Thinker

Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman is central to 4 previous-year questions, spanning 2021 to 2025 across Paper I. Everything below is drawn from the official papers — the questions themselves, the concepts they test, and where they sit in the syllabus.

4Questions

2021–25Years tested

IPaper

3Syllabus topics

Concepts asked alongside Erving Goffman

What the examiner actually wants you to know when this name appears.

anticipatory socialisationbureaucracyconfidentialitycovert researchface-workformal organisationfront stage and back stageidentity makingimpression managementinformal organisationinformed consentmicro-sociologyperformance and rolereference grouprelative deprivationresearcher involvementsurveillance and controlwork-life boundary

Where Erving Goffman appears in the syllabus

4. Sociological Thinkers2
3. Research Methods and Analysis1
6. Works and Economic Life1

Every question on Erving Goffman

Each links to a full breakdown — how to approach it, a model answer, and the examiner’s perspective.

2025

Can Merton's reference group theory be relevant in understanding 'identity making' in digital world? Explain.Paper I · 10 marks · 4. Sociological Thinkers

2023

2021

How has the idea of 'Work From Home' forced us to redefine the formal and informal organisation of work?Paper I · 20 marks · 6. Works and Economic Life

Browse all thinkers by exam frequency, or see the full trend analysis.