--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I assume that the proper study of…" description: "\"I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of differen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg" --- # I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the… ![“I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present to another.” quote by Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg) > “I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present to another.” [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Interaction study should focus on the relational patterns between people, not just individual psychology. **In simple terms:** Study social relations, not just individuals. Key Takeaway Observe how people coordinate actions. Themes social interaction relationships structure Mood observational analytical Type theoretical educational When to use this quote - group work - customer service - conflict resolution Key Concepts symbolic interaction sociology Questions to Reflect On - What relational patterns do you notice daily? - How do these patterns shape outcomes? A Different Perspective Complex dynamics can be hard to isolate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another/) [Different person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-person/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Individual Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-psychology-2739892/) [Interaction Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction-individual-3369331/) [Persons Mutually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons-mutually-3369334/) [Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Psychology Syntactical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology-syntactical-3369332/) [Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rather/) [Study Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-interaction-3369333/) ## Related quotes > [When facts are few, speculations are most likely to represent individual psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/when-facts-are-few-speculations-are-most-likely-to-represent/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [On the other hand, ethnic psychology must always come to the assistance of individual psychology, when the developmental forms of the complex mental processes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-wundt/on-the-other-hand-ethnic-psychology-must-always-come-to-the/) [Wilhelm Wundt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-wundt/) > [“The antidote, in so far as it is a matter of individual psychology, is to be found in history, biology, astronomy, and all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-antidote-in-so-far-as-it-is-a-matter-of-individual-psychology-is/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The striving for significance, this sense of yearning, always points out to us that all psychological phenomena contain a movement that starts from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/the-striving-for-significance-this-sense-of-yearning-always-points/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [The Adlerians, in the name of "individual psychology," take the side of society against the individual. ... Adler's later thought succumbs to the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/the-adlerians-in-the-name-of-individual-psychology-take-the-side-of/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [No very sharp line can be drawn between social psychology and individual psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-very-sharp-line-can-be-drawn-between-social-psychology-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I see myself on screen, I don't even feel like it's me - it's like it's a completely different person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/when-i-see-myself-on-screen-i-don-t-even-feel-like-it-s-me-it-s-like/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [I was depressed. I knew I was lost, but I had no idea how to find myself again. It was as though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/i-was-depressed-i-knew-i-was-lost-but-i-had-no-idea-how-to-find/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [“If you wake up at a different time in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/if-you-wake-up-at-a-different-time-in-a-different-place-could-you/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“It was probably not so unusual to be a different person with a different man, for all parts were authentically within, waiting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/it-was-probably-not-so-unusual-to-be-a-different-person-with-a/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“It is so odd that you can stand in a space - a place in which you normally feel so happy and safe -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-driscoll/it-is-so-odd-that-you-can-stand-in-a-space-a-place-in-which-you/) [Teresa Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-driscoll/) > [I got a different persona than a lot of these other guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljamain-sterling/i-got-a-different-persona-than-a-lot-of-these-other-guys/) [Aljamain Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aljamain-sterling/) > [My favorite superheroes when I was younger were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and they still are. Simply because they rule and you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reeves/my-favorite-superheroes-when-i-was-younger-were-the-teenage-mutant/) [Jason Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reeves/) > [“We as humans are the patterns of life. We are the roads we travel. Our lives make up the insignificance of a moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-duke/we-as-humans-are-the-patterns-of-life-we-are-the-roads-we-travel-our/) [Megan Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-duke/) > [I'm not always smiling when I'm on the golf course. Sometimes, hey, listen, people have regular jobs. You go to them when they're working,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-koepka/i-m-not-always-smiling-when-i-m-on-the-golf-course-sometimes-hey/) [Brooks Koepka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-koepka/) ## More by Erving Goffman > [The term stigma and its synonyms conceal a double perspective: does the stigmatized individual assume his differentness is known about already or is evident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-term-stigma-and-its-synonyms-conceal-a-double-perspective-does/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The routines of social intercourse in established settings allow us to deal with anticipated others without special attention or thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-routines-of-social-intercourse-in-established-settings-allow-us/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“In reviewing his own moral career, the stigmatized individual may single out and retrospectively elaborate experiences which serve for him to account for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/in-reviewing-his-own-moral-career-the-stigmatized-individual-may/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“When an individual becomes over-involved in a topic of conversation, others are drawn from the talk to the talker. One man's eagerness is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/when-an-individual-becomes-over-involved-in-a-topic-of-conversation/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The more there is about the individual that deviates in an