本研究的主要目的是：從華人差序格局的人際關係概念探討人情理論與臉面意涵在涉及「面子」威脅的請託情境，如何影響華人選擇不同的「求助對象」，以及個人在選擇該對象時所考量的理由。研究一探開放性問卷詢問四十八位受訪者會因什麼事件求助他人，及求助該對象的理由。研究結果發現：個人會請熟識者協助的事件和理由，與個人的面子感受無關。而個人不會請熟識者幫忙的，除隱私考量外，多少和個人的面子感受相關連。研究二探取情境實驗法，根據研究一的資料設計「會」與「不會」威脅「社會臉面」的求助情境，比較隨機分配於兩種情境的受試者選擇求助對象的情形。結果顯示：在不會威脅面子的情境，受試者多選擇向情感性關係的家人求助，而在會威脅面子的情境中，受試者則多選擇向不認識的工具性關係求助。研究三也採情境實驗法操弄「道德臉面」威脅與否的請託情境，所得到的結果較研究二更清楚地發現，當請託事件不會威脅個人的面子時，絕大多數的問卷填答者，選擇向「家人」求助，反之，當事件會威脅道德臉面時，問卷填答者則是選擇向不認識的人求助。至於個人在選擇不同對象求助時考量的理由，研究二的結果與研究三類似，在選擇「家人」時，考量的是希望能獲得「較好的協助」。反之，當其選擇「陌生人」時，考量的則是希望能「維護面子」。文中亦說明了研究結果的理論意涵。
This study focused on how ”face-threatening” affects people's choice of helper, and their concerns when choosing this target. Study 1 used open-ended questionnaire to collect interpersonal helping events. The results indicated that the events in which people would ask family members or acquaintances to help were nothing to do with the concept of ”face”. On the other hand, the events in which participants would not ask the familiar to help were related to issues of privacy and/or face-threatening. With regards to the reasons why not ask for help from the familiar were mainly consideration not willing to make the familiar worry. On the contrary, the subjects would attribute why their friends would not ask for helps from the familiar to reasons of face-saving though the events were very similar.
Using the events and the attributed reasons for ask and not ask for helping collected from study 1, study 2 and 3 adopted scenario experimental method and manipulated the conditions of favor-request to threaten one's social face (study 2) and moral face (study 3). Both results of study 2 and 3 showed that when the favor-request condition was not ”face-threatening”, most participants chose the members of their family (expressive ties) to help, and the reason for their choice was for ”better help”. Instead, when the condition was ”face-threatening”, participants chose to ask help from strangers (instrumental ties), and the reason for their choice was for ”face-saving”.
