Situational Approach to "Individuality"ーーfrom the Perspective of Frame Analysisーー

The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of “individuality” from the perspective of the definition of the situation and Goffman’s discussion in his Frame Analysis. Symbolic interactionists focus individual interpretation process about social reality. They postulate the great influences of the individuality upon constructing social reality. However, can we construct social reality freely？ How can we explain the steady coincidence of our definition of the situation？

　　　　　In Frame Analysis, he investigates the acquisition process of social reality based on his “interaction order theory.” He indicates people’s impressions for others depends on the definition of the situation. When he engages in this problem, he focuses on the correlation between impressions for the role behaviors and these for the individualities.

　　　　   Imagine an interaction in an operation room. Some surgeons say jokes or give some nicknames to surgical instruments during an operation. If a patient watches their ridiculous attitude, s/he guesses they might be queer or incompetent. However, according to Goffman, they try to reduce stresses or tensions of other operation staffs and lead the operation to succeed by doing so. From the standpoint of the operation staffs, such behaviors by surgeons do not convey any odd impression about their personalities. In the American hospital culture, these behaviors are accepted as conventional role behaviors of surgeons.

　　　　　As shown in the above example, how people interpret the behaviors of surgeons and their individualities is dependent on their definition of the situation. According to Goffman, it depends on what kind of frame they apply to social reality. The frame in this context is a cultural cognitive pattern of social reality. Whether a behavior is interpreted as a typical role behavior or a unique behavior indicating her/his character depends on the frame of the interpreter.