Erving Goffman
Erving Goffman
welcome to the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series.
Today, we dive into the foundational sociological work exploring the detailed structure of human encounters, drawing exclusively on core takeaways from the primary sources that define this field of study.
The first source advocates for a sociology of occasions, centered on the organization of co-mingling persons and the temporary interactional enterprises that arise when people are mutually present. The central theme is social organization, analyzing a normatively stabilized structure, or social gathering, which is recognized as a shifting and evanescent entity.
A key structural feature of face-to-face interaction is the mutual acceptance of every participant’s line, which is typically a "working acceptance" based on a willingness to give temporary lip service to judgments rather than a real acceptance of candid evaluations. If a person should radically alter their line or if it becomes discredited, confusion results because the other participants committed themselves to actions that are now unsuitable.
The maintenance of face (the public image a person claims) is treated as a condition of interaction, rather than its objective. Individuals adhere to the ritual code for varied motivations, including emotional attachment to their self-image, pride, honor, or a sense of moral obligation to protect others’ face.
Participants employ defensive face-work to protect their own image, which includes practices like keeping off topics inconsistent with the line being maintained, changing the topic or direction of activity at opportune moments, suppressing any initial show of feeling until the line others support is determined, and making claims about self with belittling modesty or strong qualifications.
They also employ protective face-work to save the face of others, using circumlocutions and deceptions, phrasing replies with careful ambiguity, and making slight modifications of their demands or appraisals through courtesies. Potentially offensive acts can be neutralized through explanations beforehand, such as telling others in advance when withdrawal from the encounter is necessary.
A basic concrete unit of social activity is the interchange, which involves two or more moves and participants. When ritual order is threatened, a corrective interchange may be initiated by a challenge, where participants call attention to the misconduct, suggesting that the threatened claims should stand firm. This is followed by an offering, typically from the offender, allowing them to correct the offense by claiming the act was unintentional, a joke, or an unavoidable product of extenuating circumstances.
In aggressive interchanges, a participant introduces favorable facts about themselves and unfavorable facts about others in a way that forces the opponents to terminate the interchange awkwardly (such as a grumble, laugh, or empty, stereotyped comeback). Winners in aggressive exchanges demonstrate superior footwork. However, attempting a "remark" or crack is always a gamble, as a successful counter-move, such as a squelch or topper, can cause the aggressor to lose more face than they could have gained.
In addition to self-defense, tacit cooperation in face-saving arises because all participants, albeit for different reasons, share the objective of maintaining both their own face and the face of others. This includes second-order tact, where a person acts to make it easy for others to employ face-work themselves. An example of this is negative-attribute etiquette, where a person with a negatively valued attribute unobtrusively admits to it, warning others against making disparaging remarks and saving the others from contradiction.
Face becomes especially clear in direct personal contacts, where even minor things like an unguarded glance, a momentary change in tone of voice, or a position taken or not taken can be drenched in judgmental significance.
Rules of talk pertain to the "occasion of talk" as a naturally bounded unit where a set of participants has mutually accredited one another for talk. Within this unit, participants must maintain a single flow of talk and visual attention. The socialized interactant, by automatically appealing to the question, "If I do or do not act in this way, will I or others lose face?", decides how to behave, handling spoken interaction with ritual care.
The ceremonial components of interaction are defined by rules of conduct, which are guides for action recommended because they are suitable or just, independent of whether they are pleasant or effective. An infraction threatens both the actor (who failed an obligation) and the recipient (who was denied an expectation).
The ceremonial activity involves deference (symbolic means to convey appreciation to a recipient). This includes avoidance rituals (proscriptions, interdictions, and taboos leading the actor to maintain distance and respect the recipient's "ideal sphere"), and presentational rituals (acts involving specific prescriptions through which appreciation is attested).
A constant dialectic exists between avoidance rituals (respecting boundaries) and presentational rituals (seeking communion). A crucial form of avoidance is referential avoidance, which mandates verbal care not to discuss painful or humiliating matters. When distance is not maintained, but ritual contempt is conveyed symbolically (e.g., sticking out tongues when a nurse's back is turned), this is termed negative deference.
When an event discredits claims about the self, the encounter becomes lodged in assumptions that no longer hold, causing participants to feel shame, hostility, or embarrassment. Since participants are expected to maintain spontaneous involvement in conversation, if this fails but the obligation remains, alienation from interaction (misinvolvement) occurs. A specific type of alienation, interaction-consciousness, is experienced as a "painful silence" when participants use up their "small talk" but cannot yet withdraw from the state of talk.
Ultimately, the rules of face-to-face conduct establish a King's Peace in the community, ensuring mutual respect and allowing for an orderly traffic flow of words and bodies.
This source develops a dramaturgical perspective for studying social life. The individual controls the conduct and responses of others largely by influencing the definition of the situation they form of him.
Interaction is predicated on establishing a working consensus, where everyone temporarily accepts everyone else's lines and implicitly agrees to avoid open conflict, regardless of their actual beliefs. When an individual implicitly or explicitly signifies certain social characteristics, they automatically exert a moral demand on others to value and treat them appropriately.
A performance is defined as all the activity of a participant that influences others. The performer relies on front, which is the expressive equipment—including setting, appearance, and manner—that regularly and fixedly defines the situation for observers. Fronts are often abstract and general, allowing many different routines to share the same standardized expressive equipment (e.g., a white lab coat signaling cleanliness and competence).
The audience judges the validity of the performer's deliberate verbal assertions by checking them against their less governable expressions given off (such as non-verbal behavior or body language).
Successful performance requires dramatizing one's work, which means diverting energy to communication in order to express a desired meaning, such as painstakingly scripting an apparently spontaneous radio talk or racing to auctions to give a house simple dignity.
Performers often engage in idealization, fostering the impression of ideal motives and ideal qualifications for their role, concealing the indignities or deals they endured to acquire it. This includes presenting only the end product of their labor, concealing whether the task was trivial or required long, tedious hours. Conversely, negative idealization occurs when performers strategically over-communicate undesirable facts, such as showing extreme poverty to welfare agents, or perpetuating the myth that junk dealers are valueless and pitiful individuals.
Performers utilize audience segregation to ensure that those before whom they play one part will not be the same as those before whom they play a different, potentially inconsistent part, supporting the illusion that the role currently being played is the individual's only or most essential routine.
The fundamental concept of the performance team arises because a single definition of the situation is often sustained by the intimate co-operation of more than one participant. The team creates an emergent team impression. Team members are obliged to show unanimity in front of the audience. If team members consult beforehand to slant a story, they must also conceal the fact that this consultation occurred. Team members who participate in different routines while maintaining a consensus are necessarily insincere.
Team members share the right of familiarity (an intimacy without warmth). If a teammate makes a mistake, the others must suppress immediate criticism or punishment until the audience is absent, to maintain the unity of the performance.
A performance space is divided into two primary regions based on information control:
The front region is where the performance is formally given, typically characterized by a tone of formality.
The back region or backstage is where the impression fostered in the front is knowingly contradicted as a matter of course. Backstage activities include the relaxed fabrication of the performance, and the behavior there is relatively informal, characterized by reciprocal first-naming, profanity, sloppy posture, and playing out aggressivity.
Control of the backstage region is crucial for work control, allowing individuals to buffer themselves from demands, sometimes by hiding work shortcuts. When barriers are weak (e.g., thin "party walls" in housing projects), front and back stage activity can sound through, leading to embarrassment for neighbors who learn too much about each other.
Disruptive facts about a performance are collectively called destructive information. This information may be contained in dark secrets (incompatible with the self-image), strategic secrets (intentions concealed to prevent audience adaptation), or latent secrets (unorganized facts, like ineffective readership data).
Various discrepant roles exist who gain access to destructive information:
The shill acts as a genuine audience member but secretly cooperates with the performers to influence the audience response.
The go-between translates and mediates between the performers and the audience, often mediating unacceptable projections.
The service specialist helps the performer backstage, gaining access to secrets but not sharing the guilt or risk of the performance.
The confidant is outside the establishment and receives confessions from the performer detailing how the performance was merely an impression.
Colleagues present the same routine but not together; they share a community of fate and relax their front among themselves due to mutual understanding of their difficulties.
Communication out of character occurs in several forms:
Treatment of the absent involves performers derogating the audience when backstage (through satire, ridicule, or uncomplimentary terms of reference), which serves to maintain team morale and solidarity.
Team collusion is secret communication (like staging cues or derisive glances) conveyed without threatening the illusion for the audience.
Realigning actions are unofficial, often aggressive, communications heard by the audience that attempt to speak out of character without openly threatening the working consensus. A common form is double-talk, used to make or refuse requests without altering the formal relationship.
Fraternization between opposing team specialists (e.g., opposing lawyers) may discredit the impression of antagonism fostered between the teams, revealing their contribution to be a routine, purchased performance.
The success of a performance relies on dramaturgical loyalty (teammates keeping secrets and accepting minor roles gracefully), dramaturgical discipline (controlling face and voice to conceal actual feelings and display appropriate affect), and dramaturgical circumspection (using prudence and foresight, such as selecting audiences that provide minimum trouble or adjusting the show based on its anticipated brevity). The audience contributes by exercising tact (protective practices) to help performers save their show.
This source focuses on strategic interaction, which examines the calculative and gamelike aspects of mutual dealings. The ultimate interest is to develop the study of face-to-face interaction as a naturally bounded, analytically coherent field.
The analysis is drawn from the perspective of an observer (who needs information) dealing with a subject (or informant). The core issue is the individual’s capacity to acquire, reveal, and conceal information.
The information gleaned by the observer comes in two forms: communicated information (discursive, generative, and intentionally transmitted, such as verbal statements), and expressions (non-verbal cues, style, or "signature," which inherently exude information about the sender and the framing of the message). The process of transmitting information, even through mechanical means like a radio key, leaves an expressive “signature” that can be used for authentication. The observer must attend to expressions to determine the framing of communications (e.g., sarcastically or tentatively).
The dynamics of strategic interaction, or expression games, involve five basic moves:
The Unwitting Move: The subject acts mindlessly relative to impression management, allowing the observer to take observations at face value.
The Naive Move: The observer draws information from what he assumes to be an unwitting move.
The Control Move: The informant makes an intentional effort to produce expressions designed to improve his situation if gleaned by the observer. This is a self-conscious process of impression management where the subject takes the attitude of the observer. Control moves, which aim to influence the observer's reading of expressions, can be analyzed without reference to communication.
The Uncovering Move: The observer attempts to crack or penetrate the subject's cover to discover the real facts. This includes surveillance, interviews, and interrogations.
The Counter-Uncovering Move: The subject counters the observer's attack.
Strategies related to the Control Move often involve covering moves (e.g., open secrecy, covert concealment, using a "cover reason" or "cover operation"). The subject may also employ splitting as a defense mechanism, ensuring personnel are ignorant of key information to prevent them from betraying their interests, such as selecting agents unaware of the overall plan.
Unlike inanimate objects, human subjects can use verbal accounts and explanations to alter an observer's assessment after being caught in a false presentation. However, this unique human capacity also creates vulnerability: persons can be persuaded or induced to "squeal" and communicate their secrets, unlike a searched room or a dog.
Counter-uncovering tactics include fabricating small, verifiable items—a "secret exhibition"—that shrewd investigators might look for as checks on official presentations (e.g., old mail or bus tickets confirming a false identity). Another tactic is using a spotty alibi, avoiding one that is too pat and perfect, which an interrogator might immediately suspect.
Interrogators sometimes assault the conventional frame of spoken interaction by intentionally focusing attention on aspects usually ignored, calculated to cause the subject to become "nervous" and lose self-control. Conversely, the subject must learn to control his physiological expressions (symptom equipment) to prevent betrayal.
Norms constrain the players: subjects face rules against communicating self-disbelieved statements and demands for sincerity (bodily expression aligning with verbal statements). Observers are constrained by legal limits on examinations and interrogations, requiring warnings and invalidating confessions obtained by threats or promises.
A key property of strategic interaction is the degeneration of expression, meaning that the observer ought to feel suspicion about the very evidence that frees him from doubt, because the best evidence for him is also the best evidence for the subject to tamper with. This leads to the disqualification of innocence, where a subject, fearing misrepresentation, styles his innocent behavior, thus producing what a good misrepresentation would look like.
Tacit moves occur when one player adapts to the other's likely response before it occurs, collapsing a naive move and an uncovering move into one concrete act.
In situations requiring credibility, mere words are rarely given weight unless they are backed by objective, persuasive evidence that a proposed course of action has been unretractably entered upon. For example, the subject can expend resources on the initial phases of a plan and expose that expenditure to the enemy. The only alternative basis for reliance on words in non-normative settings is the belief that the player will keep his word purely for the utility of establishing a good reputation, though this pragmatic approach risks using up "trust credits" for profitable betrayal.
In complex social networks, such as a three-party triad (Tom, Dick, and Mary), if one person (Tom) communicates information to a second (Mary) that discredits the line he maintains with a third (Dick), Mary is placed in a delicate position with power over both Tom and Dick. To stabilize a personal relationship, an expectation of candor is required. To protect himself, an individual may utilize the technique of filling in, voluntarily divulging necessary information to prevent the other party from learning elsewhere what he should have told them.
For face-to-face conversational interaction, conduct is often judged not on sincerity or candor, but on suitability, requiring obligations like showing sympathy and tact regardless of sincere feelings. Strategic interaction is an analytical perspective that illuminates social relationships and gatherings but coincides with neither.
thank you for listening to another session of the LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com series produced and archived at the website LennyAndMariaPodcasts.com.
I. Dramaturgical Analysis Of Social Interaction - A. Paul Hare and Herbert H. Blumberg
The dramaturgical perspective reviews the basic concepts used by Burke, Harré and Secord, Sarbin, and others in dramaturgical analysis.
The introductory chapter summarizes the phases in the development of performance.
The action area can be divided into two parts: backstage and stage.
The backstage area is where actors prepare for their roles and where special effects are produced to influence the audience.
The stage is where the action takes place in full view of the audience.
Offstage areas exist where persons who have organized the activity (producers) and those providing cues (directors) remain hidden from the audience.
There may also be a playwright who provided the original idea or script for the performance.
The basic list of roles may need to be expanded to suit particular situations, such as including persons who cater to the needs of the audience.
The four basic types of drama discussed in the literature on theater are tragedy, comedy, melodrama, and farce.
Chapter 2 includes an analysis of Polti’s 36 dramatic situations.
Polti sought to challenge the assertion that there were only 36 basic dramatic situations by categorizing about 1,000 stage plays and 200 other dramatic stories.
At the conclusion of his work, Polti decided that there were indeed 36 dramatic situations.
Three types of tragedy listed by Bentley are suffering and endurance, destruction and renewal, and sacrifice and expiation.
Klapp used an even shorter list of dramatic situations, suggesting that central figures consisted of heroes, villains, and fools.
The core concepts of dramaturgical analysis can be used to classify types of social events based on whether events are real or symbolic and whether an audience is absent or present.
The roles discussed include the playwright, the person who provides the original idea (image, theme, plot, or script) for a performance.
A drama begins with an “actable idea,” which can be placed along a continuum from simple and vague to complex and detailed.
Four points along this continuum are image, theme, plot, and script.
A plot is defined as a more detailed scenario with more definition of roles and stages, citing descriptions of a typical terrorist action or a “social drama”.
A script is the most complete set of directions for social behavior, exemplified by discussions of “strong” and “weak” scripts.
An actable idea has two aspects: purpose and mode.
