Professional Resources

• Sociology of Emotions  
  Although it is not their exclusive interest, members of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Section on the Sociology of Emotions often study self-presentation issues.

• Study of Symbolic Interaction 
  Symbolic interactionists are disproportionately likely to study self-presentation and impression management. See Symbolic Interaction, the official journal of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI).

Other Resources

• Dr. Ubel
  Dr. Peter Ubel and his colleagues sent observers to five Pennsylvania hospitals to determine the frequency and nature of inappropriate talk about patients among hospital personnel while behind their back (i.e., “back stage”). Learn more about Dr. Ubel and this research.
   
• Advertising Age
  Much commercial advertising (print and broadcast) is aimed at selling “images” as much as selling “products.” Consumption of the product being advertised ties the consumer to a particular image being sold. Advertising Age is a trade magazine for those working in the advertising industry and is considered a preeminent source of marketing, advertising and media news, information and analysis.

  One major way in which people manage other’s impressions is through body modification, notably but not exclusively cosmetic (“plastic”) surgery. The following groups promote this practice.
   

• ASAPS
  The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), founded in 1967, is the leading professional organization of plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery who specialize in cosmetic plastic surgery [self-characterization].
   

• Plastic Surgery Statistics
  Statistics on trends in plastic surgery—by type, by gender—are available from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Statistics at the ASPS Web site.

• Body Modification in Museums
  Body modification and what it means is personal and cultural. What does it mean to you? People around the world have been piercing, tattooing, and painting their bodies for ages. There’s excellent evidence of this, some of it dating as far back as the 9th-century B.C., in the galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum [self-description].

  What about those whose body size does not meet cultural standards? Two organizations exist that advocate on behalf of these individuals.

• International Size Acceptance Association
  The mission of the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) is to promote size acceptance and fight size discrimination throughout the world by means of advocacy and visible, lawful actions [self-characterization].
   
• The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
  The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is a nonprofit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA has been working since 1969 to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support [self-characterization].
   
• Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma
  The “Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma: Toolkit for Action” toolkit was designed for NGOs, community groups and HIV educators to raise awareness and promote actions to challenge HIV stigma and discrimination. Based on research in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia, the toolkit contains more than 125 exercises [self-characterization].
   
• The National Communication Association
  The National Communication Association advances communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific and aesthetic inquiry. The NCA serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, the NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems. NCA is the largest national organization to promote communication scholarship and education. A non-profit organization, NCA has over 8,000 educators, practitioners, and students who work and reside in every state and more than 20 countries.