The analogy provided by Goffman’s study that compares life to theater is a suggestion that often people are prone to conduct themselves in a manner sensitive to the reactions, perceptions, and expectations of others when in public (McIntyre, 2011, pp. 126-134). This behavior does not suggest that people are not being authentic or sincere, but rather a recognition that people succumb to conformity to some degree.
In regards to Adrian Aveni’s work in The Not-So-Lonely Crowd: Friendship Groups in Collective Behavior (McIntyre, 2011, pp. 135-138), people do bad things when in a group setting because their own identity is embedded with the collective group. This collective group is representative of ideas, behaviors, and relationships that the individual identifies with and becomes more comfortable acting on in this environment.
In The Pathology of Imprisonment (McIntyre, 2011, pp. 140-143), Philip Zimbardo illustrates how individuals act according the role they are placed in. For example, Zimbardo’s subjects had identical social attributes and were randomly assigned a role either as a prison guard or as an inmate (McIntyre, 2011, p. 141). However the uniformity of their social attributes quickly eroded, as they eventually began to fully adopt their role and act accordingly. This is demonstrated by the prison guards acting cruel towards the prisoners, and the prisoners being subservient and resentful of the guards.
Based on the reading from Paules (McIntyre, 2011, pp. 145-152), it is unlikely that a waitperson gives much thought to customers when they do not tip well. This is due to the approach of wait staff towards customers mentioned in the reading, which includes maximizing the volume of customers served rather than a focus on maximizing the tip received per customer (McIntyre, 2011, p. 146).
Female cheerleaders likely do not receive the stigmas often associated with other female athletes, including that of inferiority or accusations of homosexuality, because many in society do not view female cheerleaders being athletes in their own right. They are often characterized according to physical attractiveness but not regarding for athleticism. Female cheerleaders are generally viewed in the stereotypical light of merely providing performances for male dominated audiences, which furthers the sexual objectification of women (McIntyre, 2011, pp. 162-163).