Quiz for Chapter 9
Multiple Choice Questions
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1. What concept would Goffman employ to explain the props an actor uses to convince his audience that the role he is playing is genuine?
a) charm
b) braggadocio
c) personal front
d) false front
Answer: C (Page 223)
2. Which of the following is considered a master status?
a) gender
b) business partner
c) daughter
d) student
Answer: A (Page 219)
3. What was the metaphor that guided most of Goffman's work?
a) MacGuffin
b) social blueprint
c) theatricality
d) dramaturgy
Answer: D (Page 222)
4. Which of the following conveys to the audience the kind of role the social actor expects to play?
a) dress
b) etiquette
c) manner
d) character
Answer: C (Page 223)
5. Goffman emphasized the performance of the ________.
a) gang
b) team
c) cohort
d) collaborative circle
Answer: B (Page 225)
True or False Questions
1. Focusing on individual actors obscures the most important part about interaction: its social nature.
Answer: True (Page 225)
2. The individual must act both to save his own face and to protect the face of others.
Answer: True (Page 225)
3. Nowhere in Goffman's book, Interaction Ritual, does he clearly define interaction ritual.
Answer: True (Page 226)
4. Randal Collins argues that our macro encounters with institutions are the foundation of all social life and experiences.
Answer: False (Page 216)
5. Goffman began his career by challenging Mead's discussion of the tension between the 'I' (the spontaneous self) and the 'me' (the socially constrained self).
Answer: False (Page 221)
Fill in the Blank Questions
1. It may be necessary for actors to conceal ________, which are tasks that are degrading.
Answer: dirty work (Page 224)
2. Officially accredited social interactions tend to be ________.
Answer: ritualistic (Page 226)
3. Rituals can serve as a means for individuals to escape ________.
Answer: self-awareness Page 226
4. Randall Collins considers ________ to form the mechanism that holds society together.
Answer: interaction rituals (Page 226)
5. Interaction rituals give individuals a sense of ________ and common purpose with others.
Answer: identity (Page 228)
Short Answer Questions
1. What concepts did Goffman use to develop his dramaturgical metaphor further? Briefly describe each concept.
Answer: Goffman developed his dramaturgical metaphor further by introducing the concepts front stage, backstage, and outside. The front stage is where the performance takes place; the backstage is relevant to the performance, but the audience is excluded; and the outside is where neither performers nor audience are involved in the performance.
2. How did Goffman view greetings and farewells directed at close friends or family members?
Answer: Goffman saw greetings directed at close friends or family members as being used to indicate that the relationship has remained intact since last contact, while farewells are used to indicate that the relationship can be expected to continue until the next meeting.
3. What is a social role and when can role strain occur?
Answer: A social role is the behaviour performed by a social actor who occupies or holds a particular social status. Role strain can occur when there is tension among the various roles attached to a status, or even between the roles attached to different statuses.