The purpose involves some attempt to control others, and the mode is a way of defining the situation (or specifying the convention) that others will accept.
Staging affects performance, related to Burke’s concept of the “scene/act ratio” and the stage as a “frame” for action.
The stage setting may include the wife of an official to assure the public that her husband is “moral” and therefore worthy of public trust.
For any enactment there must be at least one person acting as protagonist, the theme carrier, and one auxiliary player.
The auxiliary player may take a role in opposition to the protagonist as an antagonist, play a supporting role, or be a member of a chorus.
Protest demonstrations in South Africa, like the incident at Sharpeville in 1960, can be analyzed from a dramaturgical perspective.
The Sharpeville incident led many people to believe that mass protest had been contained and would not appear again.
Two types of diagrams are useful for dramaturgical analysis of an event: a variation of Bales’ “field diagram” and a diagram depicting variations over time in involvement and creativity.
The field diagram indicates the relative positions of actors or images in four-dimensional space: upward—downward, positive—negative, serious—expressive, and conforming—anticonforming.
Funerals in America serve as morality plays which weave social commentary into the ritual.
Eulogies to the deceased usually contain references to their community service, character, righteousness, and approved identities.
The eulogizer selectively parades the deceased's various careers, often giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Recalcitrance may be redefined as “independence,” or purposelessness as “a restless spirit”.
Goffman introduced the concept of “face work” to refer to an individual’s attempts to save face and avoid feeling embarrassed.
This is achieved through some avoidance or corrective processes.
The process of change of status and new meaning for roles is involved in a symbolic transition for the principal actor, such as in funerals.
Villains are antagonists in a drama whose behavior is usually upward (comparatively dominant), negative, and serious.
Plot involves an indication of the roles to be followed and the stages a group must go through to reach a goal, such as the guiding idea in a social movement.
The protagonist is the actor who is the theme carrier of the moment.
The dramaturgical perspective can be applied to describe and analyze a series of college football victory celebrations.
These celebrations contribute empirical data on crowd behavior.
Task activities can be classified according to the amount of attention they receive and their salience to the character of the collective encounter.
Those behaviors which are the major focus of attention and give meaning to the occasion can be regarded as the main task activity.
In the Sharpeville incident, the commission report served as the primary account used for analysis.
The analyst is forced to consider systematically how the various aspects of the action fit together in terms of the theory being used.
Categories of creativity include expressive, which involves spontaneous contributions indicating a person is warming up for the task.
Category 5 is reserved for acts that bring new meaning to the situation, setting the dominant image or theme in collective behavior.
The images held by the police and the crowd at Sharpeville differed sharply.
Crowd members suggested the crowd was "good-humoured throughout," while police viewed the crowd as violent and attacking.
II. Interaction Ritual - Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior - Erving Goffman
Face may be defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact.
Face is an image of self delineated in terms of approved social attributes.
A person maintains face when the line he effectively takes presents an image of him that is internally consistent and supported by judgments and evidence conveyed by others.
The person's face is not lodged in or on his body, but is diffusely located in the flow of events in the encounter.
Losing face seems to mean to be in wrong face, to be out of face, or to be shamefaced.
To save one’s face appears to refer to the process by which the person sustains an impression for others that he has not lost face.
To give face is to arrange for another to take a better line than he might otherwise have been able to take.
The social face is only on loan to him from society and will be withdrawn unless he conducts himself in a way that is worthy of it.
Approved attributes and their relation to face make of every man his own jailer, which is a fundamental social constraint.
Just as a member is expected to have self-respect, he is also expected to sustain a standard of considerateness, going to certain lengths to save the feelings and face of others.
The mutual acceptance of lines has an important conservative effect upon encounters.
Should a person radically alter his line or should it become discredited, confusion results because participants prepared actions that are now unsuitable.
Maintenance of face is ordinarily a condition of interaction, not its objective.
Objectives like gaining face, giving expression to true beliefs, or performing tasks are typically pursued consistently with maintaining face.
Face-work designates the actions taken by a person to make whatever he is doing consistent with face.
Face-work serves to counteract "incidents," which are events whose effective symbolic implications threaten face.
Poise is an important type of face-work, through which a person controls his embarrassment and hence the embarrassment that others might have over his embarrassment.
Face-saving practices often become habitual and standardized practices, like traditional plays in a game.
Defensive practices include keeping off topics and away from activities that would lead to information inconsistent with the line being maintained.
The person will often present initially a front of diffidence and composure until he finds out what kind of line others will support for him.
Protective maneuvers include showing respect and politeness and extending ceremonial treatment that might be due to others.
A person employs discretion, leaving unstated facts that might implicitly or explicitly contradict and embarrass the positive claims made by others.
The corrective process, initiated when face is threatened, includes the challenge, the offering, and the acceptance.
The challenge involves participants calling attention to misconduct, suggesting that threatened claims stand firm.
The offering gives a participant, typically the offender, a chance to correct the offense and re-establish expressive order.
An attempt can be made to show that what appeared to be a threatening expression is really a meaningless event, an unintentional act, or a joke.
As a substitute for redefining the offensive act or himself, the offender can provide compensations to the injured or provide punishment, penance, and expiation for himself.
Through self-castigation, the offender shows awareness of the crime he would have committed and that the rules of conduct are still sacred.
Aggressive interchanges, such as making a "crack," involve the winner introducing information favorable to himself and unfavorable to others.
The winner also demonstrates that he can handle himself better as an interactant than his adversaries.
Lack of face-work effort by one person induces compensative effort from others; a contribution by one relieves others of the task.
Tacit cooperation arises so that participants together can attain their shared objectives of saving face.
A person has a right, within limits, to wriggle out of a difficulty by means of self-abasement, provided it is performed voluntarily.
It is as if he had the right of insulation and could castigate himself qua actor without injuring himself qua object of ultimate worth.
The rights and obligations of an interactant are designed to prevent him from abusing his role as an object of sacred value.
The human tendency to use signs and symbols means that evidence of social worth will be conveyed by very minor things.
There is no occasion of talk so trivial as not to require each participant to show serious concern with how he handles himself and others present.
A single focus of thought and visual attention, and a single flow of talk, tends to be maintained and legitimated as officially representative of the encounter.
An understanding prevails as to how long and how frequently each participant is to hold the floor in spoken interaction.
A polite accord is typically maintained, and disputing participants give temporary lip service to views that bring them into agreement.
The person's orientation to face, especially his own, is the point of leverage that the ritual order has in regard to him.
Greetings provide a way of showing that a relationship is still what it was at the termination of the previous coparticipation.
Social life is an uncluttered, orderly thing because the person voluntarily stays away from the places and topics and times where he is not wanted.
If the offense is one that the offended persons can let go by without losing too much face, they are likely to act forbearantly.
Universal human nature is not a very human thing; by acquiring it, the person becomes a kind of construct.
This construct is built up not from inner psychic propensities but from moral rules that are impressed upon him from without.
A substantive rule guides conduct in regard to matters felt to have significance in their own right, apart from expressive implications about the selves involved.
A ceremonial rule guides conduct regarding matters felt to have significance only as expressions of respect or disrespect for a recipient.
Deference is the component of ceremonial activity that functions as a conventional expression of appreciation owed by an actor to a recipient.
Demeanor is the element of the actor’s conduct that expresses his personal character.
Two main types of deference are presentational rituals (depicting appreciation) and avoidance rituals (implying acts the actor must refrain from doing).
There is an inherent opposition and conflict between these two forms of deference.
The failure of an individual to show proper deference to others does not necessarily free them from the obligation to act with good demeanor in his presence.
The image of himself the individual owes it to others to maintain through his conduct is a justification and compensation for the image others are obliged to express through their deference to him.
If an individual is to act with proper demeanor and show proper deference, then it will be necessary for him to have areas of self-determination.
He must have freedom of bodily movement so that it will be possible for him to assume a stance that conveys appropriate respect for others.
To manifest signs of boredom is an inconsiderate thing, but he who does so assures others that he is not affecting something that is not felt.
To suppress these signs completely is suspect, as it prevents others from obtaining feed-back cues that might tell them what the situation really is.
Non-participating specialists (domestics, ushers, stenographers) show respect for the occasion by treating it as a side-involvement.
They would cause uneasiness were they to become manifestly involved in the content of the talk.
Fatefulness, as a characteristic of activity, refers to the degree to which an activity is consequential in determining the individual’s subsequent life chances.
Killing time often involves the killer in problematic activity that is not consequential, such as deciding whether to pick up a magazine or watch TV.
The individual may make realistic efforts to minimize the eventfulness—the fatefulness—of his moments.
Taking care is a constant condition of being, a central concern parents impress upon their young to avoid unnecessary fatefulness.
Actions taken to ward off fate and to limit the untoward consequences of fateful action may be called a defense.
Moments that are subjectively considered fateful but are merely revelatory (like opening an examination letter) are not really fateful, as the fate has already been determined.
The voluntary taking of serious chances is a means for the maintenance and acquisition of character.
Action should not be perceived in the first instance as an expression of impulsiveness or irrationality, even where risk without apparent prize results.
Qualities of character emerge only during fateful events, or at least events subjectively considered to be fateful.
In contrast to primary properties, character traits tend to be evaluated in the extremes, referring to failures or successes out of the ordinary.
Honor is the aspect of personal make-up that causes the individual dutifully to enjoin a character contest when his rights have been violated.
The individual must follow this course in the very degree that its likely costs appear to be high.
A "run-in" is always a two-party affair, unlike an "incident," which may centrally involve only one person.
Moral combat results in a run-in, with properties of character brought into play as something to be lost and gained.
The characterological outcome of a contest is quite independent of the "manifest" result of the fray.
A criminal suspect can keep his cool in the face of elaborate techniques employed by police interrogators and later receive a guilty sentence without flinching.
Minor behaviors can be employed as a serious invitation to a run-in or show-down.
The "delinquency strut" communicates an authority challenge to adults present and conveys that the first move has been made.
Everywhere individuals go they implant a tacit demand that others present will respectfully keep their eyes, voices, and bodies away from the circle immediately around them.
These territorial courtesies provide ample means by which an aggressor can test the individual's honor through the pointed, unhurried failure to accord these considerations.
The individual is judged to have, or be in, or maintain face when it is confirmed by evidence conveyed through impersonal agencies in the situation.
Given his attributes and the conventionalized nature of the encounter, he will find a small choice of lines and faces waiting for him.
When an individual suffers a loss of face, he can exhibit being "shamefaced," which adds further disorder to the expressive organization of the situation.
Poise refers to the capacity to suppress and conceal any tendency to become shamefaced during encounters with others.
The person who is disinclined to witness the defacement of others often shows considerateness because of emotional identification with the others and their feelings.
The importance of feelings varies in close correspondence with the importance of the person who feels.
An important departure from the standard corrective cycle occurs when a challenged offender patently refuses to heed the warning.
If the challengers countenance this refusal, their challenge will be plain as a bluff that has been called.
The self is simultaneously defined as an image pieced together from the expressive implications of events, and as a kind of player in a ritual game.
The player copes honorably or dishonorably, diplomatically or undiplomatically, with the judgmental contingencies of the situation.
When the person commits a gaffe against himself, it is not he who has the license to forgive the event; only the others have that prerogative.
This is a safe prerogative for others to have because they can exercise it only in his interests or in the undertaking's interests.
The ritual factors present in mediated contacts are present in an extreme form during direct personal contacts.
A momentary change in tone of voice or an unguarded glance can drench a talk with judgmental significance.
Unratified participants, such as overhearers, are officially held at bay as someone who is not formally participating in the occasion.
Ritual codes require a ratified participant to be treated quite differently from an unratified one.
A surface of agreement must be maintained by means of discretion and white lies, so that the assumption of mutual approval will not be discredited.
Undue lulls must be avoided because they come to be potential signs of having nothing in common or being insufficiently self-possessed to create something to say.
The individual insulates himself by blindnesses, half-truths, illusions, and rationalizations.
He makes an "adjustment" by convincing himself, with intimate support, that he is what he wants to be and that he would not do what others have done to gain their ends.
The ceremonial activity of deference may be referred to as "status rituals" or "interpersonal rituals".
This activity represents a way the individual must guard and design the symbolic implications of his acts while in the presence of an object that has special value for him.
An important focus of deferential avoidance consists in the verbal care actors are obliged to exercise so as not to bring into discussion matters painful, embarrassing, or humiliating to the recipient.
To penetrate this circle by taking notice constitutes a violation of his personality.
The failure of an individual to conduct himself with proper demeanor does not always relieve those in his presence from treating him with proper deference.
A group may be noted for excellence in one of these areas (deference or demeanor) while having a bad reputation in the other.
III. Strategic Interaction - Erving Goffman
Strategic Interaction is advocated as the study of face-to-face interaction as a naturally bounded, analytically coherent field—a sub-area of sociology.
This behavior can be isolated from other forms of communication.
In pursuit of their interests, parties must deal with and through individuals, orienting to their capacities.
To orient to these capacities is to come to conclusions, well founded or not, concerning them.
Individuals, like other objects in this world, affect the surrounding environment in a manner congruent with their own actions and properties.
Their mere presence produces signs and marks, meaning individuals exude expressions.
Expressed information necessarily concerns the source of expression and cannot solely be about some absent object.
The generating of expression is not an official end of the action, but is ostensibly only a side effect.
Communicated information (or transmitted information or a message) involves the intentional transmission of information using language or language-like signs.
The controlling and openly avowed purpose of the sender is to impart correct, adequate information to the recipient.
Communicated information can be assessed based on the relation of the subject's answer to the facts, involving "repleteness" and "correctness".
Answers can vary as to their "correctness," according to how well they somehow fit, match, or correspond to the facts.
Another issue is the relation of what is said to what is known by the sayer, involving "candor" or "self-belief".
No-information replies can be of several varieties: "Don’t know," "Know but won’t tell," and "Not telling, nor telling whether I could tell".
The behavioral and technical process through which information is communicated will naturally exude expressions.
The least the communicating can express is that the sender has the capacity and apparently the willingness to communicate.
A corpus of communicated signs has expressive aspects, and discursive statements inevitably manifest a style of some kind.
Written text can be examined "symptomatically," for what the senders do not know they are exuding through the print.
In face-to-face communication, "framing" information (e.g., whether a message is serious or sarcastic) typically derives from paralinguistic cues.
These cues, such as intonation or facial gestures, have an expressive, not semantic, character.
The subject's motive and intent are a basic part of his situation, ensuring he is something that can be totally misunderstood or understood all too well.
Getting behind the cover that the subject maintains is often done by discovering his motive and intent through empathy.
The unwitting move occurs when the subject acts mindlessly relative to impression management.
When the observer believes the subject can be taken as he appears, this constitutes a naive move.
The naive move is the assessment an observer makes of a subject when the observer believes that the subject is involved in an unwitting move.
The subject is assumed to be in clear text, readable by anyone with the technical competence to see.
A control move refers to the intentional effort of an informant to produce expressions that he thinks will improve his situation if they are gleaned by the observer.
The process of control does not strike at the observer's capacity to receive messages but at his more general ability to read expressions.
The subject attempts to set the stage beforehand, incorporating consideration of the informing aspects of later phases of activity into the initial phases.
To this end, the subject turns on himself and, from the observer's point of view, perceives his own activity to exert control over it.
Feigning is a control move whereby the subject attempts to create a false impression concerning something in which he takes a part.
Feinting is an intentional move to deceive by performing the beginning of a true action and then stopping, often used in combat.
Verbal reticence and the use of self-disbelieved statements are favorite control moves.
A control move is made relative to a world that has already been generated by the expression game.
