Impression Management (Chapter 6)

         Everyday, there are people consistantly manufacturing the images of themselves to be percieved as more intelligent, athletic, attractive, popular, or funny. When they are in a job interview someone might look more attractive and professional, hold back their personality, they might lie and say they're organized when they're not, just to fit the ideal position. Another example, could be when trying to get into a fraternity. One might put on polo, come back their hair, and adapt the word bro into every casual sentence. Just so that person would appeal to the specific frat. These examples are presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgements of them. (Newman, 195) This is called impression management. Impression management is a tool we use to make others percieve us as likeable people. However, impression management can quickly change into impression mismanagement, which can take a turn for the worse. This can lead to damaged identities for both your image, and self.

          I think every person either knows exactly who they want to be or they don't. When other's perceive you as maybe serious, when you desire to be funny, or dumb when you desire to be smart. You want to alter your image. Sometimes it's not enough to just think of yourself in a certain way. Sometimes you feel the need to have approval of others. After all, they partake in the adaption of your sense of self.  It's only normal that you want your friends to view you as how you want to be percieved. However, sometimes you're real self might not be exactly who you want to be. That's hard to take and that's why humans begin to use impression management. That's how we manage the impressions others have on us. We try to adapt it if it's not the impression we want of ourselves, or we try to maintain it.

          I can admit, that I've used impression management many times in my life, especially when first being introduced to someone, meeting teachers, or applying for jobs. However, I've only kept the sherade going on for so long. The story I'm going to tell you is not about me, but more relevant to my life than any form of impression management I've used. Since the second grade, I've always had the same two best friends. Once, we got to high school and joined different sports, and adapted to different groups we all began to change. My friend, we will call her Amy, joined cheerleading. At school (front stage), she decided to die her blonde hair platinum, poof it, cover her face in bronzer and darken her eyes with eye liner. She resembled most of the seniors at our school. Every boy began asking us questions about Amy. She also started dating her first boyfriend. We quickly found out why these boys were giving Amy so much attetion. It wasn't only her appearence, but at home (back stage) she had a texting relationship with half the guys in our school. We quickly began to hear lies Amy was spreading. That she played all these sports, ran two miles a day, was anorexic, made out with numerous people, had a 4.0 gpa, and she even lied about a steamy night with her boyfriend.

          When confronting Amy, it's almost as if her act followed textbook definition. We told her how we talked to her boyfriend and others at school. When we confronted her, (The disclaimer) she became mad at us, and ran away to home. Once we started cooling out, she said that she was making stuff up, because she was having problems at home. This was her account. the statement designed to explain unanticipated, embarassing, or unacceptable behavior after the behavior occured (Newman, 195). I'm sure Amy was very embarassed after this Impression Mismanagement occured to her. She's trying to being an aligning action, to fix her image, but we still catch her in little lies now and then.
       
Source: Newman, David M. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life : Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2006. Print.