“Who am I?”- 6
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interaction, especially when face is threatened, and develop elaborate face-saving strategies to
accomplish this. These strategies, known as avoidance and corrective processes, become
habitualized within interaction and are generally understood as “common sense” for the
protection of self and other.
Through participation as social actors, individuals project particular identities, which
depend on social membership for existence. Through language, individuals’ identities are
accepted, rejected or negotiated by group members; deference, which implies statements of
regard for others, carries with it an explicit promise that the expectations and identities of
individuals will be supported, if they are in accordance with obligatory rules (Goffman, 1967).
Conversely, demeanor, understood as communicating one’s desire to be considered a social
participant, is generally displayed through cultural artifacts, such as clothing, physical bearing,
and conduct (Goffman, 1967). Demeanor is also a tentative guarantee that others will not be
harmed when presenting themselves. Both deference and demeanor are part of a sequence of
communicative acts that acknowledge threats to face and attempts to preserve identity as
important work that individuals undertake as social participants. From this, we can conclude
that, for Goffman (1967), identity is a ubiquitous concern for individuals.
Relational Self
In examining the connection between self and relationships, Gergen (1991) proposes that
the self can no longer be understood in terms of the individual, but rather, because of our
saturation with media technologies, self must be constructed through relationships. Even though
the notion of an individual self has contributed significantly to Westernized traditions such as
democracy, scientific inquiry and societal institutions, Gergen (1999) claims there have been
substantial costs as a result of this conception. Social isolation and alienation (as we can never
Convention