Editing Impression management (section)

=== Face-to-face communication ===

==== Self, social identity and social interaction ====
The social psychologist, Edward E. Jones, brought the study of impression management to the field of psychology during the 1960s and extended it to include people's attempts to control others' impression of their personal characteristics.<ref>Leary; Kowalski 1990</ref> His work sparked an increased attention towards impression management as a fundamental interpersonal process.

The concept of [[self]] is important to the theory of impression management as the images people have of themselves shape and are shaped by social interactions.{{sfn|Schlenker|1980|p=47}} Our self-concept develops from social experience early in life.{{sfn|Schlenker|1980|p=85}} Schlenker (1980) further suggests that children anticipate the effect that their behaviours will have on others and how others will evaluate them. They control the impressions they might form on others, and in doing so they control the outcomes they obtain from social interactions.

[[Social identity]] refers to how people are defined and regarded in [[social interactions]].{{sfn|Schlenker|1980|p=69}} Individuals use impression management strategies to influence the social identity they project to others.{{sfn|Schlenker|1980|p=85}} The identity that people establish influences their behaviour in front of others, others' treatment of them and the outcomes they receive. Therefore, in their attempts to influence the impressions others form of themselves, a person plays an important role in affecting his social outcomes.{{sfn|Schlenker|1980|p=90}}

Social interaction is the process by which we act and react to those around us. In a nutshell, social interaction includes those acts people perform toward each other and the responses they give in return.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/social-interactions-definition-types-quiz.html|title=Social Interactions: Definition & Types|last=Moffitt|first=Kimberly}}</ref> The most basic function of self-presentation is to define the nature of a social situation (Goffman, 1959). Most social interactions are very role governed. Each person has a role to play, and the interaction proceeds smoothly when these roles are enacted effectively. People also strive to create impressions of themselves in the minds of others in order to gain material and social rewards (or avoid material and social [[Social rejection|punishments]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/452/452_chapter_07.pdf|title=CHAPTER 07 SELF-PRESENTATION|last=Brown|first=Jonathon}}</ref>

==== Cross-cultural communication   ====
Understanding how one's impression management behavior might be interpreted by others can also serve as the basis for smoother interactions and as a means for solving some of the most insidious communication problems among individuals of different racial/ethnic and gender backgrounds (Sanaria, 2016).<ref name="Sanaria"/><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Rosenfeld|first1=Paul|last2=Giacalone|first2=Robert A.|last3=Riordan|first3=Catherine A.|date=1994-03-01|title=Impression Management Theory and Diversity Lessons for Organizational Behavior|journal=American Behavioral Scientist|language=en|volume=37|issue=5|pages=601–604|doi=10.1177/0002764294037005002|s2cid=145797383|issn=0002-7642|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1235530}}</ref>

"People are sensitive to how they are seen by others and use many forms of impression management to compel others to react to them in the ways they wish" (Giddens, 2005, p.&nbsp;142). An example of this concept is easily illustrated through cultural differences. Different cultures have diverse thoughts and opinions on what is considered [[Physical attractiveness|beautiful or attractive]]. For example, Americans tend to find [[Olive skin|tan skin]] attractive, but in Indonesian culture, [[Light skin|pale skin]] is more desirable.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/553/impression-management-considering-cultural-social-and-spiritual-factors|title=Impression Management: Considering Cultural, Social, and Spiritual Factors|journal=Inquiries Journal|volume=3|issue=7|last=Norris|first=Ashley|date=2011}}</ref> It is also argued that Women in India use different impression management strategies as compared to women in western cultures (Sanaria, 2016).<ref name="Sanaria"/>

Another illustration of how people attempt to control how others perceive them is portrayed through the clothing they wear. A person who is in a leadership position strives to be respected and in order to control and maintain the impression. This illustration can also be adapted for a cultural scenario. The clothing people choose to wear says a great deal about the person and the culture they represent. For example, most Americans are not overly concerned with conservative clothing. Most Americans are content with tee shirts, shorts, and showing skin. The exact opposite is true on the other side of the world. "Indonesians are both modest and conservative in their attire" (Cole, 1997, p.&nbsp;77).<ref name=":3" />

One way people shape their identity is through sharing photos on social media platforms. The ability to modify photos by certain technologies, such as Photoshop, helps achieve their idealized images.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dijck |first1=van |title=Digital photography: communication, identity, memory |date=2008}}</ref>

Companies use [[cross-cultural training]] (CCT) to facilitate effective cross-cultural interaction. CCT can be defined as any procedure used to increase an individual's ability to cope with and work in a foreign environment. Training employees in culturally consistent and specific impression management (IM) techniques provide the avenue for the employee to consciously switch from an automatic, home culture IM mode to an IM mode that is culturally appropriate and acceptable. Second, training in IM reduces the uncertainty of interaction with FNs and increases employee's ability to cope by reducing unexpected events.<ref name=":5" />

==== Team-working in hospital wards   ====
Impression management theory can also be used in health communication. It can be used to explore how professionals 'present' themselves when interacting on hospital wards and also how they employ front stage and backstage settings in their collaborative work.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Lewin|first1=Simon|last2=Reeves|first2=Scott|date=2011-05-01|title=Enacting 'team' and 'teamwork': using Goffman's theory of impression management to illuminate interprofessional practice on hospital wards|journal=Social Science & Medicine|volume=72|issue=10|pages=1595–1602|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.037|issn=1873-5347|pmid=21549467}}</ref>

In the hospital wards, Goffman's front stage and backstage performances are divided into 'planned' and 'ad hoc' rather than 'official' and 'unofficial' interactions.<ref name=":4" />

* ''Planned front stage'' is the structured collaborative activities such as ward rounds and care conferences which took place in the presence of patients and/or carers.
* ''Ad hoc front stage'' is the unstructured or unplanned interprofessional interactions that took place in front of patients/carers or directly involved patients/carers.
* ''Planned backstage'' is the structured multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT) in which professionals gathered in a private area of the ward, in the absence of patients, to discuss management plans for patients under their care.
* ''Ad hoc backstage'' is the use of corridors and other ward spaces for quick conversations between professionals in the absence of patients/carers.
* Offstage is the social activities between and among professional groups/individuals outside of the hospital context.<ref name=":4" />

Results show that interprofessional interactions in this setting are often based less on planned front stage activities than on ad hoc backstage activities. While the former may, at times, help create and maintain an appearance of collaborative interprofessional 'teamwork', conveying a sense of professional togetherness in front of patients and their families, they often serve little functional practice. These findings have implications for designing ways to improve interprofessional practice on acute hospital wards where there is no clearly defined interprofessional team, but rather a loose configuration of professionals working together in a collaborative manner around a particular patient. In such settings, interventions that aim to improve both ad hoc as well as planned forms of communication may be more successful than those intended to only improve planned communication.<ref name=":4" />