Your Public Persona: Self-Presentation in Everyday Life

Follow Professor Mark Leary of Duke University through the basics of self-presentation, his primary area of scholarship for more than 40 years in the field of social psychology. Discover both how we form impressions about other people in everyday life and how we attempt to manage their impressions of us.

Professor Leary takes viewers into the compelling world of impression management—from physical appearance and body language to verbal cues and explicit statements about ourselves. Learn about the wide variety of tactics we use to get people to see us in particular ways in our efforts to reach the goals we would like to attain.

The balance that all humans strike between conformity and individuality has critical bearing on the quality and happiness of our lives. Although we are often reminded of the importance of individuality, it is actually conformity that allows us to function as social animals. Explore the role that self-presentation plays in finding “optimal distinctiveness.”

Know your audience. Learn why their impressions matter and how we shift from one self-presentational performance to another, depending on the values of the people with whom we interact. In our efforts to be seen as likable, competent, and virtuous, we tailor our self-presentation to the preferences of those around us.

Generally, we want to be perceived in positive ways. What happens when, in pursuit of a particular goal, we manage impressions to look aggressive, incompetent, or ill instead? Professor Leary unpacks our motivations for presenting socially undesirable impressions, and the antisocial behavior that such impression management can generate.

People differ in the kinds of impressions they try to create and the tactics they use to do so. From the publicly self-conscious, to those who rarely seem to care what others think, discover several psychological characteristics that influence self-presentation.

Our friends, family, and romantic partners hold tremendous sway over the outcomes of our lives—a reality reflected in the ways we use self-presentation to manage these critical associations. From first impressions to final conflicts, see how we present ourselves to create, manage, improve, and even end our closest relationships.

Most of us are deeply concerned with our image in the workplace, and with good reason. How people see us determines much in our professional lives. In this lecture, Professor Leary delves into the challenges of workplace self-presentation, and how we use impression management to get, keep, and even do our jobs.

Sometimes other people’s impressions of us are particularly important—for example, when we are on a first date, in a job interview, or giving a public speech. In these cases, we might feel the warning pangs of social anxiety because the fear of making an undesired impression is both real and justified. Although social anxiety is certainly uncomfortable, learn why it is essential to our social well-being.

Everyone has said and done things that constitute what Professor Leary calls “self-presentational disasters.” Generally, the consequences are minor, if uncomfortable. Discover common mishaps, as well as more critical, life-changing mistakes, and the many strategies we employ to mitigate the damage to our image once it has been done.

Have you ever done something dangerous or stupid to impress the people around you? Self-presentation, often so beneficial, can also be hazardous to your health. Delve into the dark side of impression management as Professor Leary explains the risky, foolish, and damaging choices we make to appear attractive, adventurous, young, healthy, and even “cool.”

In this final lecture, Professor Leary reviews the role of self-presentation in our social lives—and our frequent discomfort with it. How can we both manage impressions and be authentic individuals? Is impression management just another form of dishonesty, or an essential tool? The study of self-presentation can reveal to us not just how we want to be seen, but at a much deeper level, who we actually are.