Impression management

Impression management is a sociological concept coined by Erving Goffman, one of the most important social theorists of the 20th century, who is well known for his astute observation on the microphysics of social interaction. Goffman introduced the term in his famous book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, considered to be a momentous contribution to the social psychological examination of the relationship between the individual and society. In this book, Goffman spelled out a dramaturgical theory of everyday life. The theory, however, is not about how aspects of the theater spill over to everyday life. Instead, without confounding social life and drama, Goffman effectively used the metaphor of theater to show how the self is a dramatic effect and not a preordained substance that, together with its own kind, carries out social performances. The self does not act on the basis of a previously spelled out social script that social actors read to their respective audiences either. Rather, social scripts are the outcome of active agents who are involved in vital processes of social interaction. This social interaction forms, maintains, and changes both the personal and the social identity of an individual as the “drama” of the self and the other unfolds.

In the dynamic social scene, the self, according to Goffman, encounters the fate of being credited or discredited in the midst of the very performance that defines its characteristics. Social actors, accordingly, employ several techniques to create a creditable self. One of these techniques is impression management, a technique of staging a character effectively and preventing performance disruptions that violate the interactional scene. Incidents of performance disruptions include unmeant gestures, fortuitous acts that contradict the intended performance; inopportune intrusions, intrusions of outsiders who are not part of the performance; faux pas, verbal or nonverbal acts that are exercised without seriously considering their implications in full; and scenes, intentional acts that condition the unfolding of a new interactional drama. Hence, a successful social show is materialized only when both actors and audiences possess appropriate dispositions and are prepared for forthcoming interactions. Individuals who are involved in effective impression management possess attributes that allow them to take defensive, protective, and proactive measures.