deference and demeanor

Introduction Deference and demeanor is a widespread sociological theory, developed by Irving Goffman in his essay "The Nature of Deference and Demeanor, that defines demeanor to be the way a person acts, and deference as the respect and/or reaction another person has to that behavior. Along with deference and demeanor comes obligation and expectation. Obligation being defined as the the way society projects responsiblity onto a certain person; whereas expectation is the expected reaction that another person will give. For example "A nurse has an obligation to follow medical orders in regard to her patients: she has the expectation, on the other hand, that her patients will pliantly cooperate in allowing her to perform these actions upon them" (Goffman 474).
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