Individuals have a special quality as gamesmen that sharply distinguishes them from inanimate objects.
A person caught in flagrante delicto can sometimes talk his way out of the situation by creating an excuse or explanation.
An uncovering move occurs when the observer attempts to crack, pierce, penetrate, or otherwise get behind the apparent facts to uncover the real ones.
One standard uncovering move is to perform an examination of some kind, such as interviewing or analyzing tracks the subject leaves.
Counter-uncovering moves are countering actions taken by the subject to meet the observer's attack.
These moves can strike at the basic sources of information associated with all subjects.
Physiological expression, such as facial display, is one source of information that counter-uncovering moves must manage.
The central assumption is that "emotional expressions" somehow portray or betray a subject's inward feelings, attitudes, or desires.
"Identity tags" are officially recognized seals, like passports, which bond an individual to his biography.
These documents constitute a kind of open challenge, acknowledging that an expression game is being played.
Local cognitive orientation is required for an agent to behave as a "native" of a claimed domicile.
This includes familiarity with nursery rhymes, proverbs, famous sportsmen, or common attitudes reflecting class and regional differences.
The subject may fabricate just those little leavings of the self that shrewd observers might use as a check upon official but false presentations.
This is illustrated by agents aging newly arrived Bank of France notes or pin-pricking them.
Physical factors impose a general limitation on play, as massive objects or troop movements are often too large to hide.
A gym horse can effectively conceal the beginning of an escape tunnel, but hiding a whole company requires something massive.
Technical knowledge and competence limit play, as a subject cannot obfuscate cues he does not know a sophisticated observer can use.
This is a basic assumption of projective tests, which rely on expressions individuals are not aware of giving off.
Emotional self-control is a limitation: when stakes are high, the subject needs control not to give away guilt through signs of uneasiness.
Signs like a guilty look or furtive glance do not so much give the facts away as they do the fact that the subject knows the facts ("deception clues").
The interrogator may try to press the subject's capacity as a gamesman to the breaking point by causing the victim to be and remain "nervous" and "out of control".
This involves an intentional shifting into the explicit focus of attention of what is ordinarily obligatorily disattended in spoken interaction.
When human gamesters are found out, they can communicate the facts before the facts are otherwise discovered, unlike inanimate objects or dogs.
The ability to offer convincing accountings also makes them able to willfully communicate their secret.
An intelligence agent's plan may involve giving false confidential invasion information and placebo suicide pills to resistance workers, parachuting them into the hands of suspected "turned" agents.
This ensures that under torture, someone would probably break and provide interrogators with a perfect false performance.
The success of a cover-up places the observer in the position of concealing the fact that he has seen through the subject's obfuscating efforts.
The discovery of falsified evidence exposes a police suspect as someone who has quite probably committed a crime.
If the subject is wise, he will conceal from his erstwhile monitor that the monitoring has been discovered.
This prevents confirming to the opponent that the subject has something to be wary about and necessitates the use of new surveillance methods.
The corruption of minor cues is expected, such as children cooling a TV set with ice cubes after turning it off to counter parental uncovering moves.
The Hiss-Tytell typewriter forgery illustrates the scope of forgery in corrupting foolproof evidence like a typed sheet.
The safest plan for the observer is often to rely on partially completed courses of action as indication of what is to come.
The more of the subject's resources utilized in the beginning phases, the more surely he can be counted on to follow through with his intention.
If the subject is sure the observer will take hard evidence as sufficient, it may pay him to expend resources for purely expressive function, however costly.
The Rothschild ploy involves depressing the market by selling securities to mislead observers, then buying back in when prices drop.
When everything is to be entrusted, nothing ought to be trusted at all; when little is staked, signs are reliable.
The harder a spy must work to obtain secret information, the more reason the enemy has to leak false information only to those who worked hardest for the true facts.
An individual can function as a pawn when conditions place his social or bodily welfare in jeopardy, and this welfare is the interest at stake in the game.
The individual can also serve as a token, a means of expressing and marking openly a position that has been taken.
Diplomats must command their temper, have patience to hear frivolous applications, and possess dexterity enough to conceal a truth without telling a lie.
They must have sagacity enough to read other people's countenances and serenity enough not to let them discover anything by theirs.
The core of gaming involves mutual appreciation: the opponent Harry tries to dope out is another trying to dope out Harry.
This mutual appreciation is a special type of assessment, the very nub of gaming, but it is assessment, not communication.
Credibility is based on untrusting evidence: the speaker must show the listener that there is relatively little to lose in crediting his words.
This is a reduction of the need for trust by a reduction of what is entrusted.
If the other uses words to draw attention to objective nonverbal evidence, these words ought to be effective regardless of how little Harry may trust mere words.
Harry is only gambling the direction of his attention and may lose very little should the attended evidence prove unconvincing.
Earnest money can be calculated to exactly compensate the seller for the money worth of foregone selling opportunities.
Verbal protestations of intent to buy cease then to be anything the seller need give weight to.
Commitment can be established by expending resources on the initial phases of a course of action such that the continuation of the plan becomes mandatory.
The direct evidence of this expenditure is then exposed to the enemy.
When a player is forced to choose, his doing nothing itself becomes, in effect, a choice and a course of action.
In situations involving an intrinsic payoff (like duels of honor), the courses of action taken and the administration of losses/gains are part of the same seamless situation.
When the individual is taught to make verbal statements, he is simultaneously taught that this means telling the truth with them, especially to persons who address him directly.
This moral demand for virtue is made out of organizational necessity.
In the last analysis, one cannot build another into plans unless one can rely on him to keep his word and exude valid expressions.
This reliance must be present whether because the player cannot or will not control the expressions.
The player can arrange to demonstrate harsh penalties against those who do not take his words seriously.
He must demonstrate that there will be a bearable cost to himself should he have to invoke those penalties.
The aggressive nature of the verbal interaction can be transformed into a perilous field of fateful interpersonal action.
The individual who is confronted by an aggressor's calculated affronts must choose whether to ignore the challenge or uphold his honor.
During strategic interaction, a move consists of a structured course of action available to a player which, when taken, objectively alters the situation of the participants.
What is effected by strategic moves is not merely a state of information, but rather courses of action taken.
The government's secret blessing to commit mayhem is one resource intelligence agents have that distinguishes them from ordinary mortals.
However, like everyone else, the player’s chief weapon and chief vulnerability is himself.
When an individual is in the immediate presence of the party collecting information, special attention will be given to that occasion.
An intelligence organization is highly concerned with the capacity of individuals as sources of information.
All organisms make use of information collected from the immediate environment to respond effectively to what is going on around them.
With man, self-conscious intentional efforts are made to acquire information from local events to deal with those events.
The observer can take what he observes at face value, as ingenuous uncalculating expression or candid communication, when the subject is unconcerned about observation.
This is an unwitting move, where the subject acts mindlessly relative to impression management.
The various processes of control do not rely on communication but on a set of tricky ways of sympathetically taking the other into consideration.
The subject tries to lead the observer into a wrong assessment, or a right one despite suspicions.
A counter-uncovering move can strike at "identity tags," which are officially recognized seals that bond an individual to his biography.
To defeat the documenter at his game may require extensive technical facilities specialized in the work of counter-uncovering.
The sheer cost and complexity of coordination place physical limitations on the size of actions that can be concealed.
If the planning of an action is complex and locked into sequence, postponement becomes impractical once the action has begun.
When engaging in a control move, the subject is consciously aware of the discrepancy between appearances and the facts.
To retain control, he must suppress those many signs through which he can give himself away.
The subject can come to strategic terms with his own weaknesses and even exploit them to improve his game.
A person who knows he cannot bluff convincingly may elect not to attempt to do so.
The subject can bind his own hands in regard to a later time when his will might be weak or desires different.
He thus renders himself a more reliable instrument than he is, such as placing an alarm clock out of easy reach.
When a team is involved, splitting the self as a device to improve play is naturally facilitated.
This is seen in selective recruitment of intelligence agents whose pasts offer fewest bases for mobilizing divergent interests.
There is a special morality about impression management, varying from one social circle to another.
There are even rules about merely inhibiting one's expression and communication.
The paradoxical demand for "sincerity" means that when an individual speaks, his bodily expression must provide easy access to all information needed to determine his self-belief.
Differently put, society demands of an individual that he not be too good at acting, especially during occasions of talk.
An agent who intercepts restricted documents will photograph or memorize them and try to return them so it will not be seen that they have been seen.
Cryptographers face the dilemma of wanting to use decoded materials but not wanting to warn the enemy that the code has been broken.
When Harry makes an inappropriate statement to another, the other faces a gamey dilemma.
If he upholds his honor and takes umbrage, he can cause an escalation of discord.
Cowboys, detectives, and men of action carry equipment (guns, fists) as means of enforcing just treatment of themselves and the gentle sex.
Thus armed and driven by personal honor, they speak words that are fateful first moves in life-and-death showdowns.
IV. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life - Erving Goffman
The perspective employed in this report is that of the theatrical performance, with principles derived being dramaturgical ones.
The report details how an individual in ordinary work situations presents himself and his activity to others.
Regardless of his objective or motive, the individual's interest will be to control the conduct of the others, especially their responsive treatment of him.
This control is achieved largely by influencing the definition of the situation that others come to have.
An individual's actions will influence the definition of the situation others come to have.
Sometimes the individual will act in a thoroughly calculating manner, expressing himself solely to obtain a specific response.
The others may divide what they witness into two parts: verbal assertions (easy to manipulate) and expressions given off (harder to control).
They use the ungovernable aspects of expressive behavior as a check upon the validity of what is conveyed by the governable aspects.
Any projected definition of the situation has a distinctive moral character.
Society is organized on the principle that an individual with certain characteristics has a moral right to expect appropriate valuation and treatment.
When an individual projects a definition of the situation, he automatically exerts a moral demand upon others to value and treat him in the expected manner.
He implicitly forgoes all claims to be things he does not appear to be.
Preventive practices are constantly employed to avoid definitional disruptions and embarrassments.
Corrective practices are constantly employed to compensate for discrediting occurrences that have not been successfully avoided.
Interaction (face-to-face interaction) is roughly defined as the reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another’s actions in one another’s immediate physical presence.
A performance is defined as all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way any of the other participants.
Front is defined as that part of the individual’s performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for observers.
Front is the expressive equipment of a standard kind intentionally or unwittingly employed by the individual during his performance.
Front is composed of "setting" and "personal front".
Setting involves permanent fixtures, such as furniture, décor, and physical backdrop.
Personal front includes insignia of office or rank, clothing, physical characteristics, posture, speech patterns, and facial expressions.
Some sign vehicles, like racial characteristics, are relatively fixed, while others, like facial expression, are mobile or transitory.
"Appearance" refers to stimuli that tell of the performer’s social statuses and temporary ritual state (e.g., formal activity, work, recreation).
"Manner" refers to stimuli that warn of the interaction role the performer will expect to play in the oncoming situation.
A haughty, aggressive manner may give the impression that the performer expects to initiate and direct verbal interaction.
A meek, apologetic manner may give the impression that the performer expects to follow the lead of others.
Performers often foster a confirming consistency between appearance and manner.
The procession of a mandarin illustrated this coherence, with his massive appearance and stem, uncompromising look aligning with his role as mayor and supreme power.
The individual typically infuses his activity with signs which dramatically highlight and portray confirmatory facts that might otherwise remain unapparent or obscure.
If the individual’s activity is to become significant to others, he must mobilize his activity so that it will express what he wishes to convey during the interaction.
To give the impression of surety, a baseball umpire must forgo the moment of thought which might make him sure of his judgment.
He must give an instantaneous decision so that the audience will be sure that he is sure of his judgment.
The work required in filling certain statuses is often poorly designed as an expression of a desired meaning.
If the incumbent wishes to dramatize the character of his role, he must divert an appreciable amount of his energy to do so.
To furnish a house to express simple, quiet dignity, the householder may have to race to auctions and haggle with dealers.
To give a radio talk that sounds genuinely informal, the speaker may have to design his script with painstaking care.
Negative idealization involves concealing favorable facts or downplaying one's status.
Examples include islanders feigning illness to retire from work or wearing old clothes to maintain loyalty to crofter status.
A "poverty show" is often played out before assistance officers to overcommunicate a household's state of poverty, demonstrating idealization.
The junk peddler wishes to perpetuate the myth that junk is valueless and that those who deal in it are "down and out" and should be pitied.
In the service trades, customers who are treated respectfully during the performance are often ridiculed, gossiped about, and criticized when performers are backstage.
Plans may be worked out backstage for "selling” them, or employing "angles” against them, or pacifying them.
Performers may employ "secret consumption," using cheap substitutes for high-quality goods in a surreptitious way, to save money or effort while maintaining a good impression.
Housewives may leave *The Saturday Evening Post* on the living room table but keep a copy of *True Romance* concealed in the bedroom.
When an individual presents a product, he tends to show only the finished, polished, and packaged end product.
The long, tedious hours of lonely labor required to create the product will often be hidden.
If the principal ideal aims of an organization are to be achieved, it may be necessary to bypass momentarily other ideals, while maintaining the impression they are still in force.
The informal structure provides a channel of circumvention of the formally prescribed rules and methods of procedure.
Performers often foster the impression that they had ideal motives and ideal qualifications for acquiring their role.
They conceal indignities, insults, or "deals" necessary to acquire the role.
A kind of "rhetoric of training" requires practitioners to absorb a mystical range and period of training.
This is done partly to maintain a monopoly, but also to foster the impression that the licensed practitioner is someone who has been reconstituted by his learning experience.
An artistic image is more accurate than mechanical standards for analyzing performances.
A single note off key can disrupt the tone of an entire performance.
The audience contributes to the performance by exercising "audience tact" or "protective practices".
This involves holding one’s own performance in check and inhibiting acts that might create a faux pas.
If the audience is to employ tact on the performer’s behalf, the performer must act in such a way as to make the rendering of this assistance possible.
The performer must be sensitive to hints and ready to take them, as hints are how the audience warns that the show is unacceptable.
Impersonation and misrepresentation often rely on communication techniques such as innuendo, strategic ambiguity, and crucial omissions.
The misinformer can profit from lies without technically telling any.
The perfect reply to an embarrassing question in the House of Commons is brief, appears to answer completely, can be proven accurate, and discloses really nothing.
The facts given may be arranged in any convenient order.
The performance can serve mainly to express the characteristics of the task performed, not the characteristics of the performer.
Service personnel enliven their manner with movements that express proficiency and integrity to establish a favorable definition of their service or product.
An emergent team impression arises, which can be treated as a fact located between the individual performance and the total interaction.
The team and team-performance may be the best units to take as the fundamental point of reference for studying impression management.
When a line is set, unanimity is called for among teammates, and pressures are put upon dissenters.
Open disagreement in front of the audience creates a false note, which must be avoided to sustain the definition of the situation.
In staging a definition of the situation, team members may need to be secretive about the fact that their positions were not independently arrived at.
This is necessary to maintain an impression of self-respect among themselves and before the audience.
A crucial technique of teamwork is the co-operative concealment of facts that contradict the impression being fostered.
This solidarity occurs when performers are in the presence of subordinates and superordinates.
Police patrolling teams witness each other’s illegal and semi-illegal acts, which provides a basis for team solidarity and mutual security.
This solidarity prevents them from discrediting each other's show of legality before a judge.
The complexity of interaction often resolves into a two-team interplay.
Participants of many different statuses are typically expected to align themselves temporarily into two team groupings for the duration of any particular interaction.
Dramaturgical dominance and directive dominance are dramaturgical terms.
