Politics and Impression Management

I guess my colleagues over on the Politics blog may also be interested in this, but it grabbed my attention, and I have to say, amused me. Apparently Speaker John Berkow is behind the launching of a computer game which allows students to get a taste of life as an MP.

Of course, nasty cynical sociologists - like myself - will ask you to consider the extent to which this can be seen as a crafty bit of impression management by the politicians. And while we’re on that front - what other strategies can people -and institutions - use to try and ensure that their actions are seen as legitimate? It’s the art of impression management - and there is a rich vein of the study of this sort of thing in sociology. For starters, investigate Goffman’s book, Asylums, where he identifies the various roles inmates in institutions like hospitals, schools and prisons adopt.