Shyness and Self-Presentation

Abstract

Research on self-presentation and impression management has grown immensely in scope and sophistication during the past two decades. Standing on the shoulders of such astute observers of social behavior as Erving Goffman (e.g., 1959) and Edward E. Jones (e.g., 1964), social psychologists have begun sampling the panorama of fascinating and theoretically compelling behaviors that fall into this category of social influence tactic; one can hardly scan a journal in social psychology without seeing some insightful account or intriguing demonstration of the ways people behave to create impressions on others. Moreover, theory has not lagged behind. Taxonomies, models, and analyses of the motivational bases of self-presentation have been offered (e.g., Arkin, 1981; Arkin & Baumgardner, 1985; Baumeister, 1982; Hogan, 1982; Jones & Pittman, 1982) and lengthy reviews of the process and collections of perspectives on the problem have come fast and furious as well (e.g., Schlenker, 1982; Tedeschi, 1981).