Performers who enjoy such dominance may not have other types of power and authority.
A back region or backstage is a place, relative to a given performance, where the impression fostered by the performance is knowingly contradicted as a matter of course.
It is here that the capacity of a performance to express something beyond itself may be painstakingly fabricated.
Backstage is where illusions and impressions are openly constructed and where props and costumes can be stored.
The performer can relax here, dropping his front, forgoing speaking his lines, and stepping out of character.
Control of backstage plays a significant role in "work control" whereby individuals attempt to buffer themselves from deterministic demands.
The bereaved are given the illusion that the dead one is in tranquil sleep by the undertaker keeping them from the workroom where corpses are drained, stuffed, and painted.
A region that is thoroughly established as a front region for the regular performance often functions as a back region before and after each performance.
During these times, permanent fixtures may undergo repair or restoration, or performers may hold dress rehearsals.
Defecation involves an individual in activity which is defined as inconsistent with the cleanliness and purity standards expressed in many performances.
This activity causes the individual to disarrange his clothing and to “go out of play” (drop the expressive mask).
A performer must exclude from the audience those who see him in another and inconsistent presentation.
Upward or downward mobile persons accomplish this by making sure to leave the place of their origins.
By proper scheduling, performers can separate audiences and allow a few moments to extricate themselves psychologically and physically from one personal front.
This prevents the destruction of the impression that each audience is receiving special and unique services.
A basic problem for many performances is information control: the audience must not acquire "destructive information" about the defined situation.
Destructive information would discredit, disrupt, or make useless the impression the performance fosters.
Dark secrets are facts about the team that are known by the team but flatly contradict the impression the team tries to give to the audience.
Strategic secrets pertain to intentions and capacities concealed to prevent the audience from adapting effectively to the team's plans.
Latent secrets are facts about a performance that are incompatible with the fostered impression but have not been collected and organized into a usable form by anyone.
The problems of keeping secrets are quite different from the problems of keeping latent secrets latent.
Staging cues are employed between performers to time their actions without allowing the audience to become aware that a system of control communication is operating.
In business offices, executives who want to terminate interviews tactfully will train secretaries to interrupt interviews at the proper time with the proper excuse.
An aggressive maneuver against the audience can involve a performer taking a line deeply contrary to his inward feelings.
Chinese prisoners of war would emphasize the wrong words in public self-criticism sessions, making the whole ritual ridiculous, as a form of hidden resistance.
All the facts that can be discovered about an establishment are relevant to the technical, political, structural, and cultural perspectives.
Each perspective gives its own priority and order to these facts.
The technical and dramaturgical perspectives intersect most clearly, perhaps, in regard to standards of work.
One set of individuals is concerned with testing unapparent work characteristics, and the other is concerned with giving the impression that their work embodies these hidden attributes.
The political and dramaturgical perspectives intersect clearly in regard to the capacity of one individual to direct the activity of another.
Power of any kind must be clothed in effective means of displaying it, and will have different effects depending upon how it is dramatized.
The structural and dramaturgical perspectives intersect most clearly in regard to social distance.
The image one status grouping maintains depends upon the performers' capacity to restrict communicative contact with the audience.
The cultural and dramaturgical perspectives intersect most clearly in regard to the maintenance of moral standards.
Cultural values establish a framework of appearances that must be maintained, whether or not there is feeling behind the appearances.
When an event is expressively incompatible with the fostered impression, significant consequences are felt simultaneously in three levels of social reality: personality, social interaction, and society.
Each level involves a different point of reference and a different order of fact.
The individual is viewed as a performer, a harried fabricator of impressions involved in staging a performance.
He is also viewed as a character, a figure whose spirit, strength, and sterling qualities the performance was designed to evoke.
The character's self is a dramatic effect arising diffusely from a presented scene.
The characteristic issue is whether this self will be credited or discredited.
The means for producing and maintaining selves do not reside inside the person but are often bolted down in social establishments.
The self is a product of all these arrangements (back region, front region, teams, audience) and bears the marks of this genesis in all its parts.
V. If Humans Are Carnivores, Why Does Breast Milk Contain Carbohydrates? - Joachim Bartoll Official
Humans are obligate hyper carnivores, necessitating focus on a Natural Species-Appropriate, Species-Specific Natural Diet [T1].
Nutrition Science is explicitly regarded as Nutrition Ideology [T1].
Mature human breast milk prioritizes fat as the dominant energy source [T1].
Per liter, mature human milk contains 35 to 40 grams of fat (3.5–4%) and 60 to 70 grams of carbohydrates (6–7%) [T1].
Fat delivers around 50–55% of energy from lipids, primarily triglycerides and cholesterol esters [T1].
These lipids are essential for brain myelination and membrane integrity [T1].
The carbohydrate present is delivered via lactose, a disaccharide that breaks down into glucose and galactose [T1].
This offers quick absorption without the digestive burden of plant starches [T1].
The newborn exists in a semi-ketogenic state in the womb, utilizing both fats and glucose supplied by the mother [T1].
A newborn’s physiology is inherently ketogenic, built for being fat-adapted and in ketosis [T1].
Colostrum supports this physiology by containing even lower carbohydrates (around 2-3%) and higher proteins than mature milk [T1].
Colostrum primes the infant for ketone utilization derived from maternal fats [T1].
Ketones can supply up to 50% of the neonatal brain’s energy requirements [T1].
Ketones are far more efficient than glucose alone, especially for an organ prioritizing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) incorporation from the milk lipids [T1].
The elevation of carbohydrates in mature milk is critical to sustain rapid organogenesis [T1].
The infant’s liver, kidneys, and adrenals require 6 to 12 months to fully develop and become efficient at gluconeogenesis (GNG) [T1].
The lactose in breast milk serves as a temporary nutritional scaffold, providing necessary glucose while the baby is developing its ability to self-manufacture its own glucose through efficient GNG [T1].
When infants start eating, these foods must be animal-based, providing only fat, protein, and all micronutrients [T1].
The 40E% carbohydrates found in breast milk is described as very little compared to the modern, toxic diet [T1].
Raw muscle meat contains only about 2.5% carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, while organ meats contain almost 4% [T1].
VI. Purging America First: Inside the GOP’s Zionist Vetting Machine - Jose Alberto Nino - The Unz Review
Powerful pro-Israel organizations are actively working to eliminate dissent within the Republican Party [T2].
This is largely achieved through financial leverage and systematic candidate vetting [T2].
House Speaker Mike Johnson admitted that isolationism is rising within the Republican Party [T2].
Johnson made an extraordinary pledge to filter out isolationists in his candidate-recruiting efforts [T2].
The Israeli lobby has essentially outsourced candidate vetting to organizations whose primary loyalty is described as being to "world Jewry" [T2].
This campaign targets prominent Republicans whose independent foreign policy stances have made them "heretics" [T2].
Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) is identified as perhaps the strongest opponent of Israel in Congress according to Jewish advocacy groups [T2].
Massie was the only Republican to vote against a bipartisan resolution standing with Israel following the October 2023 Hamas attack [T2].
AIPAC increased its political spending nearly threefold following the October 7 Hamas attacks [T2].
This post-October 7 mobilization is described as a systematic campaign to ensure ideological conformity [T2].
The campaign against Massie escalated with pro-Israel Republican megadonors establishing the MAGA Kentucky super PAC with $2 million specifically to oust him [T2].
AIPAC's independent spending arm spent over $300,000 criticizing Massie’s voting record [T2].
There is a generational shift challenging this dominance within the Republican Party [T2].
Sympathy for Israel among Republicans aged 18 to 34 drops significantly compared to those 35 and older [T2].
Only 30% of Americans support continued financial aid to Israel [T2].
Washington’s “blank check” policy is increasingly out of step with public opinion [T2].
VII. Race and Literature: Why Is It Always Liberal? - Jared Taylor - The Unz Review
Virtually all genuinely great fiction, drama, and movie-making with a racial message is "sharply leftist" [T2].
This body of work consistently promotes the message of the equivalence of races and the brotherhood of man [T2].
To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) is deemed a "great novel" and simultaneously labeled "racial propaganda" [T2].
The novel’s success is directly attributed to it riding the wave of "contemporary racial orthodoxy" [T2].
TKAM is argued to be perfect for white liberals, offering "endless frissons of superiority" [T2].
The worst characters, such as Robert E. Lee Ewell, are portrayed as "white trash," while respectable whites are caught in "racial hypocrisies and vanities" [T2].
Black characters in the novel are uniformly depicted as "wise, respectful, and — above all — long suffering" [T2].
They endure hardship with "Biblical patience," with the only exception dismissed as a "troublemaker from way back" [T2].
The absence of great race-realist novels is attributed partly to fantasy and "good feeling are always much more appealing than reality" [T2].
Fiction often serves as an escape from reality [T2].
Actions necessary for racial consciousness, such as putting down a slave rebellion or expelling illegal immigrants, are seen as necessary but "hardly the stuff of inspiring novels" [T2].
The "happy ending" for a racial novel often resembles tragedy: the recognition that some interests *cannot* be reconciled [T2].
VIII. If Trump Refuses to Obey the Constitution, Has He Joined the Evil Ones in the Zionist Deep State? - LewRockwell
The Federal Government is largely an unlawful crime machine, sucking the lifeblood out of the people [T2, T3].
Most politicians do not honor their Solemn Oath to the Constitution [T2].
The Coup of 1913 marked "the beginning of the end of the Constitutional Republic" [T2].
This reversed the roles of states and the federal government by funding the government through income taxes instead of tariffs [T2].
The Federal Government is mostly a "Gigantic Unlawful Crime Machine" [T2].
This machine is run by bureaucrats of the Administrative State, responsible for waste, fraud, and abuse [T2].
President Trump must implement specific, drastic policies to return the U.S. to a Constitutional Republic [T2].
These policies include terminating foreign aid, returning troops deployed on foreign soil, and terminating the Federal Reserve Bank [T2].
If President Trump refuses to implement key policy changes (terminating Foreign Aid, returning troops, etc.), he is assumed to be either part of the Zionist Jewish Lobby (Deep State) or controlled by them [T2].
The "Evil Ones in the Deep State" consist of both Jews and Gentiles in both political parties [T2].
IX. Is Donald Trump Intent Upon Imposing Martial Law in America? - LewRockwell
The Trump administration characterizes domestic political opponents, largely Democrats, as dangerous "enemies from within" [T2].
This rhetoric implies that these opponents warrant severe, potentially extrajudicial action [T2].
Trump described the "crazy lunatics" running the country as “more dangerous—the enemy from within—than Russia and China and other people” [T2].
He stated that when opponents are wearing a uniform, "you can take them out" [T2].
Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated that the Trump administration plans to use the same tactic against Antifa that it used against Venezuelan fishermen [T2].
This tactic is summarized as “murdering political enemies without arrest and due process” [T2].
X. North Korea Adopts Another Hypersonic Weapon, Outpacing Anything US Can Field - LewRockwell
North Korea is fielding advanced hypersonic weapons, outpacing anything the massive U.S. Military Industrial Complex (MIC) can field [T2, T3].
North Korea unveiled its newest hypersonic weapon, the “Hwasong-11Ma,” which carries a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) [T2].
HGVs maintain much flatter trajectories while maneuvering at hypersonic speeds, making them extremely difficult to detect and track [T2].
Existing missiles like the KN-23 already make interception based on calculating a ballistic flight path impossible [T2].
The "grossly overhyped and exorbitantly overpriced US-made MIM-104 ‘Patriot’ SAM/ABM systems are particularly vulnerable" to these weapons [T2].
The fact that North Korea, a small sanctioned country, can develop and field similar technologies is truly astonishing [T2].
XI. U.S. Relations With China Just Went Down the Tubes - LewRockwell
The U.S. imposition of sanctions and fees led China to unleash unprecedented, extraterritorial export controls on rare earth elements and critical technologies [T3].
This escalation threatens significant economic damage to the U.S. economy [T3].
China holds a near monopoly, controlling roughly 70% of the global supply of rare earth minerals and 90% of its processing [T2].
Rare earth metals are critical components in phones, televisions, and electric vehicles [T2].
President Trump reacted strongly by announcing a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports in response to China’s new rare earth export restrictions [T2].
If tariffs exceed 100%, many Chinese-made goods filling U.S. stores will cease to cross the Pacific, leading to price shocks [T2].
The trade war has severely impacted American farmers because China halted purchases of American soybeans [T2].
This loss of access to the world’s largest soybean market led China to shift its purchases to countries like Brazil and Argentina [T2].
XII. U.S.-China Trade War Reaches New Level - LewRockwell
China’s response to U.S. semiconductor export controls is a mirror image, providing China with de-facto veto power over multiple critical global supply chains [T2, T3].
This move is intended to discipline U.S. negotiators and push them toward free trade [T3].
Foreign entities must obtain Chinese export licenses before re-exporting products manufactured abroad if they contain Chinese rare earth materials comprising 0.1% or more of the product’s value [T2].
This gives China de-facto veto power over the entire advanced semiconductor supply chain [T2].
China issued four consecutive announcements imposing controls on critical areas beyond rare earths [T2].
These areas include high-performance batteries, battery materials like graphite anodes, and industrial diamonds and cutting tools [T2].
China is well prepared for escalation, as its total annual exports to the U.S. are around $500 billion, only 2.5% of its estimated $20 trillion GDP [T2].
The U.S. depends more on imports from China than China depends on exporting to the U.S. [T2].
XIII. "Pure EVIL and SATANIC!" MAGA Christians Turn on TRUMP! - The Disturbing Illusion
Good intentions can be easily exploited and manipulated, leading well-intentioned people to be deceived [T3].
The Milgram experiment demonstrated that over 65% of participants delivered what they believed was a fatal shock simply because an authority figure told them to [T3].
The Constitution was specifically created to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions [T3].
These intentions can be hijacked by "social engineers and psychological operators" [T3].
Critical thinking is essential to counteract the coming wave of deception, which is predicted to become worse when algorithms kick in and society becomes AI governed [T3].
Deception will reach a point where people won't be able to discern fundamental truths, such as whether something is the sky or grass [T3].
Trump administration is called "pure evil," "divisive," and "satanic" by previously devoted MAGA followers [T3].
The continued propagation and channeling of "boatloads of money into the pockets of big pharma" awakened the woman in the video [T3].
Trump is characterized as being "totally funded totally compromised by the Israeli government" [T3].
His immorality and corruption are cited as obvious, including his 15-year friendship with Jeffrey Epstein [T3].
Both "team blue" and "team red" are condemned as being filled with holes and steered by the "Zio International Banking Cartel" [T3].
The Democrats and Republicans are on the "same exact road heading in the same exact direction right off the cliff" [T3].
Voting itself is described as bowing down before the altar of government [T3].
A person who casts a vote is voting for 100% of what that politician represents, meaning every action, good or evil, will have the voter's name on it [T3].
XIV. "We will HUNT You DOWN!" Benny Johnson Pulls a ROBBIE PARKER in Political STUNT with the DOJ - The Disturbing Illusion
There is a stark difference between the immediate justice provided to political allies and the lack of justice for victims of high-profile crimes [T3].
Benny Johnson, a political rightist propagandist, received immediate justice from the DOJ after alleged threats [T3].
Johnson used the alleged threat to draw a political left-right division, broadly brushing the Democratic side as radical and violent [T3].
This is critiqued as a "false dichotomy," since both parties are run by the same corporate elitists and approve of violence [T3].
The policies implemented by the ruling class are framed as threats against the people, enforced through government coercion and theft [T3].
