How to Look Good In the Eye of Others - Essay Example

The first author who worked out the theory of self presentation is Erving Goffman. In his works, that are now famous all over the world, he created a basis and listed the major points that are now referred to self-presentation and impression management. The purpose of studying impression management is defined by him in his writings is as follows: "consider the ways in which the individual in ordinary work situations presents himself and his activity to others, the ways in which he guides and controls the impression they form of him, and the kind of things he may or may not do while sustaining his performance before them" (1959, p. xi). He also states that impression management makes clear the essence of our everyday life, which makes people act according to accepted moral regulations and standards that often oppose human nature and character.

As the author states in one of his writings that included further examination of this subject, people take part in social interrelation with the help of performing a "line" or "a pattern of verbal and nonverbal acts by which he expresses his view of the situation and through this his evaluation of the participants, especially himself" (1967, p. 5) Speaking about the major components that are involved into person's behaviour and thus influencing the process of self presentation, it is necessary to point out the following elements: emotions, attitudes and values that shape the behaviour.

It is necessary to look at them carefully as they are of a great importance for the subject. Here is the definition of the notion given by: "Emotions are feelings experienced toward an object, person, or event that create a state of readiness. Emotional episodes are communications to us. They make us aware that events have occurred that may affect important personal goals. In fact, strong emotions demand our attention and interrupt our train of thought. They also create a state of readiness to respond to those events.

In other words, they generate the motivation to act toward the object of our attention." (McShane, p.202)Emotions reveal with the help of our behaviour, attitude to environment and events that happen in our life, and our way of thinking. Various emotions are expressed with the help of mimicry and gestures and play a significant role in establishing relations with surroundings. Emotions, being expressed within the interrelations with the environment, intensify these emotions. Emotions are interrelated with the attitudes.

As McShane states, "Attitudes represent the cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings, and behavioural intentions toward an object. They are judgments about the attitude object." (p.203) To compare emotions with the attitudes, emotions are feelings that a person express in a definite occasions, the attitude is something more than it. Attitudes derive from two sources: the emotional practice and experience of perception. There are three elements of attitudes: feelings, believes and behavioural intention.

Feelings include our positive and negative estimations with emotional practice referred to the object of the attitude. One of the most important spheres of applying emotions in human's life is emotional practice in professional sphere. Our professional experience provides us with various kinds of feelings and emotions that we obtain within the working day and complex perception of these feelings shapes our attitude to the job.The second