undesirable direction from what might have been expected to be true of him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-more-there-is-about-the-individual-that-deviates-in-an/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The self... is not an organic thing that has a specific location, whose fundamental fate is to be born, to mature, to die; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-self-is-not-an-organic-thing-that-has-a-specific-location-whose/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The stigmatized individual is asked to act so as to imply neither that his burden is heavy nor that bearing it has made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-stigmatized-individual-is-asked-to-act-so-as-to-imply-neither/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [There is a close meshing with the ritual properties of persons and with the egocentric forms of territoriality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/there-is-a-close-meshing-with-the-ritual-properties-of-persons-and/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The act of staring is a thing which one does not ordinarily do to another human being; it seems to put the object stared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-act-of-staring-is-a-thing-which-one-does-not-ordinarily-do-to/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn’t are not easy to specify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/all-the-world-is-not-of-course-a-stage-but-the-crucial-ways-in-which/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Morning and lunchtime are times when anyone can appear alone almost anywhere without this giving evidence of how the person is faring in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/morning-and-lunchtime-are-times-when-anyone-can-appear-alone-almost/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Although the pictures shown here cannot be taken as representative of gender behavior in real life... one can probably make a significant negative statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/although-the-pictures-shown-here-cannot-be-taken-as-representative-of/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The normal and the stigmatized are not persons, but perspectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-normal-and-the-stigmatized-are-not-persons-but-perspectives/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“...the issue becomes not whether a person has experience with a stigma of his own, because he has, but rather how many varieties he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-issue-becomes-not-whether-a-person-has-experience-with-a-stigma/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [A performer may be taken in by his own act, convinced at the moment that the impression of reality which he fosters is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/a-performer-may-be-taken-in-by-his-own-act-convinced-at-the-moment/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) [Explore all 34 Erving Goffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## More Another quotes > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/) [Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I have to mention that Taapsee and Ayushmann are my favorite actors - or stars, whatever you call them. I love them. Our thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/i-have-to-mention-that-taapsee-and-ayushmann-are-my-favorite-actors/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [When a person partners with God in delivering a miracle to another person, they have done what they were supposed to do; God can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/when-a-person-partners-with-god-in-delivering-a-miracle-to-another/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [I went through a string of A&R men who all thought I should be doing something different. One thought I should be a dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/i-went-through-a-string-of-a-r-men-who-all-thought-i-should-be-doing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [New York is so serious about the creation of work. Everything is happening so fast, it feels like there's another studio, another session on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/new-york-is-so-serious-about-the-creation-of-work-everything-is/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [The fact of the matter is that the Internet has brought together millions of people who trust one another for reasons that are unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-huh/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-the-internet-has-brought-together/) [Ben Huh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-huh/) > [Everything about Washington is inconsistent, because they say one thing and do another, which is what my opponent, Claire McCaskill, is very, very good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-steelman/everything-about-washington-is-inconsistent-because-they-say-one/) [Sarah Steelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-steelman/) > [In Tunisia, the so-called Yasmin revolution has led to the installation of a relatively moderate Islamic government. Whether or not that means democracy will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-creveld/in-tunisia-the-so-called-yasmin-revolution-has-led-to-the/) [Martin Van Creveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-creveld/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [One death to a man is a serious thing: a dozen neutralize one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-francis-burton/one-death-to-a-man-is-a-serious-thing-a-dozen-neutralize-one-another/) [Richard Francis Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-francis-burton/) > [I don't know one note from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-williams/i-don-t-know-one-note-from-another/) [Hank Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-williams/) > [I like to watch the Fox News Network. I like 'Nightline.' I like to watch 'The Sopranos,' of course. That is one of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-estrada/i-like-to-watch-the-fox-news-network-i-like-nightline-i-like-to-watch/) [Erik Estrada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-estrada/) > [When you write a book, people legitimise it by actually reading the book and so it's almost okay to write another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/when-you-write-a-book-people-legitimise-it-by-actually-reading-the/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) [Browse all 2,784 Another quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present to another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erving Goffman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-interaction-is-not-the-individual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Another" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-interaction-is-not-the-individual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/erving-goffman-18642_another_i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-intera_1979191.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the…” — Erving Goffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erving Goffman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I assume that the proper study...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-interaction-is-not-the-individual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/i-assume-that-the-proper-study-of-interaction-is-not-the-individual/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```