Impression Management

<-NARRATOR:-> Now listen to part of a lecture in a sociology class on this topic.
<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Have you noticed how when a student gives a class presentation, they might dress just a little more formally than usual?
For example, if you usually wear jeans and a T-shirt to class, you might wear nicer pants and a nice shirt or sweater because, you know, you’re dressing up.
You want people to know—even before you begin speaking—that you take this presentation seriously, that you’ve come prepared, that you’re a responsible student, that you’ve got a good presentation for us…
you get the idea.
Or, here’s another example.
There was this one time where I knew I was going to be giving the, uh, president of the university a ride; it was to a meeting across town.
Anyway, the day before I was supposed to give him a ride, I…
I wasn’t even aware of doing this, but the day before I was supposed to give him a ride,
I took the trash out of the back seat and even had the car washed—
I suppose I was thinking in the back of my mind that, you know, if my car was neat and tidy, the president would think that I was, um, responsible, respectful….
And then, to top it off, when the president got in the car, I changed the radio to a classical station.
Now, I don’t even like classical music.
I guess I must have been thinking that classical music would seem more, um, sophisticated.