Summary Of Erving Goffman's Dramaturgical Approach

Erving Goffman is a twentieth century micro-sociologists. His dramaturgical approach is tied to symbol interactionism; a framework that states people develop symbolic meaning and rely on them for interaction. He looked at how face-to-face interactions build up to the human experience (Kivisto and Pittman). Goffman’s main argument in the dramaturgical approach is that we are all actors and we can change and manipulate how we are perceived through ‘sign vehicles’, just as actors in a theatre do. In supporting both Goffman’s and my own points, I will refer closely to the specific example of a Dunnes Stores worker’s daily interactions and presentation, although it could be applied to any social situation. According to Goffman, there are two different stage. In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, he explains that the front stage is the place

We have to wonder, if we are all actors in society, when and how does one become a con-artist? When we interact with people, we tend to believe in our own performance. It’s what makes it legitimate. When people are described as being “fake”, they do not believe in their own performance. If someone who doesn’t believe in their own performance persuades others that it is real, they then have the power to play with their audience. It’s important for people to come off as slightly sarcastic so if they are accused of something, they can play it off. This is the key to identifying the difference between a performer and a con-artists. An example would be a Dunnes Stores worker telling a customer that they need to try Denny’s sausages but the real reason they’re telling them that is because they’ll get an extra euro in their pay check for every successful persuasion. If the worker fails to give a legitimate reason why they have to try them, they will be caught out and would fail their