Impression Management
Impression management is a social phenomenon that occurs in our daily life both consciously and unconsciously. “It is the act of presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgments.” (Newman 184) Our first impressions of a person are always based on physical appearance and we compare them to the norms of our society. We can all admit to the initial meeting of a person and first noticing their age, gender, race, or other ascribed characteristics. Our cultural norms are ideas such that fat is “ugly” which are very different across societies and time. Also, impression management is an idea of how individuals interact in different social situations. “Sociologists refer to
…show more content…
All the while, the server keeps a calm and happy face on to keep the family happy. As soon as I say goodbye to the family, the server comes marching up to the host stand to complain about the experience. About how much work they did, how annoying the children were, how picky the parents were, and how terrible of a tip they received in the end. This is a perfect example of the use of front-stage and back-stage of not only basing pre judgments on physical appearances but also the “performances” we do in front of different “audiences” and in different social situations.
“The Compassion Gap in America Poverty Policy” We have all witnessed at some point the devastating effect of poverty on our country. Whether it is seeing homeless people on the streets of our cities or seeing news reports of poverty stricken countries that are in need of serious help, our compassion gap is the true test for our nation’s moral commitments. After watching events such as Hurricane Katrina and seeing the devastating results of thousands of people left with nothing, we get a sense of appreciation for what we have but also feel pity for those less fortunate now. We seem to punish poor people and think of it as their fault, they put themselves in that situations whether it be through drugs, laziness, unintelligence etc. And even when catastrophic events may have been the cause that has left them with nothing, we may dwell on it for a while, but little or no public assistance
The authors exposed thin models and average-size models to the participants for the study but they did not did not have a favorable brand attitude towards thin models. Nevertheless, individual’s body images did affect the participant’s perceptions of similarity with model images in the social comparison. This article will be able to support my thesis because it talks about the creation of social norms which is one of the reason why the exposure of ideal advertising images affects negatively individuals’ self-esteem. This article will be used in the sociology section of the research
You know what’s so beautiful about imperfection? It creates a space for everyone to share their uniqueness to our world. In the article, Hello, I Am Fat by author Lindy West discusses the issues of being treated poorly and wrongfully shamed for one’s body appearance. Spreading negatively, shame, or hatred towards individuals who are “fat” can truly affect a person’s life including yours. West felt obligated to explain the importance behind fat acceptance in today’s society to her current boss, Dan. Who believes he’s constructing a better work environment and helping individuals by sharing his rather “tame” statements to the public. Society is often times our worst critic by making us believe that body image and personal health will evaluate a person’s success.
Most of Americans view people in poverty as being lazy or unmotivated and there can be a universal solution to fix poverty. As a child that did not have to deal with the problems of poverty personally I also believed that there could be an easy or quick solution to fix all of these problems. Now that my family has experienced poverty first hand, I know that is not the case. The solutions that are in place currently are more of a band aid fix. What I mean by this is you deal with problems quickly but you have not fully resolved the root of the problem. This view of poverty also has been the belief historically. Tratner discuses that in the early 1800’s people who were poor were separated into two different groups the worthy and the unworthy. The worthy poor were mainly widowed women and orphans. The unworthy were deemed as drinkers, and people who were too lazy to work.
Author Bryan Stevenson (2014) writes, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned”(p.18). According to the non-profit, Feeding America (2016), in 2015, 43.1 million, or 13.5%, of people in the United States were impoverished. Poverty is a vicious cycle, trapping people and families for generations. The inability to escape poverty is due in part to difficult class mobility in the U.S. but also because certain factors reinforce the idea and state of poverty. Bryan Stevenson’s bestseller Just Mercy, Lindsey Cook’s article “U.S. Education: Still Separate and Unequal”, Michelle Alexander’s excerpt “The Lockdown”, and Sarah Smarsh’s “Poor Teeth” all explore the idea of poverty and the systems that sustain it. While all four readings focus on poverty differently and explore it using different techniques, they all share similar big picture ideas about how poverty is fortified through systematic, societal, and psychological efforts.
Where we are is the grand culmination of hundreds of years of cooperating as a species to make for a grander environment that appeals to “all.” Despite our constant effort to improve the quality of life on earth, however, an increasingly tremendous problem pertaining the same subject has been growing “right below our noses”: homelessness. We, the common people, typically place those in such plight into great disregard; push them not off the streets but to the far back of our heads. In the article “On Compassion”, former NEW YORK TIMES columnist, Barbara Ascher, teaches us the ignorance of our denial and the importance of the helpless’ presence, and she does this through the heavy use of contrast, figurative language, a good quantity of rhetorical questions, and some very clever wording. She suggested that the presence of the homeless helps teach us compassion. Afterall, “compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned.”
