Why do we engage in impression management?

          1)Social approval (positive reinforcement); impression management is a means to an end:

          2) Identity development: (developing a sense of who we are)

          Jellison and Gentry - interview for employment: some Ss were told that the interviewer liked people who agreed with him while others were told that the interviewer liked people who disagreed with him. What do you suppose the interviewees did?

          Researchers find that employees are sensitive to the point of view of their employers when expressing opinions

          Sex roles and social approval - playing dumb; a social expectation for males and females - how many of you have ever played dumb? Under what circumstances?

                    Have you ever pretended to be less intelligent or knowledgeable than your: spouse, boss, coworkers, friends, strangers, children

                    Men 31%  Women 23%

                    Findings: women are more likely to play dumb with spouses whereas men are more likely to play dumb with bosses, coworkers, strangers/ with children there is no difference; young people play dumb more often than older people; more highly educated people play dumb more often than less educated people; Jewish people

          in achievement situations there are different expectations based on sex roles; theory - men and women conform to traditional sex-role stereotypes because attractive others approve of such conformity (implications: behaviors would change if expectations change)

          Zanna & Pack (1975) female Ss described themselves to either a highly attractive male with traditional values or with non-traditional values or to an unattractive male with either traditional or nontrad values; findings - for the attractive male the women adjusted their descriptions to fit with his attitudes

          In a second study, Zanna & Pack, the female Ss also had to complete an intelligence scale; findings - for the traditional desirable male, the females scored much lower on the test (18% lower)

          Do men engage in the same type of impression management based on sex role expectations? What is an expectation that we have for males?

          Holmes (1971) instructed one group of men to suck on a pacifier and another group to feel sandpaper or cloth. After this experience, all of the men were asked to endure electrical shocks. Which group was willing to endure greater amounts of shock? Why? (To avoid the impression of being a baby)

Impression Management Strategies

                    Ingratiation - influencing another's perception of our attractiveness; conforming, complimenting

                    Intimidation - arousing fear

                    Self promotion - to be seen as competent

                    Exemplification - to elicit perceptions of integrity or morality or to arouse guilt

                                Supplication - advertising weaknesses, seeking sympathy

          Behavioral matching - acting like the person you are trying to impress

          Conforming to situational norms - situated identities (funeral - wearing somber clothes, etc.

          self-promotion - increasing one's own power, bragging, to be perceived as competent or good/ exemplification - strategy to elicit perception of integrity and moral worthiness or to arouse guilt (playing the martyr); supplication - advertising weaknesses (playing dumb)

          ingratiation - influencing others' perception of our attractiveness by conforming, complimenting, being submissive, paying attention to them ("yes" men) (obese people, status relationships- ROTC cadets and officers)

          intimidation - strategy used to arouse fear in others

Self-schemas - beliefs we have about ourselves; we are schematic on issues that are of interest to us and we are always interested in things that affect us or objects, events, and people who we affect. Self schema affect how we process information and what we remember e.g. gender schema

Individual differences in impression management:

          Self-Monitoring - active attempt to control images and impressions give to others (Mark Snyder)

                    High self-monitors - concerned about the situational and interpersonal appropriateness of his/her behavior; sensitive to cues as to the social appropriateness of behavior; uses situational cues to control verbal and nonverbal self-presentation

                    Low self-monitors - expressive behavior controlled by internal affective state and stable attitudes

          Self-monitoring: High and low self- monitors

          High self monitors are tuned into the social setting; they read and rely on cues from the setting and from others to determine how they should behave; goal- to promote smooth social interactions; actors, politicians, hosts. The TO TELL THE TRUTH study

          Low self- monitors - what you see is what you get; behavior is determined by internal states; see themselves as principled; see high monitors as false

Machiavellianism (Christie & Geis) - high need for power; avoid emotional attachment; respond to elements in the situation that will produce the desirable results; control the means of influencing others (opportunistic; manipulating)

          Machiavellianism - the need for power; Christie and Geis - the MACH scale

          self-seeking opportunists; modify their behavior in order to control others

          Self-Consciousness (self-awareness)

                Private - focus on the self; greater self-knowledge

                Public - Focus on how others see you; more conforming to external demands