Moods or Selves?

[07056267]

I agree that those around us have a huge influence on which mask we wear.  As human beings we react to our social and envionmental surroundings so that we can be accepted and liked.  Therefore, we assess the situation that we are in, as well as the 'type' of people that we are interacting with, and act accordingly.  For example, the way you act is going to be largely affected by factors such as age, gender, class, race etc when interacting with people.  I think if we had one identity that we performed at all times, we would soon become disliked as our behaviour could be deemed inappropriate within different social settings.

[soph218]

Gergens experiments are very consistent in showing the influences we get from people around us. I often find myself in similar situations.The quote that Tiffany mentioned “we are made of soft plastic and moulded by social circumstances” I believe is very true. My moods and often my self confidence depend on the people I am around and the situation I am in. For example in a group situation if I feel comfortable in the environment and with the people I am with, I am more likely to speak up. I also find it interesting to see how drawn in we are by appearances of others and even of ourselves, feeling and looking the part both go hand in hand, we live in a very fickle society and it is easy to feel inferior or superior depending on  the others around us.

[honeybunny]

i do believe this, when friends are in a bad mood it will often change my own mood to suit the environment that i am in. Although this does not change my sense of self, it does lead me to recognise that my mood is not appropriate for the situation and therefore i then change.

Some people change their personality according to the people they are around. Would Gergen argue that this is simply a process of changing masks?

i would argue that it shows the ability to change masks according to situations, yet i would also recognise this as a fake behavior.

it seems difficult to distinguish what is an uncontrollable mask and what is an example of someone being fake.

[Silver]

I do believe that Gergen has a good point in saying that our moods and selves are affected by the people around, us because we do act differently around different people, and with each different social situation we begin to mould, so we are accepted by this. Goffman also went with this idea, that we are moulded by the people around us say that our whole social life is a performance that we begin. We act a certain way in social situations and if we or our "audience" commit any faux pas, then the must learn to address them, or the will not be selected for the next performance. It is an interesting idea, i think.

[gamst12]

The people around us will have a huge impact on the way we behave and carry ourselves. In some situations it would be very inappropriate if we behaved in the same way around our parents as we do in front of piers. This can be linked into what Goffman discussed in relation to being moulded to play a role or act in certain way when we surrounded by differernt people. In a job interview you will dress smartly and answer the questions in a professional manner in which is deemed acceptable for the situation whereas in the pub with your friends you will be free to discuss what you really think of current affairs because you are not trying to fulfill the criteria and needs of the future employeer anymore. From a young age we form a personality and character and it is socially constructed via the people we surround ourselves with, whether we are conciously aware of the altering personalities we have or not.

[Vix]

I agree with Gergen that our sense of self, as well as our mood sometimes, depends on the people around us. I think work is a good example, when there is a manager I feel subordinate and therefore behave as all my colleagues, but when the manager is off and I'm left in charge my behaviour changes accordingly, and it is not because my mood had changed but because I have more responsibilities and expected to behave differently

[Insurgo]

I think that even though Gergen's experiments/ exercises were fairly simplistic, they aptly demonstrated his theory. It is clear that our sense of self is constantly being influenced by the world around us. The people we respect make us aspire to be more like them and those we look down on have the opposite effect. Human interaction is clearly the key feature in the creation of one’s identity or self.

[07031351]

I also agree that Gergen does explain his theory very well. I believe that it does very much depend on who you are with and your surroundings that can dictate your mood. For instance if one of my friends is upset or I am in an area in which I feel awkward my mood can drastically change from happy to sad. Equally when the people around me are happy I too feel much happier. Although this being said I also believe that what Gergen said about his experiment with Mr. Dirty and Mr. Clean. if I am surrounded by people who are much more intelligent I begin to feel inadequate.

[calling_stars]

I agree with Gergen as my mood can change rapidly depending on whom I am with. When I see someone that makes me feel awkward this can instantly change my mood. In contrast, if I am unhappy with something seeing one of my friends can instantly lift my mood. "The behaviour and appearance of others inspire self-change, but the setting in which we encounter also exert and influence." (Gergen, p.137)

[bumblebee]

I think that Gergen is correct in concluding that our sense of self depends on those around us rather than just our current moods. There is a close link to motives and masks like Tiffany states, but can motives change due to moods? Speaking from personal experience if I am in a bad mood, the motive to do anything is reduced, therefore am I putting on the correct mask for the situation or is it affected by my mood? I do think however that the experiments do effectively demonstrate that our sense of self depends on those around us, but it may not be the only factor. The experiments however are the type that can be reproduced to find out if the findings are similar to Gergens.