Dramaturgical perspective

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#1
I found this interesting.

Dramaturgical theory suggests that a person's identity is not a stable and independent psychological entity; it is constantly remade as the person interacts with others.
In my opinion I find this true. A person's identity is not a stable thing. People like to judge others based on the premises that it is. Humans are constantly changing depending on how others treat them and their circumstances. This is quite similar to the actor observer bias.

“actors tend to attribute the causes of their behavior to stimuli inherent in the situation, while observers tend to attribute behavior to stable dispositions of the actor”
Regarding Dramaturgical sociology it is argued that human actions are dependent on time, place and audience, Basically the circumstances.

Back to the Dramaturgical perspective....

Dramaturgical perspective is one of several sociological paradigms separated from other sociological theories because it does not examine the cause of human behavior but the context. In a number of Goffman's texts, he emphasizes that what a person "really is" is not only undiscoverable, but also arbitrary in its nature. In Frame Analysis,[4] he writes, "What is important is the sense he provides them through his dealing with them of what sort of person he is behind the role he is in" (p. 298). The dramaturgy perspective can be seen as an anchor to this perspective, where the individual's identity is performed through role(s), and consensus between the actor and the audience. Because of this dependence on consensus to define social situations, the perspective argues that there is no concrete meaning to any interaction that could not be redefined. Dramaturgy emphasizes expressiveness as the main component of interactions. It is termed a "fully two-sided view of human interaction"
I totally agree what a person "really is" is undiscoverable but also arbitrary. Only an individual knows himself or herself best, trying to label or judge someone based on limited or even past interactions(many years ago) is quite futile. The context of someone's actions is very important observers like to think that someone's actions are due to stable dispositions, when in many cases that couldn't be further from the truth.

If you want to read more here is the link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgical_perspective#Dramaturgical_perspective
 
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#2
Sort of off topic but yeah.

Denial of awareness
This type of denial is best discussed by looking at the concept of state dependent learning.[3] People using this type of denial will avoid pain and harm by stating they were in a different state of awareness (such as alcohol or drug intoxication or on occasion mental health related). This type of denial often overlaps with denial of responsibility.
Relating to my life if I went a bit "crazy" temporarily due to physical and some mental issues largely due to the abuse I suffered from others. Abuse from others can make you go "crazy", temporarily, this totally fits in with the Dramaturgical perspective. Also if you get used, manipulated abused and revictimized you will often get into a negative and worrying state of mind as I did two months ago, or even 14 months ago.

I certainly do have a legitimate denial of awareness claim. However that's not to say my general awareness is totally out of whack, or I'm a chronic "mentally ill" person. I'm a very perceptive person I can take in many details at once.
 
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#3
It bugs me that people like attribute things to someone's character when in reality many times situational. Not that people don't have some level or degree of inherent traits.

When you know someone well such as family or close friends your less likely to succumb to the actor oberserver bias, because you have much more information about their needs, motivations and thoughts. Therefore you can account for external forces that impact their behavior.

So yeah when it's a stranger or someone you don't know well at all. You get labeled and judged and none of the external forces are taken into account...

My :rant: for the day
 
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#4
Bump.. this is an interesting read it relates a lot to my life as well..

People are forever changing due to their interactions with others, the context or circumstance of their actions and life are quite important...
 
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