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(Social and Psych)
ASSIGNMENT NO:1
NAME: SYED MUHAMMAD AZHAR
SECTION: BBA-6B
ENROLLMENT NO. 01-111201-107
SUBMITTED TO: Ma’am Aasma
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 30th
Dec 2022

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Impression Management: Definition, Techniques and
Examples
Impression management describes the actions people take to influence how others perceive a
concept. Depending on their objectives, people use impression management to either support
current beliefs or try to change them.
Impression management makes use of the manipulation of information to draw attention to
certain aspects of a situation while ignoring others that might give the wrong impression.
When adopting impression management, people concentrate on disseminating information that
supports how they want other people to view them, leading their audience to generate judgments
and conclusions based on incomplete or biased information.
In social contexts where people naturally attempt to make themselves likeable and try to embody
positive attributes, impression management might work as a subconscious process that people
don't realize is happening. It may also be a deliberate choice made strategically when someone
needs to manage public perception.
Main purpose of Impression Management
To develop or maintain one's social position is the main goal of impression management. This is
true even in professional settings where businesses rely on public perception to persuade
customers to conduct business with them.
Impression management can be used for anything, from establishing friends to landing a job. It is
simpler to attain your goals for impression management when you are aware of your own
motivations.
Impression Management Techniques:
Some of the impression management techniques are following:
1. Conformity.
2. Excuses.
3. Apologies.
4. Self-promotion.
5. Flattery.
6. Favors.
7. Association.

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CONFORMITY:
Accepting another person's viewpoint to get their acceptance.
Using the restructuring plan for the western regional office as an example, a manager tells his
supervisor, "You are 100% correct. I wholeheartedly concur with you.
EXCUSES:
Explanations of a predicament-causing incident intended to reduce the predicament's apparent
severity.
Examples: The sales manager may tell the boss, "We missed the deadline for the newspaper ad,
but nobody ever answers to those advertisements anyhow."
APOLOGIES:
Accepting responsibility for an unfortunate situation while also requesting forgiveness for the
behavior.
Example: An employee apologizes to the supervisor for a report error. Please pardon me.
SELF PROMOTION:
putting one's best traits forward, playing down one's shortcomings, and emphasizing one's
accomplishments.
Example: A salesperson informs his manager, "Matt tried to get the account for three years in
vain. It took me six weeks to sew it. I'm the best closing this business has to offer.
FLATTERY:
Praising others for their virtues to come across as observant and likeable.
A new sales trainee might say to a peer, "You handled that client's criticism so diplomatically! You
handled that better than I ever could have.

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FAVORS:
Extending a helping hand to someone in order to win their acceptance.
Example: A salesperson might say to a potential customer, "I have two theater tickets tonight
that I can't use. Grab them. Take it as a thank you for your time in speaking with me.
ASSOCIATION:
Controlling information about the people and things one is affiliated with in order to improve or
defend one's reputation.
Example: During the interview, a job candidate remarks, "What a coincidence. I shared a college
room with your boss.
Most of the studies undertaken to test the effectiveness of IM techniques have been limited to
determining whether IM behavior is related to job interviews success.
Employment interviews make a particularly relevant area of study since applicants are clearly
attempting to present positive images of themselves and there are relatively objective outcome
measures. The evidence indicates that IM behavior works.
In one study, for instance, interviewers felt that applicants for a position as a customer service
representative who used IM techniques performed better in the interview, and they seemed
somewhat more inclined to hire these people.
Moreover, when the researchers considered applicants’ credentials, they concluded that it was
the IM techniques alone that influenced the interviewers.
That is, it didn’t seem to matter if applicants were well or poorly qualified. If they used IM
techniques, they did better in the interview.
Self-deception and Impression Management
Self-deception is a process or expression where relevance, meaning or importance of evidence
and logical arguments are denied or rationalized. Self-deception entails that people convince
themselves of a truth, so as not to reveal self-knowledge of the deception.

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Everyone shows a certain level of self-deception. Too much of it, however, is problematic. Just
try to explain to someone that they’re not listening, while they’re convinced, they are listening.
When someone isn’t aware of the unrealistic idea they have of themselves, it’s impossible to
impress this upon them in a limited amount of time.
So, don’t try to do this during a job interview. When this does happen, the conversation will
probably result in a yes-no discussion. Someone with an unrealistic self-image will even deny
the results from a test report. Instead, asks for a candidate’s strengths, including examples.
How do you practice Impression Management?
Below you can find several guidelines for managing the impressions you make on others.
1. Know yourself
Self-awareness is one of the most important things in successful IM and authenticity. Sociologist
Erving Goffman proposed a dramaturgical theory in which he posited that human beings are
merely a combination of various roles we adopt.
However, it’s important to have a sense of self-worth. Who am I? What do I value? What do I
stand for? It’s important to have a sense of self-worth to prevent that we turn into a chameleon
who adapts to everything and everyone around them. It’s not necessary to always go along with
the masses.
2. Be mindful
When interacting with others, our brain works at full speed. In social situations, it’s important to
be effective listeners and the points of view of others must be understood. For this purpose, lots
of connections are made between different brain areas.
Although this often happens subconsciously, people should think about the consequences of
statements and actions. Self-disclosure is an important part of forming relationships with others.
Yet, we should be careful not to reveal too much information too quickly and always think about
how someone else would respond to this information.

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3. Manage emotions
Nothing creates a negative impression faster than an inappropriate and explosive emotional
outburst. Emotions are an important tool for connecting with others, and expressing emotions
brings balance to the human brain, but emotions must be regulated and moderated.
Negative emotions such as anger, irritations or even disgust must always be carefully and
strategically displayed.
For leaders in big organisations, for instance, it’s crucial to maintain emotional caution, but
subtly let others know that they’re pleased or displeased.
4. Remember etiquette rules
There’s a set of social rules, also called norms, that tell people how to behave in specific social
situations. To make and maintain a positive impression, it’s important to adhere to and respect
these social norms.
Additionally, it’s important to show that we have good manners and know how to behave in
different and perhaps challenging situations.
Being polite is always a good strategy for impression management, as few people disapprove of
politeness or have negative associations with it.
5. Be self-confident
Self-confidence is difficult to adopt when you don’t have it, but there are social moments that
demand courage and decisiveness. For instance, take a situation in which you’re obligated to
converse with others. Take the initiative without thinking and ask a good question, or help
someone.
Additionally, it’s important to stand up for your principles or convictions. It’s particularly
important to convince others of your visions when you have a leadership position. Most people
will respect your loyalty to a certain conviction or ideas. However, also be reasonable.
When someone else shares an argument that disproves your own conviction or work method,
adjust these.

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6. Be positive
There’s much to gain by looking at the importance and use of positive thinking and positive
affection when making impressions. A smile, a compliment, a positive energy is always better
than a negative and charged atmosphere. Optimistic leaders will be able to convince employees
more easily and are more often seen as effective.
Effective self-impression management isn’t always easy. As with most social skills, this is also
something that should be practised regularly to fully develop one’s self-impression management.