Identity and Reality

The social construction of reality refers to the theory that the way we present ourselves to others is shaped by our interactions with others.
The Thomas Theorem posits that if a person perceives a situation as real, it is real in its consequences. People will act according to how they perceive a person or a situation.
Ethnomethodology, as founded by Harold Garfinkel, looks at how people make sense out of everyday situations by examining their background assumptions.

Erving Goffman developed dramaturgy, the theory that all social life is like a drama or play in which everyone plays a role.
Goffman coined the term impression management to refer to our desire to manipulate others’ impressions of us.
To manage impressions, we use three sign vehicles: setting, appearance, and manner.
People also manage impressions by managing their personal space, the immediate area surrounding their body.

Social status is the position that we occupy in a particular setting.
Status symbols are obvious signs or symbols of a respective status. They can be positive or negative.
Status inconsistency occurs when a person occupies one or more statuses that do not usually coincide in a single person.
Master status overrides all other statuses and is the one by which we are first known to others. For many people, their occupation is their master status.
Stigma is Goffman’s term for a trait or characteristic we possess that causes us to lose prestige in others’ eyes.
When stigma is permanent or severe, it can result in spoiled identity. People think negatively of those with spoiled identities.
One way to deal with people with spoiled identities is through a degradation ceremony, a ritual designed to expel a person from a group.