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Psychological
Bulletin
I996,
Vol.
119,
No.
2,179-196
Copyright
1996
by the
American Psychological Association, Inc.
0033-2909/96/S3.00
Complaints
and
Complaining:
Functions,
Antecedents,
and
Consequences
Robin
M.
Kowalski
Western
Carolina University
Although
everyone complains
at
least occasionally, surprisingly little research attention
has
been
devoted
to the
topic
of
complaining.
In
this
review,
complaints
are
defined
as
expressions
of
dissatis-
faction,
whether
subjectively
experienced
or
not,
for the
purpose
of
venting
emotions
or
achieving
intrapsychic
goals, interpersonal goals,
or
both.
A
theoretical model
of
complaining
is
presented that
examines
the
relationship between
self-focus,
the
perceived
utility
of
complaining,
and
complaining.
In
addition, this article examines variables related
to
people's dissatisfaction
and
complaining
thresholds
(i.e.,
negative
affect,
locus
of
control,
self-presentational
concerns,
age,
and
gender),
func-
tions
of
complaining,
and
intrapersonal
and
interpersonal consequences
of
complaining.
People commonly express dissatisfaction about aspects
of
themselves, other people,
or
their environments.
One
frequently
hears people express dissatisfaction with
the
weather,
their
weight,
the
traffic,
or
others'
behaviors. "I'm
so
tired."
"I
can't
believe
it's snowing
again."
"She
is
always
so
nosy." "Why
do
you
always
get
home later than
you say you
will?" "Why don't
these
people
get
moving—can't
they
see
that
the
light
is
green?"
Many
of
these statements
of
dissatisfaction
are
typically labeled
as
complaints,
and the
individuals expressing dissatisfaction
are
said
to be
complaining.
However, what exactly
is
complaining?
How
does
it
differ
from
related constructs, such
as
disapproval
and
criticism?
Why do
people complain? About what
do
they
complain?
Why do
some people complain only rarely, whereas
others might
be
labeled
"chronic"
complainers?
What implica-
tions does complaining have
for the
complainer
and his or her
interactions
with
others?
How do
people typically react
to a
complainer,
and
what factors determine that response?
Although
complaints
are a
common
feature
of
everyday
life,
surprisingly
little attention
has
been paid
to
this topic.
The
greatest
attention
to
complaining behavior
can be
found
in
research
on
consumer
satisfaction
and
dissatisfaction,
as
evidenced
by the in-
auguration
of the
Journal
of
Consumer
Satisfaction,
Dissatisfac-
tion,
and
Complaining
Behavior
in
1988 (Hunt,
1991).
This
re-
search
has
examined
factors
affecting
people's satisfaction
and
dis-
satisfaction
with
consumer products, their willingness
to
express
this
dissatisfaction
in the
form
of a
complaint,
and
marketing's
response
to
these complaints
(Bearden
&
Teel,
1983; Day, 1977;
Day,
Grabicke,
Schaetzle,
&
Staubach,
1981;
Gilly
&
Gelb,
1982;
Hunt,
1991;
Oliver
&
Swan,
1989;
Warland,
Herrmann,
&
Willits,
1975).
In
addition, researchers
in
health
psychology
have
attended
to
factors
that
affect
the
expression
of
physical health complaints
I
thank
Mark
Alicke,
Mark Leary, Catherine Cantrell,
and
Beth
Di-
nofffor
their
helpful
comments
and
suggestions
on an
earlier version
of
this
article.
Correspondence concerning this
article
should
be
addressed
to
Robin
M.
Kowalski, Department
of
Psychology,
Western Carolina University,
Cullowhee, North
Carolina
28723.
Electronic
mail
may be
sent
via In-
ternet
to
kowalski@wcuvax
1
.wcu.edu.
(i.e.,
symptom reporting;
Barsky
&
Klerman,
1983;
Costa
&
McCrae,
1985;
Pennebaker,
1990;
Pennebaker
&
Lightner,
1980;
Pennebaker
&
Skelton,
1978).'
However,
complaints
are not
limited
to
expressions
of
dissatis-
faction
with consumer products
or
health. Thus, this article exam-
ines
complaining
from a
broader perspective
and
addresses possi-
ble
answers
to the
questions raised above.
Definitional
Issues
Webster's
Third
New
International
Dictionary
(Gove,
1981)
defines
complaining
as
"expressing
discontent, dissatisfaction,
protest,
resentment,
or
regret."
From this definition,
one
might
conclude that complaining could
be
best described
as a
behav-
ioral expression
of an
unfavorable attitude toward
an
object,
person,
or
situation. Indeed, much
of
the
literature
on
consumer
complaints focuses
on
this expressive connotation
of
complain-
ing,
generally discussing complaining
as a
behavioral outcome
of
a
perceived discrepancy between
one's
expectations
for a
product
and the
actual performance
of
the
product
(Bearden
&
Teel,
1983;
Day et
al.,
1981; Gilly
&
Gelb, 1982; Hunt, 1991;
Oliver
&
Swan,
1989).
"For
the
consumer, complaining
is a
means
of
making
one's
feelings
known when
unfair
seller prac-
tices
are
encountered,
when
disappointment with
a
product
arises,
and
when
disapproval
of
business conduct more gener-
ally
occurs" (Fornell
&
Westbrook,
1979,
p.
105).
Conceptual-
ized
this way, dissatisfaction
is the
attitude resulting
from
dis-
confirmation
of
expectancies,
and
complaining
is a
behavioral
expression
of the
dissatisfaction.
1
Not
only
is
there
a
paucity
of
research
on
complaining,
but
existing
research
frequently
presents
two
methodological problems.
First,
the
construct
of
complaining
is
often
confused
with related constructs, such
as
criticism. Thus,
in
some studies,
it is
unclear whether
the
researchers
were
investigating complaining
per se or
some related topic. Second,
many
of the
studies were based
on
people's
retrospective
reports
of
fac-
tors that they
found
dissatisfying.
However,
Alicke
et al.
(1992)
have
suggested that there
are
significant
differences
in
people's
on-line com-
plaining
behavior
and
their retrospective accounts.
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