1. Erving Goffman's Presentation of Self Book Outline by Fall 2011 SOC205 Students Contemporary Sociological Theory Occidental College // Department of Sociology

3. PERFORMANCES Chapter 1

5. Front

6. Setting

7. Appearance

8. Manner

9. Scenery, Props, Location

17. Mystification

20. Goffman Chapter 1: Performances

22. 2. Are individuals always in one extreme or the other or is there a continuum? There is a continuum that is anchored in more extreme beliefs and schema of securities and defences.

25. 3. “In those interactions where the individual presents a product to others, he will tend to show them only the end product, and they will be led into judging him on the basis of something that has been finished, polished, and packaged” --> PERFORMER PRESENTS HIS FINAL PRODUCT AS HIS ONLY PRODUCT, DISREGARDING THE STEP ALONG THE WAY ex. we only hand in “final copies” of important papers implying that everything we produce is in pristine condition

27. 4. What are some of the factors that can lead to a discrepancy between reality and appearance? 1. “the performer may be engaged in a profitable form of activity that is concealed from his audience and that is incompatible with the view of his activity which he hopes theywill attain” --> PERFORMER BENEFITS IN WAYS UNKNOWN TO THE AUDIENCE ex. Frats having "philanthropies" where they appear to be doing good for the community but are also using it as an excuse to party 2. “We find that errors and mistakes are often corrected before the performance takes place, while telltale signs that errors have been made and corrected are themselves concealed. In this way, an impression of infallibility is maintained” --> PROBLEMS IN PREPARATION ARE HIDDEN BY PERFORMER ex. doctors “burying” their mistakes, or officers going back over and correcting reports before officially filing them to insure an appearance of perfection

28. 5. What is the relationship between performers and audience in understanding the meaning and interactions in performances? “ A performer often engenders in his audience the belief that he is related to them in a more ideal way than is always the case” (48) --> P ERFORMER IDEALIZES THE INTERACTION 1. The performer displays the impression that the part they are presently performing is their most important one: therefore will not allow a particular audience member to see them perform multiple roles ex. You will not allow Prof. Dirks to see you doing jello shots on Friday night 2. The performer tends to hold that their current performance is unique and special rather than a routine. ex. in each college interview you gave, you tried to portray that THIS was the school for you, regardless of if it was what you said for every school you visited.

29. What happens when cues are misunderstood? T he consequences of misunderstood cues can be broken into three categories: 1. “a performer may accidentally convey incapacity, impropriety, or disrespect by momentarily losing muscular control of himself” --> PERFORMER PHYSICALLY CONTRACTICTS THE EXPECTATION OF THE INTERACTION ex. trip, stumble, fart, run into another performer, have a slip of the tongue 2. “the performer may act in such a way as to give the impression that he is too much or too little concerned with the interaction” -- > PERFORMER EXPRESSES TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE CARE IN THE PERFORMANCE ex. he may stutter, forget his lines, appear nervous, may give inappropriate outbursts of anger, laughter, or he may show too much serious involvement or lack of interest 3. “the performer may allow his presentation to suffer from inadequate dramaturgical direction” --> THE PERFORMER DOES NOT INSURE THE CORRECT SETTING FOR THE PERFORMANCE ex. having your strobe light on during a study session

30. 4. “There are many performances which could not have been given had not tasks been done which were physically unclean, semi-illegal, cruel, and degrading in other ways; buT these disturbing facts are seldom expressed during a performance” (44) --> PERFORMER HIDES DIRTY WORK ex. “dirty work” done by an unseen party like the image that a house is always pristine when actually it is cleaned by hired help who may be an illegal immigrant 5. “If the activity of an individual is to embody several ideal standards, and if a good showing is to be made, it is likely then that some of these standards will be sustained in public by the private sacrifices of some of the others” (44) --> PERFORMER SACRIFICES PRIVATE EXPECTATIONS IN ORDER TO APPEASE PUBLIC ONES ex. restaurants usually judged on speed and quality. of the two characteristics, quality is likely to be compromised first because speed can be easily measured while it is possible for slight discrepancies in quality to go unnoticed 6. “Performers often foster the impression that they had ideal motives for acquiring the role in which they are performing, that they have ideal qualifications for the role, and that it was not necessary for them to suffer any indignities, insults, and humiliations or make any tacitly understood ‘deals,’ in order to acquire that role” (46) --> PERFORMER IDEALIZES REASONS BEHIND PLAYING HIS ROLE ex. clergy men give the impression that they joined a specific church because they felt a certain calling when really it was due to payment or a house they wanted, OR when you ask your friend to go to the movies with you giving the impression that you want to spend time with them when REALLY they just have a car and you want to see that particular movie

31. Q7: What are three types of unintentional events? 1. Losing muscle control. ex. tripping, burping, yawning, scratching, infringing on others' personal space. 2. Too much dedication- ex. exaggerated anger, sorrow. Not dedicated enough- ex. improper bursts of laughter, nervousness, self consciousness. 3. Inaccurate dramaturgical direction, compromises the order, legitimacy of setting. ex. preparing for the wrong performance, the unavoidable awkward moments between interactions because of late arrivals, early departures.

32. Q8: What happens when we discover a fraud? - Realization that the actor is not capable of playing the part- not qualified. - The performance completely misrepresents the actor, performance will be at fault in other ways. - The more accurate the performance, the more unsettled the audience becomes. - Compromises the morality of the relationship between actual authorization to play a part and the basic ability to do so.

