During everyday social interactions, people try to influence how others view them. Some people make this effort deliberately, while others do so unconsciously. In social psychology, this behavior is called impression management. This article explores what impression management is, who impression managers are, and why it matters.
Impression management is the process of trying to control the impression others have of you. It’s an intentional attempt to influence your reputation, or how you seem to others. If you want to seem friendly, you’ll probably make eye contact, smile, start a conversation, use people’s names, and remember details about their lives. An impression manager chooses to present in a certain way to create a specific image of themself.
“Impression management has a lot of advantages,” said Alise Dabdoub, PhD, director of product innovation at Hogan Assessments. “It can help you get a job, do better in the workplace, make sales—all kinds of things.”
Who Is an Impression Manager?
One of the most common times for people to manage their self-presentation is during job interviews. A job candidate tends to be highly aware of how their words and actions influence what others think of them. They will likely “put their best foot forward,” or portray themselves in the best possible way. They will actively strive to show that they are conscientious, agreeable, or any other characteristic that could help them succeed in their desired role.
Impression managers tend to care very much about the impression they are making, just as anyone might during an interview. But it’s important to impression managers to appear a certain way almost all the time. They tend to seem mannerly, polite, socially conventional, self-controlled, and careful not to give offense. This interpersonal approach is likely driven by the universal human motives of getting along with others (cooperation) and getting ahead of others (competition).
Impression Management and Reputation
Hogan’s personality assessments can identify impression management as a behavioral style. Personality data give us insights into how others view us, or our reputations. Reputation is the “outside” view of personality, based on the perspective of observers. (In contrast, identity is the “inside” view of personality, based on how we view ourselves.)
We can identify the reputation someone is attempting to attain with their style of self-portrayal. Dr. Dabdoub explained that how someone responds on a personality assessment is how they want other people to view them. Those whose profiles correspond to that of an impression manager often want to seem acceptable or appropriate in social situations. They may use their interpersonal skills to adapt or conform to different social circumstances.
How We Measure Impression Management
Impression management theory originated from research into how people present themselves to others. Using a metaphor of stage performance, the theory explores motivations and techniques for self-presentation in a social context. Specifically, impression management refers to the degree to which someone puts effort into managing how they represent themselves. Impression managers tend to have certain socioemotional skills that can show up on personality assessments.
One of Hogan’s three core personality assessments is the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), which describes everyday strengths. One of the seven scales on the HPI is called Prudence. This relates to whether a person seems conscientious, conforming, and dependable. The Prudence scale is made up of seven subscales. People who score very high on three Prudence subscales—Moralistic, Mastery, and Virtuous—might be impression managers, although not necessarily.
Types of Impression Managers
The three Prudence subscales predict behaviors that Dr. Dabdoub described as “diligent, precise, perfectionistic, hardworking, and rule following.” People who score high on this group of subscales likely care about adhering to rules, working hard, and striving for perfection. They also might want others to perceive them as such. If so, they could be responding to assessment items in a socially desirable way, just as they might behave in a job interview.
The Hogan assessments identify three impression manager profiles. These regard being (1) socially acceptable, which is related to the need to conform; (2), socially appropriate, related to a desire to be conscientious; and (3) socially adaptable, related to seeming charming and charismatic. Distinguishing among the types of impression management can help with understanding the reputation that a person strives for and the tactics they use to pursue it.
What is considered socially desirable behavior is influenced by context—for example, by the culture of different teams or organizations. Someone concerned with seeming skilled will try to attract acclaim for their accomplishments. Someone who wants to seem intellectual will find opportunities for self-promotion to share their knowledge. In some contexts, flattery may be a more effective technique for getting along or getting ahead; in others, conformity might produce better results.
Reasons for Impression Management
One reason people want to manage impressions lies in the universal human motives to get along and get ahead. People are fundamentally driven to cooperate and to compete in life. Because impression management relies on strong socioemotional skills, it tends to help people get along in groups and facilitate group success.
Maintaining a specific reputation can convey social advantage and make obtaining resources easier. Put another way, how we advertise ourselves gives us a measure of control over our environment and over other people. You want people to think of you a certain way, so you behave in a way to create that image.
Finally, impression management can be an effective means to achieve social goals. Someone who believes that their public image can help them attain a goal will be motivated to control how others perceive them. For instance, a job candidate will consider many complex social factors during an interview. These include their social role as interviewee, the characteristics of the job they wish to obtain, the values and behaviors of their interviewers, what they think their interviewers think of them, and what they think of themselves. Getting hired is just one of many situations where someone would feel motivated to manage their impression.
Impression Management and Faking
Is impression management the same as faking on a personality assessment? Not exactly.
Impression management refers to controlled behavior during social interaction. Describing yourself on a personality assessment is considered social interaction, similar to describing yourself in an interview or on a date.
Faking can be unconscious or conscious.3 Most people will claim to have a good sense of humor. Even if they don’t, they probably think they do, so they behave consistently with that belief. This is unconscious faking. Conscious faking involves people claiming characteristics that they know they don’t have (or vice versa). They are concerned with getting others to think highly of them.
Impression Management and Deception
Is impression management the same as deception? Again, not exactly.
Impression managers are typically consistent in the impression they intend to give. Consistency in self-presentation is one definition of personality—a viewpoint that suggests impression managers are the people they seem to be. Their performance builds a consistent reputation. On the other hand, deception is a deliberate deviation from consistency. If Noel claims to be good with details but turns in work full of minor errors, they have created inconsistency between their words and actions.
Organizations that use scientifically validated personality assessments, such as the Hogan assessments, will gain meaningful, predictive data about how people are likely to perform at work. “We measure your likelihood of engaging in any given behavior,” Dr. Dabdoub said. She pointed out that an impression management profile is no reason to disqualify a job candidate; rather, people with this profile can make excellent employees. “There’s nothing wrong with impression managing. If you know what the desired behavior is, you’re more likely to do the desired behavior successfully,” she added.
Why Impression Management Matters
Ultimately, impression management matters because it’s a behavioral style that affects job performance. Dr. Dabdoub observed a correlation between the HPI scales Prudence and Interpersonal Sensitivity, which measures the degree to which someone seems perceptive, tactful, and socially sensitive. This suggests that someone who maintains a consistent reputation for themselves may have a higher degree of social skill. Impression managers can have a positive organizational impact using their emotional intelligence.
Impression management also helps to give context for human relationships. Remember, it was founded on the theory that all social interaction is performative to some degree. Social performance creates reputation, and reputation is how we evaluate others. Impression managers often seem like ideal employees. Personality data consistent with impression management indicate the reputation that someone is likely to maintain at work: competent, agreeable, and appropriate. Indeed, an impression manager could well be the right person for the right role.
A version of this article appeared on hoganassessments.com, posted on July 16, 2024
EXPERD, Human Resources Consultant, Jakarta – Indonesia