Impressions

Impression management, though I am new this terminology, has always been an intriguing aspect of human behavior that I often tune into. Observing the way that someone changes in the presence of a particular person or situation often makes me wonder if the people I am in everyday contact with are putting on, so to speak, a display to appear a certain way for my approval. I feel that there are certain situations in which impression management is necessary, such as, a job interview or meeting a boyfriend or girlfriend's parents. These situations in particular one would want to eliminate poor behavior not to necessarily gain approval moreover to display their best qualities.


Personally, I think there is a difference in those who use impression management to gain approval of a group of friends or at a party. This seems to be changing or conforming to ones standards in order to fit in. When someone is acting on their best behavior to please another (job interview example) they are still true to themselves, just shining their most favorable traits. Whereas, when someone is meeting a group of people trying to fit in, their impression management may not be true to themselves but rather an act of conformity to blend to the characteristics of that particular group. This type of impression management is what I enjoy being a witness of. I feel it does nothing gain temporary approval that is set up for future failure. If someone is putting on a show to gain approval, they are not giving a taste of their true self, as time goes by, unless they continue the display for continuous validation, their inner self must come through and then what happens? Maybe this never comes full circle, but does that mean that conformity had played such a huge role that ones personality had been molded to what the group originally desired from him or her? It's an interesting cycle and I think about it often. I have had many falling outs with past friends and sometimes I feel I can attribute this to impression management. I believed they were someone that they did not turn out to be. Impression management impairs one ability to read true character... At least this has proved to be true to my life experiences.

There are not only times in which I have observed people using impression management but there are also many times that I recognize these behaviors in myself. One situation that I can think of in particular is my job. I nanny for multiple families around the neighborhood in which I live. It is always an exciting moment when I get a call from a new parent interested in me caring for their child/children. More often than not, the family wishes I meet the children and get a tour of the house prior to the nannying times they need. In the first couple years of this routine, I would be nervous at this point! I thought a lot about what I want to wear, how I want to appear physically. I didn't want to wear jeans with holes in them or low cut shirts... I suppose, thinking back on it, I tried to create an image of a mom or stereotypical neighbor-girl babysitter. As a few years have passed and I still work as a nanny, I suppose I have gained some confidence in my position and no longer feel the need to express myself any differently than I am naturally... my real self. I before felt as if I had to work to fit the role in all aspects of a nanny, now I am that role with no strain or effort.