I am only thinking about myself and have been conditioned by society that the poor are beneath me. Just as hooks states in her book, “Society is telling them that poverty and nihilism are one and the same. If they cannot escape poverty, then they have no choice but to drown in the image of a life that is valueless” (hooks, 198), we have been taught by society to believe that poverty and nihilism are synonymous, but this is not true. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, I believe it takes a nation to resolve the issue of poverty. Our society needs to dig deep to reignite the morals that generations in the past taught us; sharing our resources, whether monetarily or charitably, through understanding, kindness and generosity to those less fortunate. We all have to be ready to share liberally and recognize the fact that there are those who struggle and deserve attention paid to their struggles. By helping others who have not, we keep our humanity intact and maintain our ability to empathize and show compassion towards others. Our culture is based on working together and helping our neighbors. We need to stop considering the poor invisible and instead take personal steps to keep our communities thriving via good will towards others, and lending a helping hand. The poor, just as our environment, are our responsibility, and the sharing of resources is crucial to bringing an individual from poverty to a more
In this article Massingale highlights the lack of concern for the marginalized in America by comparing Hurricane Katrina to a similar hurricane in Cuba where different precautions were taken and no one died. Katrina on the other hand, killed at least 1,706 people most of which were poor, black, elderly, or otherwise disadvantaged in society. Massingale explains three factors that contribute to our country’s “cultured” indifference to the poor. The first is the idea that poverty is the fault of the poor. Since America is regarded as the “land of opportunity” those who do not thrive here are viewed as careless and lazy. The second factor is the value we place on material objects—the more you have the more you are worth. The third factor is how
It's hard to believe in a country as wealthy as the United States, that we have the problem of poverty. Poverty has not become a recent problem of our
In his article Rich and Poor, Peter Singer argues that we have a moral obligation to give assistance to people in absolute poverty. He derived this conclusion from three premises. The first states that if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, then we ought to it. The second premise is that absolute poverty is a bad thing. The third premise is that we are able to alleviate some portion of absolute poverty without giving up anything of comparable moral significance. To illustrate the urgency of our duty to assist the poor, he believes that in a case where we happen to walk pass a child drowning in a shallow pond, the vast majority of people would agree that it would be seriously morally wrong to not rescue the child. Connecting this scenario to Singer’s argument, we can say it is seriously morally wrong to not assist the poor because the lives of these people in need are of greater moral importance than the excess income we would otherwise spend on luxury goods. Thus, Singer is correct in saying that we have a moral obligation to assist the poor, and that failing to do so is equally as morally wrong as failing to rescue the drowning child.
The media has distorted people’s views on the way they look at their own body image. The media has shown what their ideal body type is, while leaving people to feel as if the average weight is not good enough. (Cardosi, 2006) We live in a world where people feel as if having zero body fat is the idea body type to have. Pictures of models for clothing stores, bathing suits, lingerie etc. all exhibit to this to be true. Body image is perceived to be negatively influenced by the media and the way that the media displays their models. Parents, teachers, adolescence and even children all find themselves to be comparing themselves based on what the media exposes. (Levine & Murnen, 2009)
Image is everything in today’s society appearance of things have become more important that what they really are and these images are being constantly fed to us through the media. Image has both a positive and negative influence on the individual but most people have been drawn into
People often judge or misperceive others appearances in a less than equal manner before they even know the true nature of the person. Every day we make assumptions by what we can see physically. Even in the supermarkets, we distinguish good products from bad products based on how they look. We are apt to choose good-looking products because they don’t have flaws, cracks, and bruises. Moreover, we assume them to have good qualities and good tastes. Actually, taste doesn’t deal with its looking. However, we bias in favor of assuming human nature. Since people judge human beings based on how they look, it is called prejudice. In fact, prejudice just disadvantage
The media can influence our perception. If we saw skinny models wearing make up on television and the internet, the social norm for women would be to wear make up and be skinny. Therefore, people would judge themselves and others if they did not fit this criteria because that's how women are perceived in that society. Culture can also influence our perception. Some people grew up in a home where they would come home from school and dinner would be cooked. Say a child who grew up like this went over to a friends house afterschool and the friends mom didn't get home until the evening, thus dinner wasn't cooked. The friend would think that family is odd because they eat later in the day. Our perception changes based on how we are raised, where we grew up, and what society portrays.
For example; the United States itself and other nations such as Somalia and Congo continue to have people with no shelter over their head and those with no food to eat, regardless of how hard some may strive to make ends meet, they are still in poverty. As those more auspicious, we should consider it as a moral obligation to assist those people who are less fortunate, be it those in the same nation as us or those farther away.
First impressions are always used in setting the tone when you first meet someone. Without the luxury of knowing the persons background, you initially judge someone by the way that person introduces themselves and how they come across to you. By coming across, I mean the way a person carries themselves. For example, if the person comes across as shy and introverted, you tend to think of that person as timid and somewhat weak. However, if that same person comes across as outgoing, confident (but not to confident) and easy to talk to, you look at that person as someone you can count on and possibly a leader. This type of evaluation (even though we all do it) is for the most part not always the right way to evaluate a person.