One cannot unite with people who want government-sanctioned gun violence against them, such as those who want to ban specific firearms [T3].
Attorney General Pam Bondi reinforced the idea of a targeted response, promising, "We are going to find you" and "these men behind me are going to hunt you down and find you" if one commits an act of violence or threat [T3].
This swift action is highlighted as being absent for victims of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal blackmail and pedophile crime ring [T3].
XV. As Kash Promotes Epstein Lies, Ghislaine Maxwell's Appeal, SCOTUS Denies - The Disturbing Illusion
The FBI and Justice Department are actively hiding, shielding, and protecting pedophiles involved in a massive international sex trafficking ring [T3].
This is potentially to ensure an FBI that is blindly loyal to Trump and his enforcers [T3].
Trump administration officials made inconsistent and deceptive statements regarding the Epstein case [T3].
FBI Director Cash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bonino repeatedly promoted the idea that damaging details were being withheld, but now they are the ones doing the withholding [T3].
Pam Bondi announced that there was no Epstein client list and no further documents were suitable for public release [T3].
This announcement caused "outrage from conspiracy theorists and Trump supporters" [T3].
Ghislaine Maxwell received special treatment, being moved to a minimum-security prison camp after being convicted and sentenced to 20 years [T3].
Her lawyer claimed she should have never been tried [T3].
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave an interview stating that Epstein was the "greatest black mailer ever," and that prominent men associated with him had "participated" [T3].
Attorney General Pam Bondi failed to interview Lutnick to obtain testimony about this "biggest coverup" [T3].
XVI. My POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY is "WRONG & SUCKS" Someone Said - The Disturbing Illusion
The core philosophical principle asserted is that "nobody's got the right to rule you" [T3].
Voting, defined as the act of asking somebody to rule you, is an "inherent absurdity" [T3].
Politicians are described not as leaders, but as "Rule making Psychopaths" [T3].
Their rules typically criminalize the innocent and reward the guilty [T3].
"Free men don't vote for their chains they Expose and break them" [T3].
This highlights a fundamental rejection of political authority and participation [T3].
XVII. No Honest MAGA Supporter Will Continue to Back TRUMP after Watching THIS! - The Disturbing Illusion
The economic collapse and currency devaluation experienced by Americans were directly caused by political decisions, specifically Donald Trump’s actions [T3].
Trump is accused of outright lies and deception regarding the economy, claiming prices are down and inflation is nonexistent [T3].
The current round of inflation and economic hardship is linked to the moment Donald Trump signed the CARES Act [T3].
This act ballooned into a potential $6.2 trillion bill and is characterized as the "biggest shot of economic terrorism" against the American people [T3].
Trump is reminded of his status as the "father of the VAX" and his continued promotion of the "clo shot" [T3].
His actions supported Big Pharma, which posted record profits due to his policies [T3].
Donald Trump dropped more bombs per day every day of his presidency (46 per day) than even Barack Obama (39 per day) [T3].
Every bomb dropped, every body blown apart, and every price increase is considered the voter’s fault because they supported the guy who brought it all about [T3].
The system of problem-creation is identified as the Hegelian dialectic (problem, reaction, solution) [T3].
Problems are created, fear-based reactions follow, and the pre-planned solution is introduced [T3].
XVIII. Sen. John Kennedy MERCILESSLY DRILLS Bondi over DOJ Spying and Epstein Revelations from Lutnik - The Disturbing Illusion
High-level government officials prioritize the protection of political elites and cover up massive criminal enterprises [T3].
This occurs while simultaneously trampling the privacy rights of citizens [T3].
Senator John Kennedy, described as a "welfare recipient political parasite," focused on criticizing the Biden-era DOJ for allegedly overreaching [T3].
The source suggests Kennedy’s public concern is more about "protecting members of Congress" than protecting regular Americans [T3].
Pam Bondi confirmed that obtaining a sitting senator's phone records requires a subpoena based on probable cause that a crime was committed [T3].
She was heavily criticized for failing to interview Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik about Epstein's blackmail network [T3].
XIX. This ALONE Proves ALL of POLITICS is a SCAM! - The Disturbing Illusion
The political primary process provides definitive proof that all politics is a scam [T3].
Initially, candidates spend vast sums trying to convince voters that their opponent within the same party is "corrupt and untrustworthy" [T3].
After a candidate loses the primary, they turn around and convince supporters that the person they just denounced is suddenly an "angel" that must be supported [T3].
This behavior proves that people need to wake up and realize that politics is evil and politicians are manipulative [T3].
XX. Trump's Admin Just Created ANTIFA Roundtable SELL OUT INFLUENCERS - The Disturbing Illusion
The government uses a contrived enemy (Antifa) to distract the public and justify the expansion of state power [T3].
The true threat is the government itself, which is the "most powerful well-funded highly organized criminal terrorist organization on American soil" [T3].
The Trump administration convened a White House-sanctioned Antifa roundtable, using the platform to pledge to bring the "full weight of the federal government to bear" against this enemy [T3].
The priorities of the roundtable are condemned because they ignored issues like mass surveillance, sound money, and the pedophile ring [T3].
The creation of Antifa as an enemy is framed as a function of the Hegelian dialectic (problem, reaction, solution) [T3].
The government creates or co-opts a problem, waits for the public's fear-based reaction, and then implements a pre-planned solution to increase its power [T3].
The ultimate consequence of calling for action against contrived enemies is tyranny [T3].
The true essence of tyranny is the "dutiful enforcement of all laws," and the more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws [T3].
The social media influencers who participated are criticized for their immediate submission and are expected never to criticize the nation of Israel and its influence on Washington [T3].
They are criticized for continuing to cover for an administration involved in the "most massive and shameful cover up of disgusting perversion" in human history [T3].
XXI. We're COOKED! All Americans Just Got ROYALLY Screwed! - The Disturbing Illusion
The TikTok divestment, masked as a move against China, was a geopolitical maneuver [T3].
The move transferred control of the platform’s algorithm to pro-Israel power players [T3].
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s leader, holds the keys to TikTok’s U.S. servers, data, and its algorithm [T3].
Ellison is portrayed as a "kingmaker" with deep, "almost obsessive ties" to Israel [T3].
The investor consortium acquiring 45% of TikTok U.S. is described as a "who's who of pro-Israel power players" [T3].
This includes the Murdochs and billionaire GOP donor Jeff Yass, tied to pro-Israel groups like AIPAC [T3].
The urgency for acquisition is linked to an "information war" because TikTok's algorithm was reportedly amplifying pro-Palestinian voices, especially among young Americans [T3].
Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly called the acquisition "the most important purchase going on right now" [T3].
The acquisition is intended to control the "digital soul of an entire generation," demonstrating that Americans merely traded one foreign influence for another [T3].
The source warns that the algorithm can be tweaked to bury pro-Palestine posts or boost pro-Israel narratives [T3].
I. Dramaturgical Analysis Of Social Interaction - A. Paul Hare and Herbert H. Blumberg (Continued)
The personal touch is relied upon in nearly every performance to exaggerate the uniqueness of transactions between performer and audience.
We feel disappointment when a friend talks intimately with another, whose spontaneous gestures of warmth we felt were our own preserve.
It is common knowledge that performers in positions of visible leadership are often merely figureheads.
They may be selected as a compromise or as a way of strategically concealing the power behind the6].
The most objective form of naked power, physical coercion, often functions as a display for persuading the audience.
It is often a means of communication, not merely a means of action.
The technical function and the dramatic function of presentation often coincide, as with prizefighters or surgeons.
These activities allow for so much dramatic self-expression that exemplary practitioners become famous and gain a special place in commercially organized fantasies.
When the performer is of highly sacred status, briefing the audience beforehand is necessary because the performer cannot trust himself to the spontaneous tact of the audience.
Women presented at court are carefully schooled beforehand as to what to wear and how to curtsy.
The audience must not acquire information that has been held back not because of its known strategic importance but because it is felt that it may someday acquire such importance.
An example of a destructive event is an unmeant gesture, which introduces information incompatible with the projected claims.
Team collusion involving staging cues is common in American shops.
Clerks commonly develop their own cues for handling the performance presented to the customer.
When a foreign language is employed by clerks, they may use it for secret communication.
This practice is also employed by parents who spell out words in front of young children.
The "T.O.-ing" (Turn-Over) of a customer to another salesman who takes the role of the manager is common in many retail establishments.
This is an illustration of teammate collusion.
The structural dilemmas of security and secrecy require a strategic compromise in communication systems.
If field officers are to make best use of military intelligence, the message must be quickly understandable without cumbersome equipment.
The logic of the aggressive interchange holds that if opponents succeed in making a successful parry and riposte, the aggressor loses face.
The tables can be turned, and the aggressor can lose more than he could have gained had his move won the point.
The final feelings of a desperately uncompromising person may be rehearsed in order to strike just the right note.
This is seen in suicide notes that show the final feelings were somewhat rehearsed.
The total activity of a given set of participants during the time they maintain a single moving focus of attention is the occasion of talk.
This unit consists of the total activity that occurs during the time that a given set of participants have accredited one another for talk.
This academic excerpt from Erving Goffman's Strategic Interaction defines and explores the concept of strategic interaction as a distinct sub-area of sociology, emphasizing its roots in game theory and its application to face-to-face encounters. Goffman seeks to analyze human dealings—such as calculated deception and veiled intentions—in "noncommunication terms," viewing mutual dealings as a series of calculated "expression games" between an observer and a subject. The text meticulously dissects the complex, recursive nature of assessment and counter-assessment, where players must gauge not only the other's moves and intentions but also the other's awareness of being observed, often demonstrating how even seemingly uncontrollable human expressions can be strategically manipulated. Ultimately, the piece argues for isolating strategic interaction from broader concepts like communication and social relationships to better understand its unique analytical structure, illustrated through detailed examples from espionage and everyday life.
Discuss Strategic interaction.
Strategic interaction refers to the calculative, gamelike aspects of mutual dealings between individuals or parties1.... This framework, which draws on game theory5..., isolates behavior motivated by assessment and calculation rather than spontaneous communication, suggesting that communication is of limited analytical significance in this domain2....
Defining Conditions and Core Concepts
Strategic interaction is defined by a specific set of circumstances and consequences:
1. Mutual Impingement and Fatefulness: Two or more parties must be in a well-structured situation of mutual impingement where each party must make a move9.... Every possible move carries fateful implications for all parties involved9.... When participants consciously orient themselves to this uncertainty, fateful situations are construed as chancy undertakings or practical gambles13.
2. Recursive Assessment: A crucial condition is that each player influences their own decision by knowing that the other players are likely trying to "dope out" their decision in advance9.... This mutual appreciation (or mutually assessed mutual assessment) is the nub of gaming15....
3. Moves: An exchange of moves based on this orientation constitutes strategic interaction12.... A move is a structured course of action available to a player which, when taken, objectively alters the situation of the participants1.... Decisions about moves are often made in the light of one's thoughts about the others' thoughts about oneself12....
4. Purpose: While often involving conflict (zero-sum game) where one party’s gain is balanced by another’s loss25..., strategic interaction can also occur when parties, like fellow-conspirators, seek to coordinate action, though restrictions on information still prevail20....
The framework emphasizes that interaction refers to a sequence of assessment, decision-making, initiating a course of action, and payoff28....
Roles and Player Attributes
The analysis of strategic interaction requires separating the entity pursuing an interest (the party) from the individual acting on its behalf (the player)31....
• Party: An entity with a unitary interest to promote31....
• Player (or Actor): An individual authorized to act for the party, using human intelligence to assess the situation and commit the party31....
• Gamesmanship: Players must possess specific attributes, sometimes referred to as gamesman qualities36.... These include the intellectual proclivity to assess all possible courses of action from the point of view of all contesting parties, setting aside personal feelings, and the ability to think and act under pressure without becoming either flustered or transparent36.... The ability and willingness to dissemble (conceal truth) about anything, including one's own capacities, are also essential36....
• Integrity: An important player attribute is integrity, defined as the strength of their propensity to remain loyal to a party and not act on behalf of competing interests, notably their own41.... If an issue of integrity cannot arise concerning an individual, they cannot truly function as a player, only as a resource44....
Strategic Interaction and Credibility
A central issue in strategic interaction is credibility—the ability of a player to convince others that their avowals (promises or threats) are genuine47....
• The Problem of Trust: Since words can always be faked, and players often have interests in lying, a fundamental difficulty arises: what grounds can players have for putting faith in mere words50...?
• Commitment as the Solution: The game-theoretical answer to this dilemma is commitment55.... A player backs up a stand by arranging to remove the possibility of altering the indicated course of action, or by linking adherence to the plan to overwhelmingly motivating payoffs55....
• Words vs. Evidence: In this context, words themselves are not what give weight to promises or threats58.... Instead, credit is given based on the objective appearance of persuasive evidence that a course of action has been irrevocably entered upon or linked to unavoidable motivation58.... Without arrangement for this evidence, game-relevant interaction may not be possible58....
Relationship to Expression Games
Strategic interaction is a broader concept that encompasses expression games62.... Expression games focus on the management of information and assessment6465:
• Definition: Expression games analyze situations where one must interpret the intentions of another when observable behavior may be unreliable66. They are a contest over assessment where information becomes strategic67.
• Focus: Expression games excise from strategic interaction the contingencies related to visibility and invisibility, concentrating on assessment and its management6465.
• Intelligence Context: The activities of intelligence agents and spies offer clear examples of strategic interaction1.... The work of intelligence organizations provides material on the playing of expression games, as the agent's chief weapon and vulnerability is often himself69....
• Moves in Expression Games: Basic moves include the unwitting move (action done heedlessly regarding impression management), the naive move (observer gleaning information from the unwitting move), the covering move (intentional effort by the subject to produce expressions that influence the observer), and the uncovering move (observer trying to pierce the apparent facts)73....
• Difference in Focus: While expression games are concerned only with managing a state of information, strategic interaction is concerned with structured courses of action that objectively alter the situation and affect the fate of the parties22.... A strategic move may provide information to the opponent but still be chosen because the objective gains outweigh the information cost22....
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Discuss Presentation of self.
The Presentation of Self is a central concept within the dramaturgical perspective on social interaction, focusing on the ways an individual attempts to manage the impressions they convey to others in everyday life1.... It is primarily associated with the foundational work of Erving Goffman5....
Core Concepts and Dynamics of Self Presentation
The presentation of self views an instance of social interaction as a performance910. Individuals are preoccupied with presenting an image of themselves to others (adopting a particular "style") while simultaneously trying to discover the "true selves" of those they are interacting with11....
1. Impression Management: The individual's primary interest is to control the conduct of others by influencing the definition of the situation that others form14. This control is achieved by expressing oneself in a way that provides the specific impression desired, which then leads others to act voluntarily in accordance with the performer’s own plan15.... Goffman's analysis of the presentation of self is often related to "strategic interaction," which focuses on the calculative, game-like aspects of mutual dealings6....
2. The Working Consensus: When people interact, their individual projections of the situation must be sufficiently synchronized to avoid open contradiction20. This results in a "working consensus," which is not necessarily a real agreement based on candid evaluations, but rather a temporary acceptance where each participant suppresses immediate feelings and conveys a view acceptable to the others20....
3. Components of the Performance: The presentation of self requires the performer to draw upon expressive equipment called the "front," which regularly and fixedly functions to define the situation for the audience23. The front includes:
◦ Setting: The fixed sign-equipment (scenery)23.
◦ Appearance: Stimuli conveying the performer's social statuses (e.g., clothing, age, racial characteristics)2425.
