Impression Management - Essay Example

Impression management Tabitha Moyer Argosy Impression Management Part In what situation are you most likely to use impression management? What situation are you most likely not going to work to use impression management? What is the typical difference between these two situations? Self-presentation or impression management is often used when trying to impressions other people (Jones, 1990; Leary, 1995; Schlenker & Pontari, 2000). This is common during job interviews, church, and when with other people.

I often use impression management in cases where I expect personal gain such in job interviews. During job interviews, I put on nice suit, fix my hair and dress make-up. I try to figure out the questions that the interviewers are likely to ask and figure out ways of sounding professional. In responding to the interview questions, I sit up straight and maintain eye contact with the interviewers. However, when I am set for other activities or when I am home, I present myself differently. I wear blue jeans and a t-shirt.

I casually dress the hair in a ponytail; neither do I find myself sitting straight. Part 2: Provide an example of when you used impression management was successfully. What was the outcome and why? There are various occasions where impression management has born fruits. As I flipped through the papers to seek employment opportunities, I came across a job for a substance abuse peer support specialist one day. I decided to apply. I never got a call so I assumed that they had already hired someone.

However, three month later, I was invited for an interview. When I arrived at the interview, I found five people in the room. They all took turns asking me questions. As a way of impression management, I answered the question in the manner that I deemed appropriate. I received a call of employment offer three months later. I had to use impression management because I was out of practices with my interviewing skills. I had been nervous and not sure how to answer the questions. However, when I walked in, I developed confidence and was able to answer the questions well.

Part 3: Now provide an example in which you attempted to use impression management and it failed. Why did it fail, and what was that outcome? There are also cases that impression management failed to secure personal gains. As an example, I have used it to impress a handsome man about my capability. It was one of the situations that I acted stupidly. We were at a family fun day when there came a smart handsome, young man. He was in a company of two children and seemed unmarried. I was in a company of two boys and was also unmarried.

I engaged the boys in a ball game as the girls were doing cart wheels. My son is very athlete and wanted to do cartwheels with the girls. Soon, the boys started to do cartwheels with the girls. I got the bright idea that I could still do cartwheels and tried. I did it! Accidentally, I strained the muscle at back of my leg and could not walk very well. Needless to say, I was also embarrassed. Part 4: In this last situation would the outcome have felt better if you had used a self-handicapping strategy?

What type of self-handicapping strategy could you have used? Finally, what are the dangers of turning to this kind of strategy on a regular basis? If I had used the self-handicap strategy, I would have been able to walk the next day. The strategy I could have used would have been to excuse myself to the children that I was tired and needed a break, and then I would sit on the bench with the guy. In this case, the dangers of accident would be minimal. However, this would have presented me as a coward.

References Jones, E. (1990). Interpersonal perception. New York: Freeman. Leary, M. (1995). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behavior. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark. Schlenker, B. R., & Pontari, B. A. (2000). The strategic control of information: Impression management and self-presentation in daily life. In A. Tesser, R. B. Felson, & J. M. Suls (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on self and identity (pp. 199–232). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.