Erving Goffman’s Theory of Presentation of Self: Understanding Dramaturgy in Everyday Life

Erving Goffman, a renowned Canadian-American sociologist, introduced the concept of the “Presentation of Self” as a theoretical framework for understanding human behavior in social interactions. Drawing inspiration from theater and dramaturgy, Goffman posited that individuals engage in impression management, carefully crafting and presenting different versions of themselves to shape how others perceive them. This article explores the key components of Goffman’s theory, delves into the concept of impression management, and provides real-life examples to illustrate how individuals perform the roles of their social identity in everyday life.

Dramaturgy and the Social Stage:

Goffman’s theory of Presentation of Self adopts a dramaturgical approach, likening social life to a theatrical performance on a stage. Just as actors play various roles in a play to elicit specific reactions from the audience, individuals in society adopt different personas or social masks to influence how they are perceived by others. Social interactions are akin to scenes, and individuals become performers on this social stage, employing various techniques to create desired impressions.

Front Stage and Back Stage:

In Goffman’s theory, individuals have both front stage and back stage selves. The front stage represents the public realm, where people are in the presence of others and actively engaged in impression management. This is where individuals present their desired self-image and adhere to societal norms and expectations. On the other hand, the back stage is the private realm, where people can relax and drop their social masks. It is in this context that individuals can be their authentic selves, away from the watchful eyes of the audience.

Examples of Front Stage and Back Stage Behavior:

Job Interview:

• Front Stage: During a job interview, a candidate carefully presents themselves as competent, confident, and professional. They may dress formally, maintain eye contact, and articulate their skills and experiences to impress the interviewer and secure the position.
• Back Stage: Before the interview, the candidate may engage in self-preparation, rehearsing answers to common questions and calming nerves. They may also seek support and encouragement from family or friends, allowing themselves to express doubts or anxieties that they would not reveal during the actual interview.

Social Media:

• Front Stage: On social media platforms, individuals curate their posts and profiles to portray a particular image to their followers. They often share highlights of their lives, such as achievements, vacations, and positive experiences, presenting themselves in a favorable light.
• Back Stage: Behind the polished social media façade, individuals may face challenges and struggles in their personal lives. They may use private messaging or close groups to express vulnerability, share more intimate details, or seek advice and support from trusted friends.

Impression Management:

Impression management is a fundamental aspect of Goffman’s theory. It refers to the conscious and unconscious strategies individuals employ to influence how others perceive them. These strategies include:

1. Dramatic Realization: Individuals use body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice to communicate emotions and intentions effectively. For example, a politician may adopt confident body language during a speech to project leadership qualities.
2. Signaling: People use props, clothing, and symbols to convey specific messages about their identity or social status. For instance, wearing a professional suit signals authority and competence in a corporate setting.
3. Idealization: Individuals present themselves in a positive light, emphasizing their strengths and achievements while downplaying weaknesses. This behavior can be seen in dating scenarios when individuals strive to create a positive impression on potential partners.

Conclusion: Erving Goffman’s theory of Presentation of Self provides a profound understanding of how individuals perform various roles and manage impressions to navigate social interactions. By viewing social life as a stage, we can better grasp the complexities of human behavior and the intricate ways in which individuals present themselves to the world. Understanding the dynamic interplay between front stage and backstage behavior, as well as the techniques of impression management, sheds light on the intricacies of human interaction and the art of self-presentation in our everyday lives.

By Khushdil Khan Kasi

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1) Our imagination of how we appear to others

2) our imagination of how we will be judged on basis of our appearance

3) we think about it, internalize or reject the judgments.

For example; if students thinks that their teacher is not capable of delivering lecture. Teacher may internalize the views of his student and might consider another line of work. May be he think about the remarks of other students he taught before and the remarks of his colleagues about his teaching, and realize that other students and colleagues have always complimented him for his teaching style. He may come to the conclusion that may be this semester students are not eager to learn and he may continue his teaching career.

As this example suggest that, our self-concept is not only based on the judgments and views of other rather it is based on how we interpret those judgments and views of others. We use our past experiences to interpret others responses.

Author; Khushdil Khan Kasi

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Sensorimotor Stage

This stage occur during first two year when a child is born. In this stage child understanding of world is based on touching chewing, sucking, shaking and by manipulating the objects. In the early part of sensorimotor stage, children lack object permanence; which means the existence of object and people. Until the age of 9 month child will not notice his missing toy and does not search for it. After 9 months child will start noticing object and people and if something is missing he/she will look for it. The critical development in sensorimotor stage is object permanence.