◦ Manner: Stimuli warning the audience of the interaction role the performer expects to play (e.g., haughty, meek)25.
4. Dramaturgical Realization and Idealization: Performers typically infuse their activity with signs that dramatically highlight and portray confirmatory facts that might otherwise be obscure26. This is known as dramatic realization26. The performance tends to present an idealized view of the individual and their situation, often accentuating certain facts while concealing others27.... This idealization means the performance will tend to exemplify the formally accredited values of the society, often more so than the individual's overall behavior31.
Face Work and the Moral Nature of Self
A core mechanism regulating the presentation of self is face work, defined as the actions taken by a person to make whatever they are doing consistent with face132.
• Face: Face is the positive social value a person effectively claims for themselves by the line (pattern of acts) others assume they have taken during a contact33. It is an image of self defined by approved social attributes and is diffusely located in the flow of events in the encounter3334.
• The Stance of Distrust: Goffman suggests that the basic approach between individuals is one of distrust because each person is attempting to save their own face1335. Harré further suggests that the "pursuit of reputation in the eyes of others is the overriding preoccupation of human life"35.
• Moral Demand: When an individual projects a definition of the situation, they automatically exert a moral demand upon others, obliging them to value and treat the performer appropriately for the kind of person they claim to be36.
• Face Work Processes: Face work consists of two main categories of actions:
1. Avoidance Processes: Actions taken to avoid situations or actions that would lead to a loss of face, sometimes involving the use of go-betweens or general discretion37....
2. Corrective Processes: Actions taken to make amends for a breach of conduct, such as giving presents or saying "excuse me"37....
• Embarrassment: This feeling arises when an individual fails to act as they ought to, given the social identities and the setting42. Embarrassment symptoms (blushing, stuttering, fidgeting) are signs of nervousness that the individual attempts to conceal, often by using fixed smiles or nervous gestures to create a "screen to hide behind"4344. The state of embarrassment itself can be viewed as a transitory social role that provides a transition from one self-presentation to another4546.
The Self as a Dramaturgical Effect
The dramaturgical view suggests that the self is not an independent, internal entity, but rather a product of social interaction4748.
• Self as Personal Role: The self that is presented is, in effect, a personal role4549.
• Performer vs. Character: The individual is implicitly divided into two parts: the performer (the harried fabricator of impressions) and the character (the figure whose qualities the performance evokes)50. The character is often equated with the self51.
• Imputed Identity: The "self as a performed character" is a dramatic effect that arises diffusely from a scene that comes off, and is imputed by the audience, rather than deriving intrinsically from the possessor5152. The crucial concern is whether this self will be credited or discredited52.
Challenges and Constraints in Presentation
The performer faces inherent challenges in maintaining a convincing front, which often requires self-monitoring and concealing inconvenient truths.
• Self-Monitoring (Actor, Director, Critic): Throughout the performance, the individual must serve simultaneously as actor, director, critic, and audience member to monitor and adjust the performance in real-time14....
• Expression vs. Communication: Individuals exude expressions (signs and marks naturally produced, often involuntary) and transmit communications (intentional use of language to transmit information)54.... Others often use uncontrollable expressions, especially nonverbal behavior, as a check upon the validity of governable verbal communications, creating an asymmetry in the communication process5960.
• Concealment: Performers tend to conceal or underplay activities, facts, and motives that are incompatible with their idealized image2930. This includes hiding the preparations and mistakes made backstage, the sacrifices or indignities required to attain the role, and the informal methods used to solve problems6162.
• Preoccupation and Trust: Social encounters function as expression games where the subject (informant) attempts to control the expressions that the observer will glean6364. The pervasive nature of presentation means that even in "warmer circles of social life" (like friendships or marriages), adults may find themselves doubting expressions of relationships or suspecting that something is being doubted6566.
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Discuss Actors and roles.
The analysis of actors and roles is central to the dramaturgical perspective12. This perspective views social interaction as a performance where individuals adopt specific parts, often drawing on models from the theater3.
The Actor and the Role
An actor is generally defined as an individual who plays a part in a performance45. In sociological terms, they are referred to as the agent6. In the context of strategic interaction, the agent is specifically called a player78.
A role is fundamentally a set of expectations for a part played in a performance9.
The Self and Role Enactment
A core concept in dramaturgical analysis is the relationship between the self and the role1011.
• The representation of an actor includes two nested circles: an outer circle for the role and an inner circle for the self1213. The self represents the individual behavioral characteristics, personality, and identity that a person brings to the role14....
• Interpersonal behavior is viewed as a combination of the expectations of the role modified or enhanced by the individual tendencies of the personality17....
• The self-role merger—the extent to which the self and the role merge—is a significant area of study20....
• Actors not only respond to situations but also mould and create them23. Throughout their presentation, they must act, direct the performance, and take the role of critic and audience2425.
Evaluating Role Enactment
Role enactment (or social interaction) acts as the bridge between the individual and the group26. Theodore Sarbin suggests that a complete analysis of a role should consider its appropriateness, propriety, and convincingness2728:
1. Appropriateness: Whether the conduct fits the social position and takes the ecological context (setting) into account (i.e., selecting the correct role)27.
2. Propriety: Whether the behavior meets normative standards, evaluating it as good or bad27.
3. Convincingness: Whether the enactment unequivocally leads the observer to believe the incumbent is legitimately occupying the position29.
Furthermore, enactment can be analyzed along three dimensions: the number of roles played by an individual, the organismic involvement (effort put into the role), and preemptiveness (the relative amount of time spent in the role)21....
Role Dynamics and Change
Social roles are not static; they change through predictable phases31:
• Warm-up: The initial period of intellectual and physical preparation to reach the required skill level3233.
• Enactment: The main phase, involving spontaneity and creativity3435.
• Deroling: The process of moving out of one role before taking up another, which can be instantaneous or occur over a long period236.
• Role Conserve: The new understanding of the role that results from the previous enactment937.
If a person remains in a stressful role for too long, they may experience role fatigue, defined as a loss of energy available for performance3839.
Emotions can also be understood as transitory social roles40.... They serve as a temporary role (like anger or pity) that allows a person to transition when a marked change in the situation requires a sudden shift of roles39.
Dramaturgical Roles
In any enactment, multiple distinct roles exist, though one person may play several roles, and several people may share the same role43.
Creative and Directing Roles
The production is guided by key offstage and backstage roles444:
• Playwright: Provides the actable idea (image, theme, plot, or script) that guides the interaction1545. The playwright can introduce the highest level of creativity46.
• Director: Provides the interpretation for the script, rehearses the actors, and gives cues during the performance247. They may also be responsible for allocating the parts and ensuring the performance goes smoothly48.
• Producer: Provides the backing (e.g., funding) and overall guidelines for action4950.
• Backstage Staff: Arranges the setting, costumes, props, and makeup4551.
Performing Roles
The main action involves the performance team and the audience:
• Protagonist: The principal actor who is the theme carrier of the moment15.... The protagonist is the hero in tragedies and melodramas1353.
• Antagonist: The actor who opposes the idea of the protagonist, acting as the villain5....
• Auxiliary Player: Supports the protagonist or antagonist4554.
• Chorus: A set of auxiliary players who concentrate the spectators' emotions on themes or serve as an emotional sounding board10....
• Audience: Those who observe the performance54. The audience may include other actors or even the self (the "Me" acts as an inner audience observing the "I")56.... The audience provides consensual reality (validation for the enactment) and cues to guide the performance59....
Discrepant Roles
Social interaction often involves discrepant roles—individuals whose function, information, or access to regions is unexpected62. These roles complicate impression management:
• Informer/Spy: Pretends to be a team member, gains destructive information, and sells out the show to the audience63.
• Shill: Appears to be an ordinary audience member but uses their sophistication to help the performing team6465.
• Spotter: Works on behalf of the audience (or public) to check the standards performers maintain6667.
• Go-between/Mediator: Learns the secrets of opposing sides but gives each side the (false) impression of greater loyalty to them. They may translate differences into more acceptable views6869.
• Non-person: Present during the interaction (e.g., servants, the very young, or technical personnel) but are treated as if they were not there7071.
Roles in Strategic Interaction
Strategic interaction focuses on the calculative, gamelike aspects of mutual dealings7273.
Player Functions (Game Resources)
Within this framework, the individual is seen as a game-relevant resource for the party74:
1. Player: The individual authorized by the party to make assessments and commit the party to a selected course of action78.
2. Informant: The individual serving as a source of information for others' assessments7475.
3. Pawn/Token: The individual who functions as an object of concern or value7677.
Roles in Expression Games
Expression games are contests over assessment where one must interpret the intentions of another when observable behavior may be unreliable7879. They involve two functionally differentiated roles8081:
• Observer (Interrogator): The individual seeking valid information by assessing the subject's expressions8283. The observer may use an uncovering move (trying to pierce apparent facts)84.
• Subject (Informant): The individual attempting a control move—the intentional effort to produce expressions that improve his situation if gleaned by the observer8485.
The strategic approach emphasizes that interaction involves a sequence of assessment, decision-making, initiating a course of action, and payoff86.... Communication, in the narrow sense, is often of limited analytical significance in this domain, as attention must be paid primarily to expressions rather than mere words73....
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Discuss Audience functions.
The concept of the audience is foundational to the dramaturgical perspective, referring to persons who observe a performance directly or whose opinions are important for the actors1. In fact, even if no other actor or audience member is physically present, all social behavior is performed with some idea of the expectations of one or more reference groups in mind2.
The primary functions of the audience extend far beyond mere passive viewing; they are essential collaborators in shaping and maintaining the reality of the performance.
Four Functions of an Audience
Theodore Sarbin summarizes four core aspects of the functions provided by an audience:
1. Consensual Reality: The audience provides validation for the enactment by accepting a role performance as appropriate3. By their acceptance, the observers publicly confirm the reality of the role, thereby creating social reality. For example, the role of a doctor is validated when a medical student performs in front of an audience of medical school staff members34.
2. Cueing: The audience provides a discriminative response that guides the performer’s role enactment34. For instance, quizzical expressions from the audience signal that the role behavior is ambiguous. Cues can also control the pace or intensity of an enactment or "cue in" an actor concerning the most desired or effective course of behavior5.
3. Social Reinforcement: The audience demonstrates approval or disapproval of role behavior56. In everyday life, subtle techniques are commonly used to express approval or censure, whereas in a staged performance, applause or boos are used5.
4. Continual Observation: By continually observing an enactment, the audience contributes to the maintenance of role behavior over time4.... If an actor wishes to change a role, they often find it necessary to escape from the previous audience that helped maintain and sustain the old role enactment7.
Types of Audiences
The audience is not a monolithic entity and can be categorized based on its physical presence and role involvement:
• Physically Present Audience (The Onlooker and the Theatergoer): Goffman distinguishes between two aspects of a physically present audience member:
◦ The onlooker collaborates in the unreality of the staged event by sympathetically and vicariously participating in the symbolic world created by the actors9.... Laughter in response to effective comedy is an example of onlooker behavior12.
◦ The theatergoer carries out real-world activity necessary to attend the event (making reservations, paying, responding to the curtain call)9.... Laughter greeting an actor who misses a line (a "slip") is an example of the theatergoer role12.
• The Internal Audience: An individual's behavior is guided by an audience that may only be present in the actor's mind814. This mental audience includes:
◦ Reference Groups: Sets of persons, real or imagined, whose opinions are important for an actor and guide their performance8....
◦ The "Me": This part of the self (identified by Mead) serves as an inner audience, providing the conscience or inner criticism that is capable of criticizing and restraining the "I"1014.
• The Co-Actor as Audience: Nonparticipating individuals involved in the action can be maneuvered into acting as an audience, such as guests at a dinner party serving as an audience for someone telling an anecdote1718. Even if there is no external audience, the actors are themselves an audience for their own and others' actions2.
• Proximal and Distal Spectators: In crowd behavior, proximal spectators are those physically co-present participants whose major activity is watching the performers1920. Distal spectators (or bystander public) are a diffuse collectivity who monitor the event indirectly (often via media) and influence the event's career and outcome by registering their views with officials or the press2122.
Audience Influence on the Performance
The audience is often structurally necessary for the interaction to occur or to take a specific shape:
• Defining the Stage: Observations suggest that the audience, more than the main task performers, often defines the stage or the area in which the enactment takes place23. The audience's presence can be "structurally essential" to the event23.
• Cooperation and Tact: The audience plays a vital role in enabling the presentation of self. They suppress immediate feelings, conveying a view acceptable to the performer to reach a "working consensus"24. The capacity of an audience to suppress critical reactions is called tact2526.
• Maintaining the Illusion: The audience actively participates in maintaining the illusion by voluntarily staying away from back regions2728. They recognize that knowing too much about the preparations and secrets of the performance would dilute the meaning of the show and lead to disenchantment29.
The relationship between the performers and the audience is often used to classify the nature of the social event itself. Events range on a continuum from those that are real (having an actual function to perform) to those that are symbolic (intended to give meaning beyond the actual behavior)3031. A stage play, for example, is at one extreme, requiring an audience and having symbolic role relationships; at the other extreme is a family or work group, focusing on a real task with no formal audience3132.
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Discuss Actable idea.
The "actable idea" is a foundational concept in the dramaturgical perspective, serving as the starting point for any instance of social interaction viewed as a performance12.
Definition and Function
An actable idea is the initial concept or framework that provides a basis for individual or group action23. It guides the action that will unfold within a given situation1.
The concept of the actable idea is drawn from the vocabulary used in training directors of psychodrama4. In psychodrama, the director seeks the actable idea to enable an individual (the protagonist) to set the scene, choose auxiliary players, and reveal the problem in action rather than through continued description45. This highlights the basic assumption in social psychology that social interaction is organized around some idea5.
Aspects of the Actable Idea
According to Burke, the idea that becomes the focus of action has three aspects67:
1. Agency (Means): The methods or means employed to carry out the act67.
2. Purpose: The goal or objective of the action67. Burns suggests that the purpose often involves some attempt to control others8.
3. Attitude: An ambiguous term for incipient action67.
Burns suggests that any actable idea has two main aspects: purpose (an attempt to control others) and mode (a way of defining the situation that others will accept)8.
The Continuum of Actable Ideas
Actable ideas can be placed along a continuum ranging from those that are relatively simple and vague to those that are complex and provide detailed descriptions of the roles to be played89. This continuum includes four categories: image, theme, plot, and script2....
Category
Description
Characteristics
Contexts
1. Image
A single image that has the program for action packed into it, much like a symbol in a dream10.
Relatively simple, vague, and emotionally loaded89.
More likely to guide a small informal group10.
2. Theme
A suggestion of movement over time, similar to a musical score11.
Includes both a direction of movement, with emotional tone, and a minimal set of roles to be enacted911.
Often found in instances of collective behavior, such as panic-stricken, riotous, or ecstatic crowds11.
3. Plot
A more detailed scenario12.
Provides more definition of roles to be followed and indicates the stages a group must go through to reach a goal911.
Characteristic of social movements formed to fight injustice, or the instructions given in a social psychology experiment11. Examples include a typical terrorist action13 or the staged departure ceremonies in the Jaffna community of Sri Lanka14.
4. Script
The most complete set of directions for social behavior15.
The roles of each actor are specified as the play develops through a series of acts915.
Guides interaction in formal organizations like a factory, where behavior is highly structured1015. Berne and Steiner suggest that fixed interaction patterns of persons can be considered "life scripts"15.
In addition to these categories, the actable idea can be as simple as a stereotype of another person or group, or the attribution of causality to a particular person or event8.
