In the reading by
Goffman the presentation of self is broken down by the receiver of the
information. They seek to understand general
knowledge of the persons past and attitude towards them. By acquiring this information of the individual,
it helps the receiver it helps them interpret the situation and understand what
they expect from them and vice versa. Gaining
understanding of an individual, people observe others actions that they can
compare to previous experiences with others. True or real attitudes are only indirectly
understood through behaviors that aren’t purposely acted. There are two ways the expression of
individuals are interpreted, the expression that he gives and the expression he
gives off. The first is actions that the individual does to convey information
that others will attach to them. The second is the actions performed to be
looked at by others in a particular way.
These actions are used by individuals so that they’ll be understood and accepted
by others.
Predictions about an
individual vary depending on information they already know about them. William
Thomas explains that individuals live our lives by inferring. Inferences create understandings of
individuals without having any knowledge of who others really are. On the other
hand individuals use specific actions that make others think highly of them or
just to create a positive vibe with them. The actions that individuals do are to
get certain responses from others. Preddy uses a good example of a man on the
beach that thinks out his process of taking his steps and diving into the ocean
a particular way to get a response from others.
In the second reading
Cool Pose by Richard Majors and Janet Mancini Billson discussed how African American
men have a disadvantage of manhood and cannot live up to the standards set in
America. Black men have created their own style and identity by developing their
own idea of “cool pose”. The cool pose
is in a way a mask that blacks have to hide the struggles of being black in
America. The actions created by the cool
pose are toughness and a since of a place in society. The cool
pose is used as a mask for blacks to magnify the respect and place in society. Black
males put on a performance for others to stress that they are cool and have an
impressive persona. This “front” that
they put on is always the way that black males act so they are accepted. In the reading the examples of the stylish
dunking of a basketball or dancing after a touchdown are ways that the mask
that blacks wear is always what is seen by others. The cool pose is used to
avoid being view unequally to white American males. The cool pose is one of the many strategies
that blacks used to create a positive image for themselves. It allows black
males to create a dominant role in society and eliminated the stereotypes and
prejudice of whites.
Great summary of the readings! I thought that Goffman’s piece was very relevant to the commonly known belief that first impressions are substantially important. However, I believe that “true or real attitudes” can be understood both directly and indirectly. Specifically, some people have been socially constructed to hold back their true attitudes toward someone’s behavior to avoid conflict where others are very straightforward when it comes to speaking their opinion. Your statement, “True or real attitudes are only indirectly understood through behaviors that are not purposely acted,” is a bit assertive. In my understanding of the reading, I found that Goffman did indeed focused on information that is indirectly provided within an interaction, but he also stated that there are in fact some events that may directly provide information about an individual’s attitudes, competence, status, etc. It is important to remember that not all people manipulate their true attributes. Some people are overly honest and straightforward (which can be very rude sometimes) which allows other individuals to infer information about them through behavior that directly portrays their true attitudes.
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