Talk:Deference and Demeanor

If anyone has any advice for us to improve this article please post it!!!

A few notes
On your definitions of symmetrical and asymmetrical rules, this is wrong. Goffman says as such, "A symmetrical rule is one which leads an individual to have obligations or expectations regarding others that these othres have in regard to him." Goffman continues, "An asymmetrical rule is one that leads others to treat and be treated by an individual differently from the way he treats and is treated by them." Your example of a teacher extending a familiarity would be asymmetric by Goffman's definition. A teacher can call me by my first name but unless I am close with the teacher, I will have to refer to them by their title ("Professor Goffman").

davimre

Great start here but there is some room for improvement.


 * Is Goffman's example of ships sounding whistles to each other really an example of objects exhibiting deference? After all, it is the people on board those ships that initiate that action. (Answer: Yes, I was confused by this as well but he truly means ships talking to each other, not people).


 * Your examples of familiarity are good. However, this being an encyclopedia article you should probably give a brief definition of familarity. With this type of writing you should try to make definitions general, not specific.


 * You need to define what a person's "bubble" is. This is a very important part of the avoidance ritual as it explains why people would engage in this ritual in the first place. This idea goes back to Georg Simmel in the idea of discretion. You can include that if you want, but it isn't necessary. But it is always good to be able to draw links between theorists.


 * You should also explain why people engage in presentational rituals and what those presentational rituals accomplish.


 * In the section on demeanor your definitions are again too specific. Try to generalize and define these as types of behavior and not just by giving examples of instances of these behaviors. Your examples are valid though.


 * The difference between high and low esteem is very unclear in your wording. I think you're trying to say that those with high demeanor will be held in high esteem, but the first part of your sentence says that they will be treated the same as those with poor demeanor. Tighten that up and make it more clear.


 * Finally, I would change your in text citation to APA style as that is the style commonly used in sociological writing. The citation takes this form: (Last Name of Author, year published; page number of quote)

Otherwise keep up the good work.

Velvet Llama 13:53, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Theory?
Deference and demeanor are two theories? I thought they are two words used to name two different modes of social interaction. Isn't "symbolic interaction" the name of the theory, and "Deference and Demeanor" the name of an essay Goffman wrote? How are they two theories? Slrubenstein  |  Talk 16:08, 21 May 2010 (UTC)