HOW DOES OUR BEHAVIOUR CHANGE IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS?

Impression management can take one of three forms:  manner, appearance and setting. 

Manner consists of a person's words and nonverbal actions.

appearance - the personal items people use to shape an image Along with clothing, other aspects of

appearance such as jewelry, tanned or light skin, hairstyle and colour, all play a major role in identity management

A final way to manage identities is through the choice of setting –

setting – physical items we use to influence how others

view us.  In modern Western society the automobile is a major part of identity management

People high in self-monitoring are social chameleons - they can skillfully alter their behaviour to match the current situation.  Can you think of someone who is not good at

this? Think of one example now.

They adjust what they say and what they do to the current situation in order to make a positive impression on others

In contrast, low self-monitors, tend to show a higher degree of consistency. 

They act much the same across a wide range of situations on the basis of their particular beliefs and attitudes.

Self-monitoring

Self-monitoring involves more than differences in consistency, however.

Persons high in self-monitoring are generally better than low self-monitors at both reading others' emotional reactions and managing their own nonverbal cues. (I can tell what you are thinking by how you present yourself) Think of one example of this.

Thus they are generally more successful at making a good first impression. 

As a result, high self-monitors tend to be more successful in their careers than low self-monitors. 

High self-monitors approach new situations by asking themselves:  “How can I best please the people I have to deal with?”  In contrast, low self-monitors ask themselves:  “How can I best be me in this situation?”

strategies

Research suggests several strategic self-presentational techniques that people use in everyday life

ingratiation

First is ingratiation, where you flatter, praise and generally make yourself likeable to another, often higher-status person. Think of one example of when this works or

doesn’t work

self-promotion

Second is self-promotion - actively “blowing your own horn” by describing your talents, exhibiting your knowledge and generally setting out to impress people. Think of one example of when this works or

doesn’t work

basking in reflected glory

The flip side of self-promotion is basking in reflected glory.  You cannot be good at everything, and so you cannot self-promote successfully in all areas - but you can become close to talented or successful people and bask in their glory and fame.  In other words, you can appear impressive to others because you know or associate with impressive people.

self-handicapping

A final self-presentational strategy, and the one that has attracted the most research attention, is self-handicapping.  Using this strategy, you set up reasons, before the fact, for your failure.  That is, before you even engage in a task, you can make sure that you have a ready-made excuse to explain your (potentially) poor performance.  There are two major ways people self-handicap:

Cont’d

In its most extreme form, people create obstacles that reduce the likelihood they will succeed on a task, so that if they do fail, they can blame it on those obstacles rather than on their lack of ability.  The obstacles people have been found to use include drugs, alcohol, reduced effort on the task and failure to practise.

The second kind of self-handicapping is less extreme.  People do not create obstacles to success, but do devise ready-made excuses in case they fail

How, and why, do we disclose private and personal information about ourselves to others?

There are several characteristics of self-disclosure:

Usually happens in dyads. Occurs incrementally. Occurs in relatively few relationships. Is relatively scarce. Usually occurs in the context of positive

relationships. There are reasons for self-disclosure. Improves and expands interpersonal

relationships.

Cont’d

Acts as catharsis, getting it “off your chest”. Self-clarification of your beliefs, opinions, attitudes and

feelings by “talking it out”. Self-validation by seeking confirmation of important parts

of your self-concept. Reciprocity, or disclosing information about yourself to

encourage another person to do so also. Identity management or revealing personal information

to make ourselves more attractive. Relationship maintenance and enhancement. Impression formation. Social control. Manipulation calculated to achieve a desired result (Adler

et al., 2000, p. 358).