Phases of a Drama and the Actable Idea
Developing the actable idea is the first phase in the five-phase process of a dramatic production716. The phases are:
1. The actable idea (in the form of an image, theme, plot, or script)7....
2. Selection of the stage or action area717.
3. Recruitment of actors and training for roles717.
4. The enactment (the performance itself)717.
5. New definition of the situation (or new meanings) for actors and audience after the action717.
The actable idea, along with the action area and actors/roles, constitutes the preenactment phases of a social drama1920.
The Actable Idea as "Pre-Text"
The actable idea is frequently available to group members in the form of a "pre-text," providing a set of roles appropriate for the situation221.
• The pre-text refers to the conceptions of set role relationships individuals bring with them that are appropriate for enacting for each type of idea2122. It is analogous to the written script of a theatrical drama21.
• The actual staged performance is designated as the text21.
• The pre-text acts as a guide for action, but requires interpretation by the actors21.
• After each enactment, the pre-text may be rewritten based on the experience gained2223.
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Erving Goffman's Interaction Ritual explores the ceremonial and ritualistic nature of face-to-face social behavior, introducing the core concepts of "face," "deference," and "demeanor." Face is presented as the public image or self-construct a person maintains, which is emotionally "cathected," meaning people are deeply invested in sustaining it and feel consequences when it is threatened. The text examines "face-work" as the tacit, cooperative effort required to maintain this delicate social equilibrium, often involving politeness and avoidance of potential threats like faux pas. Furthermore, Goffman expands his analysis to the idea of "action"—situations, often problematic and consequential like gambling or dangerous sports, where individuals intentionally take "calculated risks" to demonstrate "strong character" such as courage and composure, revealing how moral worth is established and validated in social encounters.
Interaction ritual
Face-to-face behavior
Deference and demeanor
Discuss Interaction ritual.
The concept of "Interaction Ritual" originates from the book of the same name by Erving Goffman, which comprises essays on face-to-face behavior12. This framework provides a sociological perspective on the patterned, often ritualistic nature of encounters between people who are mutually present3....
Goffman's analysis of interaction ritual is foundational to the study of social organization in immediate settings, focusing on the maintenance of a normative and expressive order46.
The Scope and Focus of Interaction Ritual
The study of interaction ritual concerns the class of events that occur during co-presence and by virtue of co-presence3. This field, also advocated as a "sociology of occasions," examines the organization of the co-mingling of persons and the temporary interactional enterprises that arise from it4.
Key characteristics and focus points of this study include:
1. Materials: The ultimate behavioral materials are the "small behaviors" continuously fed into the situation, whether intended or not, such as glances, gestures, positionings, and verbal statements3.
2. Units of Analysis: The objective is to describe the natural units of interaction, ranging from fleeting facial movements to larger affairs like week-long conferences6. A goal is to uncover the normative order prevailing within and between these units, which is found in all "peopled places"6.
3. The Actor and the Moment: The proper focus is not the individual and their psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present7. The analytical attention is directed toward the moments and their requirements, rather than the individuals ("moments and their men")8. A stripped-down model of the actor is sought—one adequate to anticipate orderly traffic of behavior9.
Face-Work and the Interchange
A core ritual element in social interaction is face-work, which is analyzed extensively in one of the volume's key essays, "On Face-Work"28.
1. The Concept of Face
Face is defined as a pattern of verbal and nonverbal acts through which a person expresses their view of the situation and their evaluation of the participants, especially themselves8. A person's face is not lodged on their body but is diffusely located in the flow of events in the encounter10.
• Emotional Attachment: Individuals experience an immediate emotional response to the face contact allows them; they "cathect" their face11.
• Social Loan: A person's social face is only "on loan" to them from society; it is contingent upon conducting oneself in a way that is worthy of it12.
• Maintaining Face: Face-work designates actions taken to keep conduct consistent with face13. It serves to counteract "incidents" (events whose symbolic implications threaten face)13. Poise, controlling one's embarrassment, is a critical type of face-work13.
• Mutual Preservation: The combined effect of the rule of self-respect and the rule of considerateness leads participants to conduct themselves so as to maintain both their own face and the face of others14. This establishes a basic structural feature of interaction known as a "working acceptance" of everyone else's presented line14.
2. The Corrective Process and the Interchange
Since a person's face is considered a sacred thing, the expressive order required to sustain it is a ritual one15. When an event occurs that is expressively incompatible with the judgments of social worth being maintained, and it cannot be overlooked, participants engage in a corrective process to re-establish a satisfactory ritual state15.
The sequence of acts initiated by an acknowledged threat to face is called an interchange1617. This is considered a basic concrete unit of social activity involving multiple moves and participants17.
The classic moves involved in a corrective interchange are:
1. The Challenge: Participants call attention to the misconduct, suggesting that the threatened claims should stand firm18.
2. The Offering: Typically made by the offender, offering a chance to correct the offense, perhaps by claiming the act was unintentional, a joke, or due to extenuating circumstances18. The offender may also provide self-punishment or compensation to the injured party, thereby showing adherence to the ritual code19.
3. The Acceptance: The offended parties accept the offering as a satisfactory means of re-establishing expressive order20.
4. Thanks: The forgiven person conveys a sign of gratitude21.
Emotions like anguish or anger are viewed not as irrational outbursts but as "moves" that fit precisely into the logic of this ritual game22.
Deference and Demeanor
Interaction rituals organize conduct through ceremonial rules, which in modern society are incorporated into etiquette23. Goffman identifies two basic components of ceremonial activity: deference and demeanor2425.
1. Deference: The component of activity that functions as a symbolic means to regularly convey appreciation to a recipient24. Deference typically includes a sentiment of regard (often honorific) and a promise or pledge to treat the recipient in a particular appropriate way2627.
◦ Avoidance Rituals: Forms of deference characterized by proscriptions, interdictions, and taboos, requiring the actor to maintain distance from the recipient (e.g., refraining from inappropriate verbal topics or physical contact)28....
◦ Presentational Rituals: Acts specifying what must be done to attest appreciation (e.g., salutations, invitations, compliments, and minor services)30....
◦ Dialectic: Social intercourse involves a "constant dialectic" between presentational rituals (communion) and avoidance rituals (respecting personal boundaries), held in peculiar tension2530.
2. Demeanor: The expressive component of the individual's conduct, referring to attributes such as dignity, self-control, poise, and honor3334. Through proper demeanor, the individual creates a favorable image of self for others33.
3. Relationship: Deference (what is shown to others) and demeanor (how one presents oneself) overlap empirically, as performing an act of deference (e.g., offering a chair) can be done with either aplomb or clumsiness, thereby expressing one's demeanor35. They often stand in a complementary relationship: by treating others deferentially, one gives them the opportunity to handle the indulgence with good demeanor36.
The Ritual Order and the Sacred Self
The ritual framework is a fundamental social constraint1237. The rules of conduct mobilize individuals as self-regulating participants in social encounters37.
• The Sacred Self: The person in the urban secular world is accorded a kind of sacredness, displayed and confirmed by symbolic acts5. The self is a ceremonial thing, a sacred object that must be treated with proper ritual care and presented in a proper light to others38.
• Socialization: By acquiring "universal human nature"—traits like perceptiveness, pride, honor, dignity, and tact—an individual becomes a "ritually delicate object" required to adhere to moral rules impressed from without37....
• Orderly Interaction: The person's constant orientation to face ("If I do or do not act in this way, will I or others lose face?") guides their behavior, and in doing so, they inadvertently contribute to the prevailing expressive order and the orderly flow of messages4142. The aim is to save face; the effect is to save the situation42.
Disruptions of Ritual
When the requirements of interaction ritual are not met, the social order can become disorganized:
• Embarrassment: An event that discredits the projected claims of a participant throws the encounter into confused assumptions, leading to feelings of shame, hostility, and being "ill at ease"4344. The loss of composure (flustering) disqualifies the individual as a competent interactant and threatens the jointly sustained world4546.
• Alienation/Misinvolvement: When spontaneous involvement in the central focus of attention is obligatory but fails to materialize, the participants become uneasy4748. This misbehavior, known as "misinvolvement," can take the form of external preoccupation, self-consciousness, interaction-consciousness, or other-consciousness4950.
• Consequences of Failure: If spontaneous involvement is threatened and the disturbance is not checked, the illusion of reality will be shattered, the minute social system of the encounter will be disorganized, and the participants may feel "unruled, unreal, and anomic"51.
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Discuss Face-to-face behavior.
The study of face-to-face behavior examines the class of events that occur during co-presence and by virtue of co-presence1. It is a field concerned with a brief time span, a limited extension in space, and events that must proceed to completion once they have begun2. The ultimate materials for analysis are the "small behaviors" such as glances, gestures, positionings, and verbal statements that people continuously supply, whether intended or not1. These observable behaviors are the external signs of orientation and involvement1.
The framework for analyzing face-to-face behavior rests on sociological concepts of ritual, self, and normative structure34.
The Ritual Order: Face, Deference, and Demeanor
Face-to-face interaction is fundamentally organized by a ritual order5. Central to this structure is the concept of face, which is defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line (a pattern of verbal and nonverbal acts) others assume he has taken during a particular contact67. Face is an image of self delineated in terms of approved social attributes7.
To maintain face, a person's presented image must be internally consistent, supported by the judgments of others, and confirmed by impersonal agencies in the situation8. When a person senses he is in face, he typically feels confidence and assurance9. When a person is in wrong face (information cannot be integrated into the line being sustained for him) or out of face (participating without a ready line), he is likely to feel ashamed or embarrassed910.
The activities performed to uphold this ritual standard are categorized as:
1. Face-work: Actions taken by an individual to make whatever he is doing consistent with face11. Face-work often involves a defensive orientation toward saving one's own face and a protective orientation toward saving the others' face12. This often leads to a mutual acceptance of lines, a basic structural feature of interaction, although this acceptance is typically a "working" one rather than a "real" agreement based on deeply held beliefs13.
◦ One key type of face-work is poise, referring to the capacity to suppress and conceal any tendency to become shamefaced during encounters1114.
◦ Face-work includes avoidance processes (keeping off sensitive topics, hedging claims, showing discretion) and the corrective process5....
2. Deference and Demeanor: These are two basic components of ceremonial behavior18.
◦ Deference refers to activities that symbolically convey appreciation to a recipient19. This involves:
▪ Avoidance rituals: Forms of deference that require the actor to maintain distance from the recipient, respecting their "ideal sphere" or inviolability20....
▪ Presentational rituals: Acts through which appreciation is specifically attested, such as salutations, compliments, invitations, and minor services2324.
◦ Demeanor is the expressive element conveyed through deportment, dress, and bearing, which communicates that the individual is a person of desirable qualities, such as discretion, self-control, poise under pressure, and dignity25. Good demeanor is crucial, as it is required for an actor to be relied upon to maintain himself as a competent interactant26.
The Dynamics of Face-to-Face Interaction
The underlying normative order of society requires members to be "self-regulating participants in social encounters"3.
Units of Interaction
Face-to-face interactions are organized into specific units27. A gathering is any set of two or more individuals who are in one another's immediate presence28. When they mutually ratify each other for talk, they are in an encounter or engagement, also called a state of talk2829. The larger temporal and spatial unit that sets the tone for events within it is the social occasion30.
When a potentially threatening expressive event occurs that is difficult to overlook, participants may give it official status as an "incident" and initiate the corrective process, a sequence of acts aimed at restoring ritual equilibrium, which Goffman calls an interchange531. A classic corrective interchange involves four moves: the challenge, the offering, the acceptance, and the sign of gratitude (thanks)32....
Spoken Interaction
Spoken interaction is guided by conventions and procedural rules that organize the flow of messages29. Individuals enter a state of talk through specific gestures of reciprocal ratification29 and maintain a single focus of thought and visual attention35.
The organization of talk is functionally related to the structure of the self36. By automatically appealing to face, the socialized interactant knows how to conduct himself in regard to talk, ensuring that the appearance of mutual approval is sustained by means of discretion and white lies36. The aim is to save face; the effect is to save the situation and contribute to the orderly flow of messages37.
Disruption and Alienation
All encounters, whether trivial or crucial, are occasions where the individual can become spontaneously involved and derive a firm sense of reality, but they are also susceptible to disruption38. When a situation breaks down, the participants feel awkward, flustered, and "out of countenance"—a state of anomie generated when the minute social system collapses3940.
Embarrassment is a core disruptive element, arising when expressive facts discredit the assumptions a participant has projected about their identity3941.
Alienation from interaction (misinvolvement) occurs when individuals cannot sustain spontaneous involvement in the official topic of conversation4243. Forms of alienation include:
• Self-consciousness: Focusing attention improperly upon oneself as an interactant4445.
• Interaction-consciousness: Becoming overly concerned with how the interaction process is proceeding46.
• Other-consciousness: Being distracted by another participant as an object of attention (e.g., due to perceived affectation or over-involvement)4748.
The Strategic Dimension
While interaction ritual focuses on normative order, strategic analysis addresses the calculative, gamelike aspects of mutual dealings, termed strategic interaction49.... This perspective views face-to-face dealings as situations involving mutual independence, where the actions of one party partially determine the actions available to the other52.
A central point of strategic analysis is that face-to-face conduct is never merely and not always a form of communication53.... Often, what is perceived as communication is, in actuality, assessment52....
In this framework, participants act as observers attempting to gain valid information and subjects managing expressions5859. The subject utilizes control moves—intentional efforts to produce expressions that favorably influence the observer's assessment6061. This involves impression management6263, where the subject takes the attitude of the observer to calculate the best way to control the response of the person making the assessment62.
Even when verbal communication is used, the information seeker must attend to expressions (paralinguistic cues, facial gestures, intonation, style) to determine the intended framing (e.g., seriously, sarcastically) and thereby how to take what he is told64.... The expressive aspect of behavior can serve as a check upon the validity of what is conveyed by the more governable (verbal) aspects68.
Overall, face-to-face behavior is an arena of conduct69. While standards of sincerity and candor apply, conduct is primarily judged on suitability, requiring obligations such as showing sympathy and tact, regardless of one's true feelings70.... The possibility of affecting reputation is a constant spur in these dealings7374.
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Discuss Deference and demeanor.
The concepts of deference and demeanor are central to Erving Goffman's analysis of interaction ritual, as detailed in the essay "The Nature of Deference and Demeanor"12. Goffman utilizes these terms to explore how individuals in face-to-face encounters express and confirm a sense of sacredness surrounding the person, drawing on a sociological perspective inspired by Durkheim34.
Deference and demeanor represent the two basic ceremonial components of concrete behavior in social interaction56.
The Conceptual Framework
Goffman aims to build a conceptual scaffold using common anthropological terms to support the concepts of deference and demeanor, arguing that a modern version of Durkheim's social psychology can be effective in analyzing social life4. The analysis of conduct is guided by rules of conduct, which are norms adhered to because they are considered suitable or just, rather than pleasant or effective7.
These rules impinge on the individual in two ways:
1. Obligations: How the individual is morally constrained to conduct himself8.
2. Expectations: How others are morally bound to act in regard to him8.
When an individual becomes involved in maintaining a rule, they become committed to a particular image of self—as the sort of person who follows the rule (obligation) or the sort of person who should be treated in a certain way (expectation)9. A rule-governed act is thus a communication that confirms the selves of the participants10.
The discussion of deference and demeanor focuses specifically on ceremonial rules, which guide conduct in matters that have primary importance as a conventionalized means of communication by which an individual expresses his character or conveys his appreciation of others11. This ceremonial code is incorporated into what society calls etiquette12.
