In a theatrical performance, the characters interact on a specific stage with specific roles in order to represent a script. But role-playing is not limited to the theatrical or cinematic realm .

In our daily lives we also tend to play different roles depending on the circumstances we live in, who we interact with and the expectations that are placed on our performance. Thus, some theoretical perspectives consider that human beings act in their contact with others as if they were performing a play. Specifically, this is what Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical model proposes, centred on social contact face to face.

In Goffman’s dramaturgical approach

Erving Goffman’s dramatic approach or model is a way of interpreting social interaction in which the idea is proposed that all interaction is a performance or role played towards the other or possible observers. Social interactions and our social structure are nothing more than the representation of the roles that we have internalized in such a way that they end up forming part of our own identity.

In any social situation that people carry out some kind of role is being played, which will change according to the interactive contexts. The person shows a specific type of information about him or herself according to the situation and the intention, which will provoke different responses depending on how it is interpreted by his or her peers. As in the theatre, in every interaction there are some pre-established behavioural limits , a script to be interpreted before the others.

The basic idea of this model is that the human being tries to control the impression he generates on others from the interaction in order to bring that impression closer to his ideal self. In each contact a scheme of acts is represented from which he can express his point of view regarding reality and the interaction while trying to modify the evaluation of others.

Erving Goffman’s dramatic model is based on his own conception of symbolic interactionism , in which the mental and the situational influence the conduct and the construction of the psyche from the construction and transmission of shared meanings referring to the symbols used in the interactive context.

The stage

Social interaction takes place in a certain context or framework, which the author calls the establishment. In other words, it is the scenario in which the interaction takes place, in which impressions are going to be exchanged.It is composed of the personal facade or interiorized role and the public facade or image that we show to the public when we represent.

In this scenario the physical location and the actors and roles of each one converge to configure the scene in which the actors are going to express themselves and be played.

The actors and their interaction

For social interaction to exist, one of the key components is the existence of someone to carry it out. These people, who interact, are called actors.

In an interaction the different actors are in a situation of co-presence, that is to say, of mutual interaction, in which these people represent concrete roles and exchange impressions which will be used to understand the performance and act accordingly to it. Both subjects are senders and receivers at the same time , they are both actor and audience.

Moreover, during the interaction, impressions are transmitted both voluntarily and consciously, and involuntarily through contextual elements that are beyond the control and intentionality of the actor.Both types of elements will be captured and interpreted by the other, acting accordingly. The knowledge of this fact allows that contextual elements are used in a strategic way to give different interpretations from the ones they would have in another moment or situation.

The actor must try to handle the impressions he makes on the audience in such a way that he is interpreted as he intends, without falling into contradiction.

The paper or role

Roles play a fundamental role in the interaction between people, indicating the type of behaviour they are expected to carry out in a given situation. They mainly indicate which position each person should take, as well as their status or the meaning given by the culture to the role in question.

These roles involve a process by which an influence is established from one person to another , generating a performance by the other. Roles are a fundamental part of our relationship with our peers and can vary according to the scenario or contextual framework. Furthermore, they are also linked to identity or the concept of the self.

Identity according to the dramaturgical model

The concept of the I or oneself is an element that for Goffman’s model supposes the product of the manipulation of the impressions of others so that they elaborate a determined and flattering image of the individual. Identity is a construction that the human being makes of himself for others based on the roles that he carries out.

In this way, people create a general public facade for their actions. This main role we play throughout our lives, the integration of most roles, is what we consider self . This implies that people are actually offering an appearance of themselves to others, who are trying to bring them closer to an ideal self.

The identity, the I, is nothing more than the set of masks that we put on , what we express and project to others. We are what others interpret of us from our interactions.

Interpreting Social Situations: Frameworks of Significance

Another of the concepts of Goffman’s dramaturgical model is that of frame , which is understood as the scheme or perspective from which social phenomena are understood and allows the subject to organize his knowledge and experiences.

These frames are largely given by the culture to which we belong, from which we acquire ways of interpreting our social world and the symbolisms that are part of it, as well as the situations that we live in them, so that we can adjust our interaction with the environment.

Knowing what happens in a given situation requires these frameworks, which will be used as elements both to understand the reality of the interaction and to contribute to its realization by the individual. These frameworks can be primary, which are used to understand natural or social events , but on some occasions they require secondary frameworks to give an act a different purpose from the original one or to consciously manipulate the perception of the other with respect to a concrete action (respectively, modifications or fabrications).

Bibliographic references:

  • Chihu, A. and López, A. (2000). The dramaturgical approach in Erving Goffman. UNAM, Mexico.
  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Doubleday Anchor. New York.
  • Rivas, M. & López, M. (2012). Social and organizational psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 11. Madrid.