Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman



The sociologist ‘Erving Goffman’ developed the theory known as the face theory, it means that individuals have positive and negative facial needs. Positive faces are associated with feeling valued and appreciated, and negative face needs are the desire, to feel independent and not imposed upon. Deixis refers to words and phrases that can’t fully be understood without additional contextual information.



Politeness comes under the term of semantics as it shows the meaning of the word, to use manners it shows your gratefulness and how appreciative you are. Erving Goffman studied the theory of Face.



Interactionism views society as a framework of people living in a world full of meaningful objects. These objects may be physical, actions, relationships, or symbols. Interactionists believe that humans place a meaning on all things to understand it.



Goffman, a sociologist who helped to explain society through the everyday interactions of people. Who is known most for his study and analysis of everyday human interactions, did not rely on any formal type of scientific method to gather his data, instead he used the act of simple observation to explain society. Goffman's research is fundamental in understanding society's ideas, values, and beliefs through the behaviour of the individual. It is through his findings that we can better understand situational behaviour.



Deixis are words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual language;


1. Person Deixis - I, me, you
2. Spatial Deixis – Here, there, left, right

3. Temporal Deixis – Now, then, today, tomorrow