C IIA PTK R V

COMMUNICATION OUT OF C H A R A C T E R
When two te a m s p r e s e n t th e m s e lv e s to e a c h o th e r for p u rp o s e s of in te ra c tio n , the members of e a c h team tern! to (Maintain th e lin e th a t they are what they claim to b e ; they te nd to s ta y in c h a r a c te r . B a c k s t a g e fam iliarity i s s u p p r e s s e d l e s t th e interplay of p o s e s c o l l a p s e and all the p a r ti c ip a n ts find th e m s e lv e s on the s a m e team, a s it were, with no one le ft to p la y to. E ac h p a rtic ip a n t in the in te r a c tio n ordinarily en d e a v o u r s to know and kee p h is p la ce , m ain taining w hatever b a la n c e of formality and inform ality h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d for th e in te ra c tio n , ev e n to the point of ex ten d in g th is treatm ent to his own te am -m a tes. At the sa m e tim e, each team te n d s to s u p p r e s s i t s c a n d id view of i t s e l f and of th e other team, p r o je c tin g a co n c e p tio n of s e l f and a co n c ep tio n of other that i s r e la tiv e ly a c c e p ta b le to t h e other. And to en su re t h a t com m unication will follow e s ta b l is h e d , narrow c h a n n e ls , ea ch team i s prepared to a s s i s t the other team, ta c itly and ta ctfully, in m aintaining th e im p re ssio n it is attem p tin g to foster. Of co u rse , at moments of great c r i s i s , a new s e t o f m otives may su ddenly become e ffec tiv e and the e s t a b l i s h e d s o c ia l d i s t a n c e between the te a m s may sha rp ly in c re a s e or d e c r e a s e , i but when the c r i s i s i s p a s t, the prev io u s working c o n s e n s u s is lik e ly to be r e - e s t a b lis h e d , a lb e it bashfully. Underneath and behind th is working c o n s e n s u s , and the gen tlem an s ag reem ent not to disrup t the in te ractio n upon which th is lim ited c o n s e n s u s is based, there are, ty p ic a lly , l e s s a p p a r e n t c u r r e n ts of communication. If th e s e c u r r e n ts were not und ercurrents, if th e se c o n c e p tio n s were officially com m unicated i n s t e a d of com m unicated in a s u r re p tit io u s way, they would co n tra d ict and d is c r e d it the d e fin itio n s of th e s itu a tio n offic ia lly p rojected by the p a r tic ip a n ts. When
'A n ex am p le i s found in a r e c e n t study of a h o s p i t a l ward o n which ex p erim ental treatm ent was given to v o lu n te e r s su fferin g from m etabo lic d i s o r d e r s a b o u t whi ch little w a s known and for which little co uld be done. In fa ce of the r e s e a r c h d e m a n d s made upon the p a t i e n t s a n d the gen eral leeling of h o p e l e s s n e s s about p r o g n o s i s , the usu a l sh arp line betw een doctor an d p a t i e n t was b lunted. Doctors r e sp e c tf u lly c o n s u lte d with tliuit p a t i e n t s a t length abo u t sym ptom s, and p a t i e n t s came to think of t h e m s e lv e s in p ar t a s r e s e a rc h a s s o c i a t e s . See K en ee C lair e Fox, M Sociological Study of S t r e s s : P h y s i c i a n and P a t i e n t on a R e s e a r c h Ward, Un pu blish ed Ph. L). d i s s e r t a t i o n , Depar tm ent of S o cial R e la ti o n s , Kadcliff C o l l e g e , 195 3 .

