Goffman Theory

Goffman’s essay on face-work provides its reader with clear and concise explanations of social interaction. The theoretical framework he uses is micro sociology and his analysis takes on a dramaturgical perspective. He gives and precise definitions specific examples to get his point across. Goffman defines face as “the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact” (Goffman, p.5).

Functionalist Erving Goffman studies the sociological approach of Dramaturgy in his book ‘The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life’ (Goffman, 1959), he built his theory based on earlier work completed by Kenneth Burke. However there are distinct differences in features of the theory between Burke and Goffman as Burke believed that life was in fact a literal

Examine the view that Erving Goffman’s work focuses on forms of social interaction but ignores social structure.

Humans by nature, as suggested by Aronson, are a highly socialable species and care a lot about what others think of them. This has lead to the existence of a belief in public appearance or the sub-conscious development of self presentation. This is the foundation for Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts” (William Shakespeare). This essay

Erving Goffman was a sociologist known for developing the symbolic interaction and dramaturgical theory perspective. The dramaturgical theory is a social psychological perspective that studies human behavior and social interaction in terms of the analogy of the theater. This perspective is also related to symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism is a theory based on interaction and communication, facilitated by many different words, gestures, and other symbols that have acquired various meanings. Dramaturgical theorist focus on how people manipulate various aspects of themselves and their settings to influence how others define and respond to them. In this perspective, “the self” is constructed of the various roles that one acquires, in order to present their various selves in ways that sustain particular impressions to their audiences. “The self” is a private possession established in and reflective of an individual’s personality, which includes ones values, beliefs, motives, traits, and dispositions. In addition, a person’s “self” is acquired through social relationships and is a structurally fundamental process that may change due to various situations. As humans interact with one another they are placed in social categories based on their attributes and actions. These assessments are primarily based on ones knowledge of roles.

Erving Goffman is one of the most important American sociological theorist in the second half of the century and was also influenced by Durkheim, Freud, and Simmel in his work. He is well known for his analysis of human interaction which is now called “dramaturgical analysis”. Dramaturgical Analysis is the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance. For example, Goffman uses terms like “front”, “setting”, and “performance” when explaining his theory. The front is also known as the expressive equipment, intentional or unintentional kind employed by the performer. The setting is also part of the front and involves the physical layout like

Before we discuss Hochschild’s surface and deep acting, let us review one of the classic sociological accounts of the presentation of self, for the theatrical model of social roles has a long heritage that Hochschild is drawing on. Particularly influential is Erving Goffman’s 1959 work, Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. By ‘presentation of self’, Goffman (1959, pp. 9-18) means the performance that people put on, for the benefit of both other people and themselves. This performance is based on how the individuals want to be perceived by others and themselves; guided by motives, it is an attempt to control the responses from others that reflect on the self. Such performances can be classified into two situations (Goffman, 1959, pp. 28-29). In the first

Erving Goffman was a Canadian-American sociologist who had a great influence on the development of modern American sociology. Goffman was most well-known for his work on Dramaturgy; some elements may include performance, impression management, sign vehicles and sign activity, and many more. One of the great works by Goffman was his book the presentation of self in everyday life.

Goffman was interested in how people present themselves in society. He states that everybody has their own designated roles that they play at different points in their life. Furthermore, because people have multiple roles in life, each time they’re in a new role, they present themselves in a certain way or context that fits that particular role. For example, a face to face interaction between two people could vary depending on the location and the number of people around to witness their behaviors. More specifically, in a more public place the conversation could be more conservative as the person maybe more reserved whereas if the duo had a conversation in a more private location, he or she would be more willing to open up and act more like

Clifford Geertz names Goffman as “perhaps the most celebrated American Sociologist right now, and certainly the most ingenious”. (Burns 1992)

Goffman (1968) was interested in the face-to-face interactions of people. In order to look at what made the social encounter work well, it was necessary to analyse what disrupted it. He argued that people have two identities - virtual and actual social identity. Their virtual social identity consists of the stereotyped expectations of normal interaction whereas their actual social identity consists of the attributes that they actually possess (Nettleton 1995). Disruption of social interaction occurs when there is too great a discrepancy between the virtual and actual social identity.

Goffman, E. 1959. ‘Performances’ chapter 1, from the presentation of self in everyday life. London: penguin.

“When an individual enters the presence of others, they commonly seek to acquire
information about him or to bring into play information about him already possessed. They
will be interested in his general socio-economic status, his conception of self, his attitude
towards them, his competence, his trustworthiness, etc. Although some of this information is
sought as an end in itself, there are usually quite practical reasons for acquiring it. Information
about the individual helps to define the situation, enabling others to know in advance what he
will expect of them and what they may expect of him. Informed in these ways, the others will
know

The essay will look specifically into the presentational self theory. The presentation of self theory was founded by Erving Goffman and was one of the best-known and most influencial American sociologist of the twentieth century due to the fact that his dramaturgical metaphor has become sociology’s second skin (Fine & Manning, 2003, p. 457). This paper will look at how Goffman’s self presentation theory came about, the assumptions and concepts surrounding the theory, the critiques that may have arised from the theory as well as the usage of this theory in research work.

Its central themes are ‘rationality’ and ‘face’, which are both claimed to be universal features, that is, they are possessed by all speakers and hearers. The idea of ‘face’ has been derived from the everyday terms “losing face” and “saving face”. The term was first adopted by Goffman (1967 and 1971) who used it to describe people’s need to maintain a positive self-image in the presence of others. Goffman pointed out that while in real life, most speakers try to project a positive self-image, it has also been seen that individuals tend to avoid threats to other people’s self images as well. Someone unintentionally making a faux pass in a group will be just as awkward for the others in the group as for the individual. Therefore it can also be said that an apology can make the hearer feel as embarrassed as the transgressor. Goffman points out that people interact in a way in which they can avoid such an embarrassment. Therefore self-image is developed and maintained with the co-operation of others through the