33. Q9: Can individuals tell lies without divulging that or without actually telling a lie? White lies- doctors, guests, friends. Meant to save feelings of the audience being lied to. Strategic omission, innuendo, ambiguity- able to profit from bending the truth without actually fabricating a lie. ex. Real Estate- exaggeration, understatements, omissions. ex. Mass Media- certain flattering camera shots, editing.

34. Q10: What are some examples of roles that "require" misrepresentation and suggest you "conceal practices which are incompatible with fostered impressions?" Well-Adjusted Marriage: Don't discuss financial troubles, flirtations, true opinions about relatives, costly indulgences. Parent-Child: Parent hides personal worries, financial issues, fear. Child hides trouble making, questionable friends, dangerous destinations. Teacher-Student: Teacher hides confusion, lack of knowledge, personal beliefs. Student hides unfavorable thoughts, bad behavior, inappropriate interests.

35. examples of roles wherein misrepresentation would pose a “threat to the whole relationship or role” Q11

36. What are sociologists concerned with related to misrepresentation and performances being subject to disruption? Q12 Sociologists want to know what kind of impression of reality can shatter the fostered impression of reality, and what reality really is can be left to other students. "we can profitably study performances that are quite false in order to learn about the ones that are quite honest"

37. What is mystification? Q13 A technique of impression management. Mystification is a particular technique of impression management that may be employed to keep the observers at a sense of awe. Thus, the observers may be held in the state of mystified in regard to the performers. Maintenance of social distance, and regulation of social contacts, are usually crucial if this process is to work successfully.

38. Q14 What does mystification involve on the side of the performer? -Performers restrict the contact between themselves and their audiences in order to limit the chances that audiences will recognize errors in their performances.

39. What are Simmel and Durkheim’s thoughts on the sacred and the performers? Simmel On the invisible sphere around individuals: “ cannot be penetrated, unless the personality value of the individual is thereby destroyed.” Durkheim “ The human personality is a sacred thing.” Q15

41. What does Goffman mean when he states, “The implication here is that an honest, sincere, serious performance is less firmly connected with the solid world than one might first assume” (p. 71)? "Performers may be sincere- or insincere but sincerely convinced of their own sincerity- but this kind of affection for one's part is not necessary for its convincing performance."(p. 71) Q17 http://www.williamhung.net/

47. Chapter 3 Regions and Region Behavior

54. Most interesting time to observe impression management

55. Back and front region blending

56. Example

58. What can a performer do to ensure that audiences will only see her/him in one role at a time? Audience segregation!

59. What is audience segregation? • Audience segregation is the answer to the outsider problem • The performer must segregate his audiences so that those who see him in one role do not also see him in a different role • Audience segregation can be practiced through front region control – it is useful for the performer to exclude people from the audience who see him/have seen him in another performance inconsistent with the current one • Proper scheduling assists with keeping the performer’s audiences apart, but if this is not possible, the different audiences must not come within hearing distance of each other. • Another useful means to keep audiences separate is the use of walls (such as doctors who have more than one examining room and can move quickly from one region to another so that their patients still feel as though they are receiving special and unique services)

60. Example of audience segregation A man who is a loving father to his children, but extremely critical and harsh to the people he employs. If his children were to visit him at work, they would be witnessing a show that is not intended for them. As a result, they would feel disillusioned not only about the show that is not intended for them (but rather the employees), but even about the show that is meant for his children.

61. In what two ways can an audience accommodate issues surrounding audience segregation? • First, those in the audience may join the performer in abruptly shifting to an act that is acceptable for an outsider to see. • For example, if an acquaintance arrives unexpectedly to a party at which the hosts are bickering, the hosts will immediately stop arguing and act as though no conflict ever occurred. The rest of the people at the party will likely go along with this sudden change in performance as well to ensure that it is something an outsider can observe.

63. Cocktail Party

68. garage

69. TA DA!!!!!!

71. Chapter 4 Discrepant Roles

77. Chapter 4: Discrepant Roles Kelsey Hill, Ryan Metzler, Claire Whedbee

85. 1) A protector can be open about their intentions, an example being if a professor were to sit in on a lecture a student was giving, the student would know the professor was an expert on their topic and able to inform the audience of any mistakes. 2) A protector can also keep his position a secret by acting like an audience member (called 'spotters') and are present when an actor who is unaware that they are being watched preform poorly. An example would be if the owner of a store sent a spotter to act like a customer in order to determine how well real costumers were being treated in their store.

86. 3) A protector can also be self appointed and are referred to as "knockers" or "wiseguys". These agents are not empowered by the law to out an actor on any mistakes they might make because they are not certified "experts" on the subject. 4) Protectors may also exist in order to inform a competitor about the inner workings of team whose work they have witnessed. These agents keep their position a secret and act like a real audience member until they report to their employer.

87. What Would You Do? This hidden camera show places actors in the audience and prompts them to make decisions or express opinions about a topic.

94. Chapter 5 Communication Out of Character

98. Treatment of the Absent: When the performers speak badly about the audience when they go backstage. Ex: Mock Role Playing or Mean Names

99. Staging Talk Discussing how to stage a performance, which may include gossiping about other team members and revising how to act. How to “talk the talk”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxpI9mLvgGY In this video, the girls are discussing how they should stage their costumes, which in turn becomes part of how they perform.

101. Realigning Actions Communication out of character occurs between performer and audience. They are unofficial communications used to shift the official working consensus of the interaction.