Erving Goffman - the presentation of self in everyday life

Erving Goffman's investigation is supposed to be a guide from a specific sociological perspective from which you can study social behavior within it’s spatial settings such as a domestic, a commercial or industrial setting. The method approach he uses is taken from a theatrical performance with a dramaturgy. Goffman aims to show how the individual presents herself and her actions in a normal woking environment and what means she uses to control her impression on others.

Hoffman is aware of the insufficiency of such a model: On stage things are simulated whereas in real life they are unrehearsed. On stage actors are playing roles interacting with other actors playing roles.The audience is the third party within this system. The audience plays an important role but one that wouldn’t be there if the scene were real. In real life the actors are reduced to two parties and the role of the individual is synchronized to the role of the others who are simultaneously the audience.