Preoperational Stage

In this stage children starts the use of language and symbols to describe events, people and feelings. They even use symbols while playing, for example pushing a book on the floor represents a car. In this stage child use egocentric thoughts which is looking at the world from their own perspective, they think that everyone perceive the world as they do.

Concrete Operational Stage

During this stage children let go some of their egocentric thoughts and develop to think in a logical way. One of the vital thing children learn in this stage is reversibility, which means that, something can be changed or undone by reversing an earlier action. For example if someone change the shape of clay ball by rolling it, they understand that it can be back in to shape of ball. In this stage child can understand the physical world however, they still lack the capabilities of understanding the questions of abstract and hypothetical nature.

Formal Operational Stage

In formal operational stage child begins to think abstract, formal and logical. Thinking of child is no longer limited to the observation of events however, they begin to use logical techniques for resolving problems. Piaget devised a pendulum problem and asked the children which variable determine how fast the pendulum swing? Weight of the pendulum or length of the string or the force which is applied to pendulum. The children started to manipulate all the variable one by one to seek the answer of the question. This ability of sorting out the possibilities is know as formal operational thoughts. 

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Oral Stage

Focal point of pleasure in oral stage is baby mouth. During the first 12 to 18 month when the baby is born, child bite, suck, chew and mouth almost anything whatever they are able to put in their mouth. According to Freud mouth is the source of attaining sexual pleasure at this stage. Fixation at this stage occur due to feeding the baby every time when he cries, child should learn that there is a schedule of gratifying his oral needs. Otherwise child may withdraw the breast or bottle, which will result in fixation. The effect of fixation at oral stage may be excessively talking, eating and smoking in adulthood.

Anal Stage

At the age of 18 months till three years parents starts the toilet training of child; this stage is categorized as anal stage. During this stage the pleasure point of child shift from mouth to anal region. Retention and expulsion of feces are the sources of obtaining pleasure for a child. Fixation may occur in this stage due to demanding nature of trainer (which is usually mother) which results in unusual rigidity  extremely orderliness or sloppiness in adulthood.

Phallic Stage

At the age of 3 to 6 years there is another drastic shift in the source of pleasure. Now the source of pleasure is shifted to genitalia. Children seek pleasure by touching or self-stimulating their genitals. During this stage, the oedipal conflict occurs which is boys develop sexual feelings towards their mothers and consider their father as rival for the affection of their mother. For girls this stage differs from boys they develop sexual feeling for their father and wish that they had a penis. For lacking the anatomical part girls blame their mothers. They think that they are castrated by their mother.

Latency Stage

At this stage oedipal conflict is resolved male and female both move forward to the next stage of personality development. Latency stage last till puberty, during this stage sexual interest become inactive even in unconscious. During adolescence the sexual feelings resurface which lead to the final stage

Genital stage

This stage extend till the death, the attainment of pleasure in this stage is sexual intercourse.  

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Structure of Personality, Id, Ego, Superego

According to Sigmund Freud, development of our personality is not completely dependent on our conscious experiences, however, most of the personality traits are developed through unconscious. Which contains the beliefs, urges, feeling and instincts of which we are not aware of. He believed that, our behavior is directed by unconscious. Furthermore, much of our personality is the outcome of our unconscious for example, our instinctual drives like desires, dreams, demands and needs.

To explain the structure of personality; Freud developed a theory, which comprises of three major components, which are, id, ego and superego. It is general model of personality which explains the contact of different forces which drives us to behave in a certain way. Id is the unorganized part of personality, which contains the basic biological urges (to eat, sleep, sex, defecate and copulate). Id part of our personality want to gratify these urges immediately. Superego is the part of our personality which wants us to be the perfect us, means a person which is liked, respected and loved by, the members of society. For example if we force ourselves on someone to gratify our sexual needs (Id) people will not like and respect us. So there is a conflict between Id and superego, and then there comes a part of our personality “Ego” to resolve the conflict between Id and superego. Ego is the decision making component, which satisfy Id without violating social norms and values of society or in a socially acceptable way. Fraud has also explained the stages of personality development, which is known as psychosexual stages.

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