Veneers and Underlayments: Critical Moments and Situational Redefinition

Abstract

Surface agreements about the social definition of a situation, or what Erving Goffman calls veneers of consensus, are necessary for social interaction to be coherent But why and when do social definitions change? In this article the author examines critical moments as points at which change may potentially take place. The author suggests that change is possible when a breach has occurred - an event, action, statement which is inconsistent with the current social definition. However, change depends on whether individuals ignore the breach, oppose it, or legitimize it. The author introduces the notion of an under-layment the attitudes, that is, the beliefs, knowledge, preferences, and normative commitments individuals have about a particular social situation. He argues that whether a particular veneer of consensus will change in the face of a breach is determined, in part, by the under-layment that supports that veneer.