Internet Exercises

Exercise 1

Go to http://home.earthlink.net/~hsbecker/crocks.html. Read the article by Howard Becker entitled "How I Learned What a Crock Was" and then answer the following questions:

a. Where did Becker perform his research?

b. What is a crock? Describe a crock and how medical students identified crocks.

c. What are some examples of front-stage and back-stage performances discussed in this article?

d. How do crocks engage in impression management?

Exercise 2

Go to http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/psysoc/units/53270/pdf/m4c12.pdf. Read the article entitled "Goffman's Theory of Stigmatisation and Labeling: Consequences for Health and Illness." Then answer the following questions.

a. What did Goffman mean by the concept of "total institutions"? Provide some examples of total institutions.

b. How can Goffman's concept of stigma be applied to people who have AIDS?

c. Apply labeling theory to the diagnosis of people with mental illness. Answer review question 12-2 of this article: "Is mental illness a physiological condition or simply a misinterpretation of the patient's actions?"