The Psychology Book (72 page)

about humanity. ■

228

LIFE IS A

DRAMATICALLY

E ERNVINGACTE

GOFFMAN (192D

2–1 TH

982)

ING

IN CONTEXT

Social interaction
is comparable to a theatrical play.

APPROACH

Impression management

BEFORE

1890
William James first

makes the distinction

People, like actors, try

There are
“front

between the private self-as-

to create a
favorable

stage”
areas for

subject (“I”) and the public

impression
of

our public

There is an

self-as-object (“me”).

themselves through

personas, and

audience
for

their choice of script,

“backstage”

the performance.

1902
American sociologist

setting, wardrobe,

areas for our

Charles Cooley posits the

skills, and props.

private lives.

looking-glass self theory, which

states that the self is reflected

in the reactions of other people.

AFTER

1990
US psychologists Mark

Life is a dramatically enacted thing.

Leary and Robin Kowalski

define three ways in which

impression management can

increase well-being: belonging,

self-enhancement, and self-

understanding.

D
evised by Erving Goffman, with other people, we present a

impression management

public image of ourselves. In some

is a theory that relates

instances, we may be trying to

to how we create, maintain, and

influence a particular person

1995
Psychologist Sarah

enhance our social identities.

(such as a job interviewer); in other

Hampson argues that our

A fundamental aspect of social

situations, we may simply be trying

behavior changes according to

interaction, Goffman says, is that

to maintain a favorable image of

who we are with, and different

we try—either consciously or

ourselves. In his 1959 book,
The

people bring out various

subconsciously—to manipulate

Presentation of Self in Everyday

aspects of our personality.

and control the way that others

Life
, Goffman draws a parallel

perceive us. Whenever we interact

between impression management

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 229

See also:
William James 38–45 ■ William Glasser 240–41 ■ Stanley Milgram 246–53 ■ David D. McClelland 322–23 ■

Walter Mischel 326–27

and theater, showing how the

costumes to display to the

if the food at the party turns out

ways we present ourselves in

audience. The main goal of both

to be nothing more special than

the real world are similar to the

the social actor and the onstage

pizza, or there are noncelebrities

performances of dramatic actors

actor is to maintain a sense of

also in attendance—there is a

on stage. Each social interaction is

coherence through interactions

tendency for people to pretend

driven as much toward having a

with other actors. This can only

that nothing has changed, thereby

particular effect on the audience as

be achieved when everyone

encouraging an artificial sense of

it is toward honest self-expression.

agrees upon the "definition of the

believability in order to keep the

In fact, according to Goffman’s

situation," and on the characteristics,

peace or to avoid embarrassment.

theory, personality is the sum of

expectations, and limitations of

Goffman himself was said

the various roles that a person

a particular performance or

to enjoy testing the limits of the

plays in his or her life. This implies

interaction, signaling to each other

rules that shaped encounters in

that the true self is not a private or

the appropriate ways of reacting

restaurants, lecture theaters, and

internal phenomenon, but rather

and fitting into the social setting.

movie theater lines. ■

the dramatic effect of the ways in

To be in proper accord, people

which a person presents himself

must agree on their personal

publicly. “Life is a dramatically

identities, the social context,

enacted thing,” Goffman says:

and the collective expectations

creating a successful impression

of behavior within that context.

requires the right setting, props,

For example, celebrities attending

wardrobe, skills, and a shared

an elite party have all implicitly

understanding of what constitutes

agreed to understand that they

being on stage (in the public

are “celebrities at an elite party;”

sphere) versus backstage (in the

each will accept their defined role

personal, private sphere).

in that situation and encourage

other actors and observers (or

Hotel staff
are "front stage" when

Performance skills

audience members) alike to accept

they are interacting with the public.

Goffman believes that in real life,

this definition. However, if the

Their behavior may change, becoming

everyone has the ability to choose

particular definition of the situation

less formal, when they are not on

their own stage, props, and

becomes discredited—for instance,

duty "backstage".

Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman, a Canadian

wrote about this experience

sociologist and writer, was

in his 1969 paper,
The Insanity

born in Mannville, Alberta. His

of Place
. In 1981, he married

ancestors were Ukrainian Jews

again, and in 1982—despite

who had emigrated to Canada.

being seen as something of a

Goffman gained a bachelor’s

maverick—became president

degree in sociology and

of the American Sociological

anthropology at the University of

Association. He died of stomach

Toronto, then obtained a master's

cancer just a few months later.

and PhD in sociology at the

University of Chicago. In 1962,

Key works

he was made a full professor at

the University of California, and

1959
The Presentation of Self

by 1969 had published seven

in Everyday Life

significant books. Tragedy struck

1961
Asylums

in 1964 when his first wife

1971
Relations in Public

committed suicide; Goffman

1974
Frame Analysis

THE MORE

YOU SEE IT

THE MORE YOU

LIK

ROBERT ZAJONC (1923–2008)

E IT

232 ROBERT ZAJONC

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Repeated exposure to a stimulus

breeds
familiarity
with it.

Familiarity

BEFORE

1876
German experimental

psychologist Gustav Fechner

suggests familiarity increases

positive feeling toward art

Familiarity brings about an
attitude change

objects, but “supersaturation”

toward the stimulus …

leads to aversion.

1910
Edward B. Titchener

documents the mere exposure

effect, describing it as a

“glow of warmth” that people

…taking the form of
preference
,

experience in the presence

or affection
.

of familiar things.

AFTER

1971
Psychologists T.T. Faw

and D. Pien find that adults

and children prefer unfamiliar

This preference is emotional and

line drawings and patterns to

forms on a
subconscious level
before

familiar ones.

a person is even aware of it.

1989
Robert Bornstein finds

that the mere exposure effect

is strongest when unfamiliar

stimuli are presented briefly.

The more you see it, the more you like it.

U
ntil the middle of the 20th this end, he performed a seminal 1910, described the “glow of century, social scientists

experiment in 1968 that led to his

warmth” and feeling of intimacy

tended to base their

discovery of the “mere exposure