The Importance Of Impression Management

Boyd, Danah. “Impression Management in a Networked Setting” Reading pop culture, 2nd Ed Edited by Jeff Osbourne. Bedford / St. Martins, 2016, PP, 122-127

Learning about dramaturgy and the idea of maintaining self is very important to social interactions. Erving Goffman’s theoretical concepts that make up dramaturgy can be seen in many social settings especial at Starbucks. By using the different tools that make up impression management I can see how we are very much like actors in a play that are trying to maintain a believable performance.

Another prominent issue with people today is the judging of one’s character based solely on their appearance. People are harsh with their words and quick to judge on another. This problem is especially seen with the younger generation of society, though is common amongst all people. Most people do not give others the honest chance to become well-acquainted because they have already judged the person

Another outstanding concept in this movie was self-presentation/tactical impression management. Self- presentation and impression management are petty similar because they are both processes by which individuals attempt to control the impressions that other form of them during interaction. (DeLamater, 89-90). Throughout his movie Olive presents herself to everyone at her school as someone she was not. She was

Within my daily interactions in my life, I observed impression management with my younger brother at his basketball tryouts. Impression management is defined as “the communication strategies people use to influence on how others view them” ( Chapter 4, 80). An example of that happened a month ago at my brothers’ basketball tryouts, my brother from what he perceived to me when we

impressions made on other people weather we are in contact with them or not (194). In the book,

How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology.

I try to control the way other people perceive me by exaggerating something I have done, or sometimes, something someone has done to me. The innate human yearning to be liked seems easier to accomplish if I have some say in how I am viewed. In reality, Baker says, all untruth is dangerous (Baker 145), and can hurt my ability to be a godly influence on people because they recognize that I am not genuine.

People of all ages are taught about the importance of having a good first impression—look clean, talk clearly, use good manners. It is especially hammered into young students minds as they prepare to enter adulthood and begin job interviews. However, what some people do not realize is the true impact that first impressions have on their decision making ability. Whether it be the impression of a person, place, or event, the human brain establishes an impression within the first two seconds. This impression, when trusted, can save someone countless energy that they would spend attempting to create a seemingly well throughout and thorough decision. The problem is, many times people overlook their instincts and trust methodical options which take much more time and are not always reliable sources. Malcolm Gladwell believes that the intuition you gain within the first few seconds of observation can be just as useful as well thought out and cautiously made decisions. Throughout the pages of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, the message of trusting one’s instinct is conveyed through the use of anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and schemes.

This question provided an interesting contrast for the impression management theory. Overall, it seemed that these values and/or norms and expectations are to be adhered to. Although, in certain tribes such as the Cherokee tribe, there may be circumstances where these expectations become less strict. We believe that these values are upheld within formal settings

There is also the looking-glass self is a concept by which we think of ourselves the way people see us. By impression management, we mean that our

Nisbett and Timothy DeCamp Wilson (1977) in efforts to add supporting evidence to an ideal similar to the Halo Effect. They staged two interviews with participants where the interview in both was a man that had a distinct accent (Nisbett & Wilson,1977). The interviewer in one group was as charming as he could be in his “appearance and mannerisms and accent” (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). In the other, he was instructed to basically act more strict and harsh to the subjects. The resulting difference in ratings of the interviewer’s personality and other factors by the participants spoke to how people immediately judge someone based on how they presented themselves through multiple characteristics.

The image my parents may have thought me to be, at times, actually was not me. I wanted to be my parent’s princess and the golden child, so I acted in a way to seek their approval which in some ways was not the “real” me. These conditions occur because of the existence of self presentational rules according to Goffman. “When one individual enters the presence of others, he will want to discover the facts of the situation. Were he to possess this information.”Also when meeting an individual we try to get information about them so we can act accordingly to their approval. How we act with one friend may not be the way we act with another. We determine the person’s status and attitude and decide for ourselves if we want to be a part of that. When we gather the information when first meeting someone, it determines the way we think and act towards them.

Positive illusions are unrealistic, biased attitudes that individuals have about themselves and towards other individuals, normally close friends or family members. Positive illusions is “a perception that represents what is perceived in a way different from the way it is in reality. An illusion is a false mental image or conception which may be a misinterpretation of a real appearance or may be something imagined. It may be pleasing, harmless or even useful (Stein, 1982, p 662). The more positive illusions the higher self-esteem an individual has. It should be noted that positive illusions are more common in western countries than other parts of the world. Research has found that positive illusions promote a better mental health.

I analyzed Facebook postings from a person B, who is my friend. I found the following theme on her Facebook which there were three pictures of the person B with her boyfriend, one when they were hugging each other and facing to the beach. The other two when they were eating in the restaurants. There were also a lot of pictures of food the person was eating, the place she was hanging out with her family and friends. I also found two images when she stayed at home. Besides that, there were four selfie photos when she was getting ready to go out. She called that were the check in pictures.