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w e stu d y a s o c i a l e s t a b l is h m e n t, t h e s e d is c re p a n t s e n tim e n ts a r e alm ost a lw a y s found. T h e y de m o n stra te th a t w hile a performer may a c t a s i f h i s r e s p o n s e in a s it u a ti o n were im m ediate, unthinking, and s p o n ta n e o u s , and w hile he him s elf may think t h i s to be the c a s e , still it will a l w a y s be p o s s i b le for s i t u a t i o n s to a r i s e in which he will convey to one or two p e r s o n s p r e s e n t th e u n d ersta n d in g th a t the sh o w he i s m ain ta in in g i s only and merely a show . T h e p r e s e n c e , then, of com munication out o f c h a r a c t e r p r o v id e s o n e argum ent for the propriety of s tu d y in g p erform ances in te rm s o f t e a m s and in term s of p o te n tia l in te ra c tio n d isru p tio n s . It may be r e p e a te d th a t no claim i s made th a t s u r re p tit io u s c o m m u n ic a tio n s are any more a r e fle c tio n of the re a l r e a lity than a re the o fficial co m m unication s with which they are i n c o n s i s t e n t ; the point i s th a t th e perform er i s ty p ic a lly involved in both, and th is dual inv olvem ent must b e carefu lly m anaged l e s t o ffic ia l p r o je c tio n s be d i s c r e d ite d . O f the many t y p e s o f com munication in which the perform er e n g a g e s and which con v e y inform ation in c o m p atib le with the im pre ssio n o ffic ia lly m aintained during in te r a c tio n , four t y p e s will be c o n s id e r e d : treatm ent o f the a b s e n t, s ta g in g ta lk , team c o llu s io n , and tem porary r e a lignm e nts.

Treatment of the Absent

When t h e m em bers o f a te a m go b a c k s ta g e w here the a u d ie n c e c a n n o t s e e or h ea r them, th e y very regularly d erogate the a u d ie n c e in a way th a t i s in c o n s i s t e n t with the ( ac e-to -fac e treatm ent th a t i s given to the au d ien c e. In s e r v ic e tra d e s , for example, c u s to m e r s who are tr e a te d r e sp e c tf u lly during the perform ance a re often ridiculed, g o s s i p e d abo ut, c a r ic a tu r e d , c u rse d , an d c r it ic iz e d when the performers are b a c k s t a g e ; here, too, p la n s may be worked out for ' s e l l i n g them, or em ploying ' a n g l e s a g a i n s t them, o r pac ify in g t h e m . 1 Similarly, th e re are very few friend ship r e la tio n s h i p s in which there i s not some o c c a s io n when a t t i t u d e s e x p r e s s e d about the friend- behind h i s back are grossly inc o m p atib le with the o n e s e x p r e s s e d about him to h is face. Sometimes, o f c o u rse , the o p p o site of derogation occ urs, and performers p r a is e their a u d ie n c e in a way that would be im p e rm issib le for them to do in the a c tu a l p r e s e n c e of the a u d ien c e. B u t s e c r e t d erogation s e e m s to be much more common than s e c r e t p r a is e , p e r h a p s b e c a u s e such d erogation s e r v e s
1 See,

for exam ple, th e c a s e report on ' C e n t r a l H a b e r d a s h e r y ' in Robert Dubin, ed ., Unman R e l a ti o n s in A d m i n is tra tio n (N ew Yo rk : P re n tie c-M all, 1951) pp. 560*563.

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to m aintain the s o lid a r ity of th e team, d em o nstratin g mutual regard a t th e e x p e n s e of t h o s e a b s e n t and c o m pensa ting, p erh a p s, for the l o s s of s e lf - r e s p e c t that may occur when the au dience must be ac co rd ed accom m odative fa c e -io -fa c e treatm ent. Two common te c h n i q u e s o f derogating th e a b s e n t a u d ie n c e may be su g g e s te d . F ir s t, we often find that when performers are in the region in which they will appear before the au dien ce, and when th e a u d ien c e h a s left or not yet arrived, the perform ers will so m e tim e s play out a sa tir e on their inte raction with the au d ien c e, and with some members of the team ta k in g the role of th e au d ien c e. F r a n c e s Donovan, for exam ple, in d e s c r ib in g the s o u r c e s of fun a v a ila b le to s a l e s - g i r l s , s u g g e s ts the fo llo w in g :
Dot u n l e s s they are busy the g irls do noc rem ain long ap art. An i r r e s i s t i b l e a t tr a c tio n d raw s them to g eth er a^ ain . At every opportunity they p l a y the game o f customer,* a game which t h e y h ave in vented an d of w hich they never se em to t i t e a game which for c a ricatu re and com edy, 1 have n e v e t s e e n s u r p a s s e d on any s t a g e . One girl t a k e s the p ar t of the sa l e s w o m a n , ano ther that o f the c u s to m e r in s e a r c h of a d r e s s , an d to gether they pu t on a n a c t t h a t would d e l i g h t the heart of a v a u d e v ille au d ie n c e . 1