Deference: Appreciation Conveyed to a Recipient
Deference is defined as the component of activity that functions as a symbolic means by which appreciation is regularly conveyed to a recipient of this recipient, or of something of which the recipient is taken as a symbol, extension, or agent5. These symbolic acts, often called "status rituals" or "interpersonal rituals," celebrate and confirm the actor's relationship to the recipient13.
Deference includes two main forms:
1. Avoidance Rituals
These rituals lead the actor to keep a distance from the recipient and not violate the recipient's "ideal sphere" or inviolability1415. Avoidance rituals consist of specific proscriptions, interdictions, and taboos (negative rites)1617.
• Familiarity vs. Respect: Where an actor need show no concern about penetrating the recipient's personal reserve, the terms are those of familiarity (e.g., a mother picking her child's nose). Where circumspection is required, the terms are of nonfamiliarity or respect18.
• Asymmetrical Avoidance: Between superordinate and subordinate, relations are often asymmetrical; the superordinate may exercise certain familiarities that the subordinate cannot reciprocate. For example, doctors may call nurses by their first names, but nurses use formal address in return19.
• Referential Avoidance: A crucial focus of deferential avoidance is the verbal care actors must exercise so as not to discuss matters that might be painful, embarrassing, or humiliating to the recipient, thereby violating their "intellectual private-property"2021.
2. Presentational Rituals
These rituals encompass acts through which the individual makes specific attestations to recipients, conveying how they regard them and how they will treat them in the upcoming interaction16. Presentational rituals involve specific prescriptions (positive rites)1617. Examples include:
• Salutations and Greetings: Exchanged when members pass each other, reflecting proper respect for the state of relatedness22.
• Compliments: "Noticing" changes in appearance, status, or repute to underwrite the recipient's implied self-commitment23.
• Invitations and Minor Services: Telling the recipient they are not an island unto themselves and others are involved with their personal concerns2425.
• Pledges: Acts of deference typically contain a promise, affirming that the recipient's expectations and obligations will be allowed and supported by the actor, thus maintaining the recipient's conception of self26.
The Dialectic of Deference
An inherent opposition and conflict exists between avoidance rituals and presentational rituals17. For instance, asking about an individual's affairs (presentational deference) shows sympathetic concern, but also invades their personal reserve (violating avoidance deference)17. Social intercourse thus involves a constant dialectic between these two types, requiring a peculiar tension where gestures carrying the actor to the recipient must also signify that things will not be carried too far6.
Demeanor: Character Expressed by the Actor
Demeanor refers to the element of the individual's ceremonial behavior, conveyed through deportment, dress, and bearing, which serves to express to those present that he is a person of certain desirable or undesirable qualities27.
Desirable qualities conveyed through proper demeanor in Anglo-American society include:
• Discretion and sincerity27.
• Modesty in claims regarding self27.
• Sportsmanship27.
• Command of speech and physical movements27.
• Self-control over emotions, appetites, and desires (poise)2728.
Good demeanor is seen as reflecting "character training" or "socialization" and signifies that the actor can be relied upon to maintain himself as a capable interactant, poised for communication28. Through demeanor, the individual creates an image of himself, but this image is primarily for others' eyes29.
• Asymmetrical Demeanor: Similar to deference, rules of demeanor can be asymmetrical. For instance, doctors may have the privilege of swearing or sitting in undignified positions during staff meetings, while attendants are expected to conduct themselves with greater circumspection3031.
• Bad Demeanor: Instances of bad demeanor, often studied in mental hospital settings, illustrate the expected control and decorum usually taken for granted, such as refraining from lunging at food, audible belching, or messy manipulation of food at meals3233.
The Relationship Between Deference and Demeanor
While deference and demeanor are intertwined empirically—an act of giving deference often provides a means of expressing one's demeanor34—Goffman argues that the analytical relationship between them is one of complementarity, not identity35.
1. Dramaturgical Function:
◦ Deference images tend to point outward to the wider society, reflecting the individual's achieved place in the social hierarchy35.
◦ Demeanor images tend to point to qualities that can be displayed during interaction, pertaining more to how the individual handles their social position than to the rank of the position itself35.
2. Mutual Justification and Check: The image of himself an individual owes others (demeanor) is a kind of justification and compensation for the image others are obliged to express through their deference to him36. By treating others deferentially, one gives them the opportunity to handle that indulgence with good demeanor36. For example, when an individual defers to a guest, the guest, showing good demeanor, might decline the offering once to show they are not presumptuous36.
3. Self-Presentation and Assessment: The individual must rely on others to complete the picture of himself, as he is only allowed to "paint" certain parts (demeanor). Each individual is responsible for their own demeanor and for the deference shown to others. To be fully expressed, individuals must "hold hands in a chain of ceremony"3738.
In essence, the self is seen as a ceremonial thing, a sacred object that requires proper ritual care. The maintenance of this sacred self relies on the individual acting with proper demeanor and being treated by others with deference3940.
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Discuss Social interaction.
The discussion of social interaction draws heavily on the sociological framework developed by Erving Goffman, particularly his focus on face-to-face behavior and the ritual elements inherent in human contact1....
Defining Face-to-Face Interaction
Social interaction is fundamentally concerned with the influence individuals have upon one another's actions while in one another’s immediate physical presence4. Goffman's work, particularly in Interaction Ritual1, advocates for the study of face-to-face interaction in natural settings as a naturally bounded, analytically coherent field—a sub-area of sociology5....
Key characteristics and components of social interaction include:
1. Scope and Boundaries: Interaction involves a brief time span, a limited extension in space, and events that must proceed to completion once they have begun3. The subject matter is the class of events that occur during co-presence and by virtue of co-presence8.
2. Behavioral Materials: The ultimate materials for analysis are the "small behaviors" that people continuously provide, whether intended or not. These include glances, gestures, positionings, and verbal statements8. These are the external signs of orientation and involvement8.
3. Units of Analysis: The goal is to describe the natural units of interaction, ranging from fleeting facial movements to large events like week-long conferences, and to uncover the normative order prevailing within and between these units9. Examples of basic units are the social occasion, the gathering, and the encounter or engagement1011.
4. Analytical Focus: The proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present to one another12. The focus is on the "moments and their men," not "men and their moments"13.
The Ritual Order of Social Interaction
A central premise of this study is that face-to-face behavior is governed by ritual elements, ensuring an expressive and normative order2....
1. The Presentation of Self and Face-Work
When an individual enters the presence of others, they are motivated to control the impression others receive of the situation, often by conveying an impression that is in their best interest1516. This activity constitutes a performance4.
• Face: A crucial concept in ritual interaction is face, defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for themselves by the line others assume they have taken during a particular contact17. Face is an image of self delineated in terms of approved social attributes17.
• Face-Work: This designates the actions taken by a person to make whatever they are doing consistent with face18. Face-work serves to counteract "incidents" (events whose symbolic implications threaten face)18.
• Mutual Preservation: A fundamental structural feature of interaction is the tendency for participants to conduct themselves so as to maintain both their own face and the face of the other participants, leading to a "working acceptance" of everyone else's presented line19. This collective effort to save face functions to save the situation and maintain expressive order2021.
2. Deference and Demeanor
Interaction is organized through ceremonial rules, which form the code of etiquette2223. The ceremonial component of conduct is divided into two elements: deference and demeanor24.
• Deference: Symbolic means used to regularly convey appreciation to a recipient2425. It includes avoidance rituals (proscriptions, taboos, maintaining distance) and presentational rituals (prescriptions, salutations, compliments)26....
• Demeanor: The expressive component of an individual's conduct, conveyed through deportment, dress, and bearing, which communicates that they are a person of certain desirable qualities, such as dignity, self-control, and poise2930.
• The Sacred Self: Through deference and demeanor, the person in the secular world is accorded a kind of sacredness, confirming the self as a ceremonial object that must be treated with proper ritual care3132.
Order and Disruption in Interaction
Social interaction requires participants to regulate themselves according to moral and ceremonial rules3334.
• Spontaneous Involvement: In conversational interaction, participants are obliged to maintain spontaneous involvement in the talk, focusing their cognitive and visual attention on the matter at hand35.... This joint spontaneous involvement creates a "little social system" with its own demands38.
• Alienation and Misinvolvement: When spontaneous involvement fails to occur, but the obligation to participate remains, the individual experiences misinvolvement or alienation3940. Forms of alienation include external preoccupation, self-consciousness (embarrassment), interaction-consciousness, and other-consciousness41....
• Embarrassment: This arises when an event discredits the projected claims about an individual's identity, causing confusion and disorganization of the minute social system of face-to-face interaction45.... Embarrassment is not irrational, but often a necessary part of orderly social behavior, showing that the individual is disturbed by their failure to maintain a coherent self48.
Interaction and Strategic Behavior
While ritual defines the normative framework of social interaction, some mutual dealings can be analyzed from the perspective of strategic interaction4950.
• Strategic Interaction Defined: This refers to the calculative, gamelike aspects of mutual dealings, occurring when two or more parties are in a situation of mutual impingement where each party's move has fateful implications for all, requiring players to consider the opponent's assessment of the situation (and the opponent's awareness of their own assessment)51....
• Assessment vs. Communication: In strategic interaction, what is often characterized as communication is, in actuality, assessment5556. An observer must glean information from expressions (unintentional signs given off by the subject) as well as communications (intentional transmission of linguistic avowals)57....
• Relevance to Face-to-Face Conduct: Strategic analysis provides a useful perspective for developing a minimal model of the actor as an "interactant"5261, but face-to-face conduct itself is never merely and not always a form of communication or strategic calculation62.... Gathering rules (norms regulating co-mingling) are not rules of strategy, but part of the normative mesh that regulates social organization65....
Thus, social interaction, particularly face-to-face behavior, is a deeply structured phenomenon characterized by ritual rules (deference, demeanor, face-work) that sustain a temporary expressive order, against which spontaneous failure (alienation, embarrassment) and calculative moves (strategic interaction) are measured9....
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Discuss Character contests.
Based on the provided sources, Character contests are a specific type of interpersonal action found within the broader framework of strategic interaction and interaction ritual. They occur when individuals mutually place their personal reputation and qualities of character at stake in an arena of mutual fatefulness12.
Here is a comprehensive discussion of character contests:
Definition and Context
A character contest is a special kind of moral game resulting from interpersonal action, where conditions allow one person's display of character to occur only at the expense of the character of other participants2.
1. Mutual Fatefulness: These engagements involve mutual fatefulness in regard to character, meaning that both participants are incidentally concerned with establishing evidence of strong character2.
2. Focus on Character: In a character contest, the primary properties (objective attributes like skill or resources) may be openly used merely as a convenience, pointedly serving as an occasion for doing battle by and for character2.
3. Arena of Struggle: When a person treats face-work not as a necessary performance but as something others can be counted on to perform or accept, the encounter shifts from a scene of mutual considerateness to an arena in which a contest or match is held3. The goal is to preserve one's own line from contradiction while scoring points against adversaries3.
The Role of Character
Character refers to the maintenance properties of an individual—such as self-control, poise, and integrity—which emerge and are judged during fateful events45.
• Weak vs. Strong Character: Evidence of the capacity to maintain full self-control when the chips are down is a sign of strong character4. Failures in self-control under pressure are signs of weak character4.
• Moral Judgment: Properties of character are always judged from a moral perspective and tend to be evaluated in extremes (failures or successes out of the ordinary), fully coloring the perception of the person characterized5.
• Generating Character: It is during moments of action (especially character contests) that the individual risks and has the opportunity to display his style of conduct when the chips are down. Character is gambled, and a single showing is often taken as representative, meaning the self can be voluntarily subjected to re-creation6.
Dynamics of the Contest
Character contests involve a dispute over whose definition of self and other is to prevail7. This often engages honor, which is the aspect of personal make-up that compels an individual to dutifully enjoin a character contest when his rights have been violated, particularly when the costs are high8.
1. Making Points (Aggressive Face-Work)
In aggressive interchanges, the winner not only succeeds in introducing favorable facts about himself and unfavorable facts about others, but also demonstrates that he is better at "footwork" (handling himself) than his adversaries910.
• Snubs and Digs: Points made by allusion to social class status are sometimes called snubs; those made by allusions to moral respectability are sometimes called digs. Both exemplify "bitchiness"9.
• The Gamble: "Making a remark" is always a gamble, as a successful counter-move (a squelch or topper) can turn the tables, causing the aggressor to lose face and suffer greater disparagement than he could have gained by winning the point10.
• Tricks and Traps: An aggressor might intentionally introduce a threat, knowing that the opponent can be counted on to perform or accept the necessary face-work311. For example, a person might arrange for others to hurt his feelings, thereby forcing them into guilt and sustained ritual disequilibrium11.
2. The Run-In and Moral Combat
If an event (such as an affront) is serious and cannot be overlooked, the offended must call attention to the misconduct—a challenge12. If this challenge is serious and the offender pointedly declines to give satisfaction, the situation is retrospectively transformed into a run-in, leading to moral combat1314.
• Court of Honor: The run-in is always a two-party affair, unlike an "incident." The victim acts as plaintiff, judge, and executioner, highlighting the unaided individual as the efficacious unit of organization in this court14.
• Testing Acts: Aggressors often employ testing acts (e.g., using a fighting word like "nigger," or defying a known rule of conduct) to test the recipient's honor—their readiness to uphold the code regardless of the price15.
• Cooperation Required: For contests to successfully generate and jeopardize character, all participants (including bystanders, who must refrain from interfering) must take the game seriously and adhere to the rules. The hero, upon finding an easy advantage, must disdainfully give it up to ensure the villain cannot dodge the resulting expressions of character16.
3. Characterological Outcomes
The outcome is often independent of the manifest physical result of the fray17:
• Mutual Honor: Both parties can emerge with honor and good character affirmed (e.g., in most formal duels of honor, where injury was also often avoided)18.
• Clear Defeat: One party proves to have been bluffing or loses nerve, abasing himself and pleading for mercy, destroying his status as a person of character19.
• Pyrrhic Victory: An offended person with little authority might sacrifice his own substance to maintain the forms, such as declining payment for service when its value is disputed, "cutting off one's nose in order to destroy the other's face." This demonstrates costly contempt ("Gallantry in reverse")20.
• Winning Character, Losing Duel: A well-matched player can grimly suffer while the opponent uses dishonorable techniques; the duel is lost, but character is won21.
Everyday Occurrence and Significance
Character contests are not limited to formal duels or commercial sports; they subject everyone to a continuous stream of little losses and gains22.
• Common Situations: These contests are found whenever individuals bargain, threaten, promise, ask for or give excuses, proffer or receive compliments, or exchange banter ("remarks")22.
• Territorial Disputes: The "territories of the self" are not literally patrolled; instead, boundary disputes are sought out and indulged in as a means of establishing where one's boundaries are, and these disputes are character contests23.
• Contest Contests: An individual's tendency to avoid occasions where character is in jeopardy exposes him to being forced into a contest over whether or not there will be a contest. The aggressor, by baiting or insolence, demonstrates his own bravery while displaying the victim's weakness before witnesses2425.
• Vicarious Participation: Because real-life character contests are costly and disruptive, society manufactures and distributes vicarious experience through mass media, allowing audiences to identify with heroes who engage in contests, affirming a moral code that is too difficult to maintain in full in daily life26....
In sum, character contests highlight that in face-to-face interaction, the individual is always exposed to moral judgment29. These contests are moments when, despite the necessity of a working consensus, individuals intentionally leverage the symbolic and moral implications of their actions to achieve reputational gains or avoid losses37.