The Influence of the Evil Eye Belief on Complimenting Behaviour among the Saudi Hijazi Community

Abstract

This study investigated the compliment behaviour demonstrated by Saudi Hijazi Arabic interlocutors. Various cultural practices and linguistic norms were revealed by documenting the influence of the evil eye belief on behaviours related to the giving and receiving of compliments. Also, the variations in complimenting practices in the context of social variables, namely age, gender, social distance, and relative power, were mapped to provide insight into the validity of existing literature. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, with the quantitative component comprising of a sociodemographic questionnaire and an open-ended Discourse Completion Task (DCT), while the qualitative component consisted of semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed significant variations in compliment behaviour across the continuum of the investigated social variables. Moreover, the study’s findings confirmed that the belief in the evil eye has a strong influence on the participants’ preference for specific complimenting strategies.