Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Police -- Middle West -- Attitudes, Police -- Middle West -- Public opinion
Abstract
Using a qualitative approach, I analyze data collected from two small Midwestern police departments. I gathered this data through a combination of methods: ethnographic interviewing, participant observation, and content analysis of police artifacts and documents. Most of the data derive from (1) my ethnographic interviews of 17 police officers and (2) my observations of officers during 16 "ride-along."
My analyses are guided by Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical analysis of face-to-face interaction, Manning's (1971; 1977) dramaturgical approach to policing, and Hunt and Manning's (1991) dramaturgical studies of police lying and the use of normal force (see also Hunt 1985). I rely most heavily upon the concepts of dramaturgic competency and incompetency (Wilkinson 1978), which are derived from Goffman's (1959) concept of impression management.
My thesis highlights two types of dramaturgic incompetency: individual and organizational. Individual dramaturgic incompetency refers to actions or situations when officers give off expressions that are detrimental to their police identity. Organizational dramaturgic incompetency refers to actions or situations that tarnish or reflect negatively upon the image of the department.
My thesis also examines the individual and organizational manifestations of dramaturgic competency. Individual dramaturgic competency refers to actions or situations when officers fulfill the demands of performative competence, empathic competence, and motive competence and, thus, effectively maintain their police identity (Wilkinson 1978). Organizational dramaturgic competency refers to actions or situations that sustain or reflect positively upon the image of the larger department.
Year of Submission
1999
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
First Advisor
Phyllis L. Baker, Chair
Date Original
5-1999
Object Description
1 PDF file (iii, 140 leaves ; 28 cm)
Copyright
©1999 Michael P. Wagner
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Wagner, Michael P., "Dramaturgical perspective in modern police work : an analysis of interviews and observations" (1999). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1382.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1382
Comments
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