The Dramaturgical Perspective

684 Words2 Pages

The dramaturgical perspective, or its equivalent impression management, is sociological paradigm by which a goal-directed conscious or unconscious process (presentation or reception), attempts to influence the perceptions of other people (Helslin, 2012). Unlike other sociological theories, Dramaturgy does not examine the human behavior outcomes but analyzes the context––the stage––in which we perform for an audience. With five personality dimensions: audience status, power, attractiveness, like-ability, and intimidation as perceived by the performer, dramaturgy plays up verbal and non-verbal cues as the main component. In movies, or even Broadway plays, there’s a need for a specific theme. Without this fundamental point, they would be meaningless nonsense with no relevance. Our lives are no different. We all have personal goals in which impression management can be applied for success, and this assignment helped me recognize that. I act a certain way with the goal that I must persuade my audience, or defend my character. In the following paragraphs, I will highlight myself in a workplace performance for dramaturgical analysis. My performance provided me with praise, and self esteem, but a poor performance would surely have brought me negative criticism or disrespect.
Dramaturgy in Organizations
American sociologist Erving Goffman, who based his dramaturgical approach on Shakespeare in his book Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, is seen as the founding father of impression management research in current social psychology. Social interactions, known as a social exchange between two or more individuals, form the basis for social structure. (Henslin, 2012.) Dating back to classical Greek theatre, the Greek term for mask is pers...

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...al and nonverbal cues, and cultural behaviors influencing our reason for performing. I certainly wanted to be viewed as likeable, competent, or worthy by my audience. In spite of my performance effort during Leaders Leading not winning an Academy Award, the applause, and 'well-done' acceptance from my peers certainly made me want to hold my head high.

Works Cited

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
Henslin, J. M. (2012). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach (10th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Costume & Masks. (n.d.). Greek Theatre. Retrieved from http://greektheatre.wordpress.com/home/
Blackwell Reference Online. (n.d.). impression management :
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology :. Retrieved from http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631202899_chunk_g978063120289911_ss1-6

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