After reading Chapter 1 of Erving Goffman’s book Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,
write an essay about your own impression management and showing how important it is to your
everyday life. You will observe yourself acting and interacting in two different social situations,
and will then do a comparative analysis of your presentation of self in each setting. Make sure to
use Goffman’s terms in your paper, as well as any other concepts/perspectives we discussed in
class. The more knowledge and analytical thinking you show, the higher your grade will be!
Specific Requirements and Structure
You need to choose two different situations that you will encounter this week in everyday
life, and commit to observing yourself for thirty minutes as you participate in each. For example,
you may observe yourself at work, at a family birthday celebration, at lunch with friends, in your
math class, riding on the bus or train, or watching a football game. The two situations you choose
don’t need to be extraordinary in any way. However, they should be markedly different from one
another. After observing yourself in the two situations, answer the following questions, for a
total of 20 points:
In your introductory paragraph, briefly describe the two settings. (2 points)•
What kinds of things do you say (expressions given) in each situation? (2 points)•
How are your facial expressions, style of dress, body language, etc. (expressions given•
off), different in each situation? (2 points)
How do you modify what you do and say in each situation? Are there things you say or•
do in one that would be inappropriate, strange, or even absurd in the other? (2 points)
What type of front do you encounter when you enter each situation? And what type of•
personal front do you bring to each? (2 points)
How does the region or setting affect your presentation of self there? Can you identify•
the back stage and front stage for each situation? (4 points)
Who are you in each situation? Do you present a slightly different version of yourself in•
each? Why? (As you observe details of your interactions, you will probably discover that
you perform somewhat different versions of yourself in the two situations, according to
the roles you are undertaking. “Doing student,” for instance, might be very different from
“doing father” or “doing boyfriend”) (3 points)
Your final paragraph should respond to this final Goffman-inspired question: Does•
engaging in impression management mean that we have no basic, unchanging self? More
specifically, if we bring different selves to different situations, what does that say about
the idea of a “true self?” Also include a reflection on the purpose of this assignment and
what you have learned. (3 points)