On being nice: Conceptualizing the communication of niceness through relational prioritization, care, and adaptability

ABSTRACT

In this article, I offer a metatheoretical conceptualization of U.S. American niceness as facework and identity performance comprised of prioritization, care, and adaptability. I integrate a theoretical etymology of niceness as embedded in social scientific discourses with a thematic analysis of psychometric scales used to measure niceness. Drawing on scholarship related to social identities and this new articulation of niceness grounded in the Big 5 Personality Test, Prosocial Scale for Adults, and Rathus Assertiveness Scale, I illustrate differences in societal expectations of being nice for diverse positionalities. I conclude with a call to question advocacy of “nice” communication behaviors and societal judgments that might perpetuate exclusion and inequity due to normative discourses of agreeableness, politeness, assertiveness, and pro-social communication traits.

KEYWORDS:

• Niceness
• inclusivity
• civility
• care
• textual analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.