{"id":5365,"date":"2019-02-05T15:21:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T15:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontosociology\/?post_type=chapter&p=5365"},"modified":"2024-04-25T14:39:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T14:39:51","slug":"roles-and-the-presentation-of-self","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontosociology\/chapter\/roles-and-the-presentation-of-self\/","title":{"raw":"Roles and the Presentation of Self","rendered":"Roles and the Presentation of Self"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n
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  • Describe how individuals present themselves and perceive themselves in a social context<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    Long before the Internet, sociologists were examining how individuals interact with society and how they present themselves to others and are in turn perceived. In our digital age, we can contemplate the kinds of photos posted online, how others react to those photos (\"hearts,\" \"thumbs up,\" emojis, comments, etc.), and then how we interpret those reactions. This threefold process correlates with Cooley's 1902 concept of the looking-glass self, in which we develop our sense of self as we: 1) see how others react to us, 2) interpret that reaction (typically as positive or negative) and 3) develop a sense of self based on those interpretations.\u00a0<\/section>
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    Status and Roles<\/h2>\r\nSociologists use the term status<\/span><\/strong> to describe the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to their rank and role in society. Some statuses are ascribed<\/span><\/strong>\u2014those you do not select, such as son, elderly person, or female. Others, called achieved statuses<\/span><\/strong>, are obtained by choice, such as high school dropout, self-made millionaire, or nurse. As a daughter or son, you occupy a different status than as a neighbor or employee.\r\n

    As you can imagine, people employ many types of behaviors in day-to-day life. Roles<\/span><\/strong> are patterns of behavior that we recognize in each other, and that are representative of a person\u2019s social status. Currently, while reading this text, you are playing the role of a student. However, you also play other roles in your life, such as \u201cdaughter,\u201d \u201cneighbor,\u201d or \u201cemployee.\u201d These various roles are each associated with a different status.<\/p>\r\n

    If too much is required of a single role, individuals can experience role strain<\/span><\/strong>. Consider the duties of a parent: cooking, cleaning, driving, problem-solving, acting as a source of moral guidance\u2014the list goes on. Similarly, a person can experience role conflict<\/span><\/strong> when one or more roles are contradictory. A parent who also has a full-time career can experience role conflict on a daily basis. When there is a deadline at the office but a sick child needs to be picked up from school, which comes first? When you are working toward a promotion but your children want you to come to their school play, which do you choose? Being a college student can conflict with being an employee, being an athlete, or even being a friend. Our roles in life powerfully affect our decisions and help to shape our identities.<\/p>\r\nOne person can be associated with a multitude of roles and statuses. Even a single status such as \u201cstudent\u201d has a complex role-set<\/span><\/strong>, or array of roles, attached to it (Merton 1957).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_8736\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"A Figure 1.<\/strong> Parents often experience role strain or role conflict as they try to balance different and often urgent competing responsibilities. (Credit: Ran Zwigenberg\/flickr)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n

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    Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/2c9e16d6-be1b-4518-add6-cd8355f8ed95\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>
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    Presentation of Self<\/h2>\r\n

    Of course, it is impossible to look inside a person\u2019s head and study what role they are playing. All we can observe is outward behavior, or role performance. Role performance<\/span><\/strong> is how a person expresses his or her role. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy<\/strong>, Goffman believed that we use impression management<\/strong>\u00a0to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman 1959). Think about the way you behave around your coworkers versus the way you behave around your grandparents or with a blind date. Even if you\u2019re not consciously trying to alter your personality, your grandparents, coworkers, and date probably see different sides of you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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    Watch It<\/h3>\r\nWatch the following video to learn\u00a0more about Erving Goffmann\u2019s concept of dramaturgical analysis and consider the various roles you play\u00a0on the different \"stages\"\u00a0of\u00a0your life. What is your front-stage self and your back-stage self?\r\n