chapter 5 Flashcards
accounts
explanations people offer after they have performed acts that threaten their identities. accounts take two forms- excuses that minimize one’s responsibility and justifications that redefine acts in a more socially acceptable manner
aligning actions
actions people use to define their apparently questionable conduct as actually in line with cultural norms, thereby repairing identities, restoring meaning to situations, and reestablishing smooth interaction
back region
a setting used to manage appearances. in back regions, people allow themselves to violate appearances while they prepare, rehearse, and rehash performances. contrasts with front regions, where people carry out interaction performances and exert efforts to maintain appropriate appearances
cooling out
a response to repeated or glaring failures that gently persuades an offender to accept a less desirable though still reasonable alternative identity
definition of the situation
in symbolic interaction theory, a person’s interpretation or construal of a situation and the objects in it. an agreement among persons about who they are, what actions are appropriate in the setting, and what their behaviours mean
disclaimer
a verbal assertion intended to ward off any negative implications of impending actions by defining these actions as irrelevant to one’s established social identity. by using disclaimers, a person suggests that although the impending acts may ordanarily imply a negative identity, theirs is an extraordinary case
embarrassement
the feeling that people expereince when interaction is disrupted because the identity they have claimed in an encounter is discredited
frame
a set of widely understood rules or conventions pertaining to a transient but repetitive social situation that indicate which roles should be enacted and which behaviours are proper
front regions
a setting used to manage appearances. in front regions, people carry out interaction performances and exert efforts to maintain appropriate appearances. contrats with back regions, where they allow themselves to violate appearances while they prepare, rehearse, and rehash performances
identity degradation
a response to repeated or glaring failures that destroys the offender’s current identity and transforms them into a “lower” social type
ingratiation
the deliberate use of deception to increase a target person’s liking for us in hopes of gaining tangible benefits that the target person controls. techniques such as flattery, expressing agreement with the target person’s attitudes, and exaggerating one’s own admirable qualities may be used
self disclosure
the process of revealing personal info (aspects of our feelings and behaviours) to another person. self disclosure is sometimes used as an impression management tactic
self presentation
all conscious and unconscious attempts by people to control the images of self they project in social interaction
stigma
personal characteristics that others view as preventing competent or morally trustworthy behaviour
supplication
an impression management tactic that involves convincing a target person that you are needy and deserving
