Wake up, grab a cup of coffee, and do your makeup before leaving the house for the first time in twelve hours. The day ends with a phone call from a loved one as you take off your makeup and put on your sweatpants before bed, preparing to repeat the entire scenario. The question isn't about going to work or going to sleep, it's: Why do people feel the need to put makeup on their faces and pretend to have certain feelings just to please others on a day-to-day basis? According to experts in this area of ​​study, it's quite simple. There are several theories including social identity theory, self-discrimination theory, and regulatory focus theory. In a play by George Etheredge, The Man of Mode, many of his characters appear to be wearing some sort of mask. Sir Fopling and young Belair both try to give the impression that they appreciate a type of lifestyle when they truly despise it. This idea almost parallels the main character of Mean Girls. Cady is asked to be someone she's not and says yes, which leads to her wearing some kind of mask for almost the entire film. All of these characters serve as perfect examples of why people choose to use a false identity structure in their daily lives. Additionally, these roles demonstrate that people don't need to imitate something they're not, whether it's a lover or a snobbish high school girl. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay All Cady wants is to fit in, but she tries to fit in with a group, the plastics, who have few interests in common with her. Similarly, Sir Fopling Flutter feels the need to fit in with Dorimant and his friends in Man of Mode. Social identity theory explains that people identify with those who have similar qualities (Lesa, Lease, Kwon, 154). When Cady meets the "plastics", she discovers that they think she is cute just like them. However, the girls automatically try to make Cady even more like them so that she fits in better. Regina indirectly asks each of these characters to imitate someone they are not. The person they are supposed to act and look like is Regina herself. In this film, the similar quality that the four girls share is their ability to attract other human beings with the way they dress and the makeup they wear to look beautiful. Clearly, what holds this clique together is not emotional strength. It's simply that all four think they are socially superior to everyone else in high school society. In the film this represents the girls not being themselves, but trying to be Queen. Cady especially works her way up to this level throughout the film until she manages to rediscover herself at the end. Social identity theory also explains this phenomenon. Within social groups, members use favoritism to make a statement for their group. This means that members choose a favorite and try to imitate him to the best of their ability (Lesa, Lease, Kwon, 154). In Mean Girls, the “favorite” is Regina. After Cady becomes part of the plastic, she channels this favoritism and starts acting like Regina. Towards the end of the film, one of her friends, Janice, insults Cady for being "just like Regina". Social Identity Theory shows that part of the reason Cady stopped acting like herself was because of the favoritism her clique showed towards Regina. Social Identity Theory can be used to explain why Sir Fopling feels the need to be more like Dorimant and fit in with his group of friends. During the entirecomedy, Flutter constantly tries to impress Dorimant because he is jealous of his position in society. Dorimant is a very fashionable person respected by most of the characters in the play. Since Dorimant and Flutter have some mutual friends, social identity theory can help explain why Flutter is constantly obsessed with his appearance. Similar to what Plastic does with Regina in Mean Girls, Flutter constantly tries to impress these people on the same level as Dorimant. Towards the end of the play, Sir Fopling goes so far as to try to embarrass Dorimant. However, in this process he merely embarrasses himself. Furthermore, it is the same group of people he is trying to impress and who continue to annoy him through the process of embarrassing him. Unlike in Mean Girls, the violent acts to which Dorimant, Mrs. Loveit, and the others subject Flutter reveal her true self. Sir Fopling begins to refer to Dorimant by his real name, not his assumed name, Courtage, Dorimant wanted to be called to a party (IV, iv). Ironically, Fopling literally takes off a mask when he comes to this party, but he also takes off the mask of fashion and tall stature. Throughout the scene, Fopling does not try to stop impressing Dorimant even though it is damaging his reputation. Social Identity Theory explains that this is due to the fact that in social groups one chooses a favorite and others constantly try to impress him (Lesa, Lease, Kwon, 154). In this case Dorimant is the favorite and Sir Fopling tries to impress him with his conformity to the ideas of others. Cady, Regina, and the other "mean girls" all behave the way they do because of different aspects of the self. These include the ideal self, the supposed self, and the actual self. How these aspects interact with each other and shape a person's ideals constitutes self-discrepancy theory (Chuan, Huang, Zhao 466). The attributes that someone believes someone else has constitutes the actual self while the ideal self is all the traits that someone wants to possess. The owed self consists of the attributes that the individual feels he or she is responsible for having (Chuan, Huang, Zhao 466). Regina feels she has to be thin, beautiful, and the queen bee of their high school. Her friends also help build this part of Regina's self, giving her the responsibility of choosing activities and who sits with them at lunch. Regina's ideal self is constructed by her own mind. She wants to be thinner and is constantly trying to impress men. Through her expressions of these ideals, Cady, Gretchen, and Karen also make this their ideal selves. However, they will never be able to realize it because of the real self. Everyone has “the self of realized duty” (Chuan, Huang, Zhao 467) which consists of the characteristics for which they are responsible and which they actually possess. For example, throughout the entire middle section of the film, all four girls are the nice, bad girls that the population expects them to be. However, Cady's true self also consists of the sweet girl she was before moving to the United States. This prevents her from realizing the ideal self she hopes to be. These aspects help explain why models always look at Regina; because it represents their ideal self. The self-discrepancy theory is also prevalent in the character of Dorimant in The Man of Mode. In this play, Dorimant represents the ideal self in a similar way to Regina in Mean Girls. Everyone, especially Sir Fopling, admires him for his extraordinary fashion sense. Likewise, Harriet is the girl in this play who is admired by others. His ideal self consists of being with Dorimant and having the characteristics he wishes to see in a woman. However,. 2015.