A sim ilar s itu a tio n i s d e s c r ib e d by D enn is K in ca id in h is d is c u s s io n of th e kind of s o c ia l c o n tac t th a t n a tiv e s arranged for the B ritish during the early part of B ritish rule in I n d ia :
If th e young factors found li t t le p l e a s u r e at t h e s e en tertain m en ts, th e i t ho sts for a l l the s a t i s f a c t i o n they would a t other tim es have d eriv ed from R a ji's g race and K a l i a n i 's wit, wer e too u n e a s y to en joy their own pa rty till the g u e s t s had gone. T h e n follo w ed a n entertainm ent o f w h ich few E n g lis h g u e s t s wer e aware. T h e d o ors would be sh u t, an d t h e d a n c in g girls , e x c e l l e n t mim ics like all Ind ian s, would give an im itation of the bored g u e s t s who had j u s t left, and the uncom fortable t e n s io n of the l a s t hour would be d i s p e l l e d in b u r s t s of happy laughter. And w hile the E nglish p h a e t o n s c l a t t e r e d home R a ji and k a l i a n i would be d r e s s e d up to c a r ic a tu r e E n g lis h co s tu m e a n a be ex ecu tin g with i n d e c e n t exaggeration an O r ie n ta liz e d versio n of E ng lish d a n c e s , th o s e m in u ets an d country d a n c e s which se em ed so inn o cen t and natu ral to E n g li s h e y e s , so different from the p ro v o cativ e p osturin g of Indian n a u tc h - g irls , but which to Ind ians appeared utterly s c a n d a l o u s . 2

Among other th in g s, th is a c tiv ity s e e m s to provide a kind of ritual p rofanation o f t h e front region a s well a s o f th e au d ien c e, 3 Secondly, we quite regularly find th a t a c o n s i s t e n t differen ce a p p e a r s between te rm s of referenc e and te rm s of
1 F r a n c e s Donovan,

The S a l e s l a d y ( C h i c a g o : U niv ersity o f C h i c a g o P r e s s , 1929), p. 39. S p e c if ic e x a m p l e s are given on pp. 39-40.

2 D en nis K in caid , B ri t i s h S o c i a l L i f e in India , 1608-1937 ( L o n d o n : Routledge, 1938), pp. 106-107.

3 A r e l a t e d tendency may be mentioned.

In many o f fi c e s chat are di vided into ran ked reg io n s, the lun ch tim e break will find the topmost level le a v in g th e s o c i a l e s t a b l is h m e n t and e v ery o n e e l s e in it moving up a region for lunch or for a few m oments of a f t e r l u n c h talk . Momentary p o s s e s s i o n of the wo rk-p lac e of o n e 's su p e ro r d in a te s s e e m s to offer, among o t h e r th in g s, an oppor tunity to p ro fan ize -it in so m e ways.

