The display of frustration in arguments: A multimodal analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the causes of frustration, and how speakers display their frustration in conversational arguments in terms of interactional organization, linguistic features, paralinguistic features, and embodied actions based on the method of discourse analysis. The expression of emotion is co-constructed by verbal cues, non-verbal vocal cues, and bodily behavior. The data presented here reveals two broad types of frustration. In the first type, verbal and non-verbal expressions of frustration are combined. In the second, frustration is displayed through non-verbal expression alone. This work seeks to uncover if they are associated with special types of linguistic and paralinguistic features, as well as interactional organization and embodied actions. The findings suggest that combined use of verbal and non-verbal expressions of frustration is displayed directly by linguistic features in conjunction with paralinguistic features and embodied actions. However, non-verbal expression of frustration displayed by embodied actions alone is a stronger emotional display than combined uses of verbal and non-verbal expressions of frustration. Moreover, the paper proposes that embodied action is a significant part of the interactional organization of a conversation.