Goffman's Dramaturgical Model of Interaction
In consideration of Goffman’s Dramaturgical Model of Interaction explore its contribution to our understanding of social interaction. In order to help you explain this you should illustrate your work with practical examples from everyday life.
Word count: 1588
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 hopes to explain social interaction, the development of social perception and how this has lead to Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis.
In order to fully understand the concept behind Goffman’s theory we must first look at interpersonal communication. Burton and Dimbleby define this as “any form of communication (both verbal and nonverbal) between two or more people face to face.” Forgas (1985) goes on to say that interpersonal communication relies to a certain extent on the shared social knowledge between the sender and receiver, that is messages usually only make sense within a given well-defined social environment. This helps to reinforce Goffman’s argument that human interaction is dependent on external factors such as time, place and audience. He draws the theatrical metaphor from the way in which humans interact with each other based on cultural values, expectations and societal norms. The idea behind dramaturgy is acknowledgement through deception, we as actors show what we think is expected from us and can easily manipulate the audience into false acceptance. We show ourselves as how we want to be viewed, a prime example of this is in a job interview, we act on what we think will get us the job; we bend the truth to make us
Word count: 1588
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 hopes to explain social interaction, the development of social perception and how this has lead to Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis.
In order to fully understand the concept behind Goffman’s theory we must first look at interpersonal communication. Burton and Dimbleby define this as “any form of communication (both verbal and nonverbal) between two or more people face to face.” Forgas (1985) goes on to say that interpersonal communication relies to a certain extent on the shared social knowledge between the sender and receiver, that is messages usually only make sense within a given well-defined social environment. This helps to reinforce Goffman’s argument that human interaction is dependent on external factors such as time, place and audience. He draws the theatrical metaphor from the way in which humans interact with each other based on cultural values, expectations and societal norms. The idea behind dramaturgy is acknowledgement through deception, we as actors show what we think is expected from us and can easily manipulate the audience into false acceptance. We show ourselves as how we want to be viewed, a prime example of this is in a job interview, we act on what we think will get us the job; we bend the truth to make us
References: Aronson, E. (1996) The Social Animal; W. H Freeman Burton, G Durkheim, E. (1953) Sociology and Philosophy; Cohen & West Fiske, J Forgas, Joseph P. (1985) Interpersonal behaviour. The Psychology of Social Interaction; Pergamon Press Ltd Goffman, E Littlejohn, Stephen W., Foss, Karen A. (2008) Theories of Human Communication; Thomson Wadworth Parks, R Ritzer, G. (2007) Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Bascics; McGraw-Hill Education Shakespeare, W., (approx 1600) As you like it Webb, R., Westerguard, H., Trobe, K., and Steel, L. (2009) A2 Sociology The Complete Course for the AQA Specifications; Napier Press West, R., and Turner, L Wood, J., (2004) Interpersonal Communication Everyday Encounters; Thomson Wadsworth