Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman was a sociologist who studied the way that people act in social situations, or the way that groups of people interact. He noticed that when people are around other people, they act differently than when they are alone. For example, when you are with your friends, you might act differently than when you are in school or with your family. He believed that everyone had a public and a private self, and that how people view themselves and the way they act around others can be shaped by the group they are with. His work has inspired many different fields, including social psychology, marketing, business, and education.