analysis demonstrates that the two oppositional actions are accomplished through distinct clusters of resources, which either mitigate or increase their confrontational import. Multimodal displays of critical stance thus vary from mildly critical to reproachful-critical and ironic-critical and contribute in different ways to the interactive trajectory of decision-making.

Keywords

• facial expression
• eyebrow movement
• opposition
• critical stance
• affective stance