Like and dislike scales in couples’ argumentative interaction

Abstract

This study investigates regrading (Bilmes, 2019) as an argumentative resource in a Korean reality television show, Transit Love 2. The main concept of Transit Love 2 is that couples who have broken up join the dating show to either reunite with their ex-partners or to meet someone new. Focusing on argumentations about date invitations and relationship issues, this study shows how the participants launch like/dislike scales to justify why one should accept a requested date, restore a former relationship, and avoid sending an ex-partner to a new date. In the analysis, we illustrate the participants' ways of hearably going up and down on a scale and demonstrate how these scalar formulations shape the activities of managing accusatory, argumentative, and appeal-making talk. The findings of this study highlight that scalar regrades of like/dislike emotions are essential to the interactional activity of couples and have immediate consequences on their relational trajectories. This study contributes to a better understanding of how regrading is used in couple's argumentative discourse. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.