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ad d r e s s . In the p r e s e n c e of the a u d ie n c e , the perform ers tend to u s e a favourable form of a d d r e s s to them. T h is inv olves, in American s o c ie t y , a p o lite ly formal term, su c h a s ' s i r or 'M r or a warmly fam iliar term, su c h a s first name or nic k name, the formality or inform ality b eing determined by the w is h e s of th e p e rso n a d d r e s s e d . In th e a b s e n c e of th e a u d ien c e, th e a u d ie n c e te n d s to be referred to by bare surname, first nam e where th is i s not p e r m is s ib le to their f a c e s , nickname, or slig h tin g pronunciation of full name. Sometimes members of the a u d ie n c e are referred to not even by a s lig h tin g name hut by a code ti t l e which a s s i m i l a t e s them fully to an a b s tr a c t ca te g o ry . T h u s d o c to rs in the a b s e n c e of a p a tie n t may refer to him a s the c a r d i a c or ' t h e s t r e p ; barb ers privately refer to th e ir c u s to m e r s a s ' h e a d s of h a i r . So, too, the a u d ie n c e may be referred to in their a b s e n c e by a c o l le c tiv e term combin in g d i s t a n c e and derogation, s u g g e s tin g an ingroup-outgroup sp lit. T h u s m u s i c ia n s will c a ll c u s to m e rs s q u a r e s ; n a tiv e American o ffic e g ir ls may s e c r e tl y refer to th e ir foreign c o l le a g u e s a s 'G . R .s ; 1 A merican s o l d i e r s may s e c re tly refer to E n g lis h s o ld ie r s with whom they work a s ' L i m e y s ; 2 pitchm en in c a r n iv a ls p r e s e n t their s p ie l before p e r s o n s whom th e y refer to in p riv a te , a s rubes, n a t iv e s , or to w n e rs; and J e w s act out th e r o u tin e s o f th e p are nt s o c ie t y for an a u d ie n c e which i s c a lle d th e goyim. P e r h a p s t h e c r u e l e s t term of all i s found in s i t u a t i o n s where an individual a s k s to be c a lle d by a fam iliar term to h i s face, and th is i s to le ran tly done, but in h is a b s e n c e he is referred to by a formal term. T h u s on t h e is la n d s tu d ied by the w riter any v is ito r who a s k ed the lo c al c r o fte rs to c a ll him by h is firs t nam e was s o m e tim es o b lig e d to h is fac e, but in the a b s e n c e of the v is ito r a formal term of re f e r e n c e would push him back into what was felt to be h is proper p la c e . 1 hav e s u g g e s te d two sta n d a rd ways in which perform ers dero g a te th e ir a u d i e n c e s mock ro le-pla y ing and uncomplimentary te rm s of refe re n c e . T h e r e are oth e r sta n d ard ways. For exam ple, when no member of the a u d ie n c e i s p r e s e n t, the
German R e f u g e e s . S ee G ro ss , op. c i l ., p. 186. 2 S c e Daniel G l a s e r , ' A Study of R e la ti o n s b etw een B ritish and American h n lisce d Men a t S M A H F , ' U n p u b lish e d M a ster's t h e s i s , Dep artm ent of Sociology, U niv ersity of C hica g o, 1947. Mr G las er s a y s , p. 16 : T h e term ' l i m e y , a s u s e d by the A m erican s in p la c e of ' B r i t i s h , was g en erally em ployed with derog atory i m p lic a tio n s. T h ey would refrain from u s i n g i t in the p r e s e n c e o f the B ritish though the la t t e r u sually cith er d i d n t know what it m ean t or d i d n t g ive it a derogatory si g n i f i c a n c e . Ind eed, th e A m erican s c a r e in this r e s p e c t w as rnuch like t h a t of Northern w h iles who use t h e term 'n ig g e r * but refrain from usin g it in front of a Negro. T h i s ni cknam e phenomenon i s , of co u r se , a common feature of ethnic r e l a t i o n s in which c a te g o r ic c o n t a c t s p r e v a il.'

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members o f th e team may refer to a s p e c t s of their routine in a c y n i c a l or purely te c h n ic a l way, giving forceful e v id e n c e to t h e m s e lv e s that they do not take the sa m e view of th eir a c tiv ity a s the view they m aintain for th e ir a u d ie n c e . A further sta n d a rd derogation may be c ite d . When team -m ates are warned that th e a u d ie n c e is approaching, the team -m ates may hold off th e ir perform ance, pu rp o sely , until the very l a s t minute, until th e a u d ie n c e alm ost c a t c h e s a g lim p se of b a c k s ta g e ac tiv ity . Sim ilarly, the team may ra c e in to b a c k s ta g e r e la x a tio n the moment th e a u d ie n c e h a s departed. By m eans o f th is purposely rapid sw itc h into or out of th eir act, the team in a s e n s e can co n tam in ate and pro fa n ize the a u d ie n c e b y b a c k s ta g e conduct, o r rebel a g a in s t th e oblig a tio n of m aintain ing a show before the a u d ien c e, or make extrem ely c le a r the d iffe re n c e betw een team and a u d ie n c e , and do all of t h e s e th in g s without quite being c a u g h t out by th e au d ien c e. Still an o th er sta n d a rd a g g r e s s io n a g a i n s t th o se a b s e n t o c c u r s in the k idd ing and ribbing a member of th e team r e c e i v e s when he i s about to le a v e (o r merely d e s i r e s to leave) h is team -m ates and r i s e or fall or move la te r a lly into the ran k s of the a u d ie n c e . At such tim e s the team -m ate who is ready to move can be tr e a te d a s if he has a lre a d y moved, and a b u s e or fam iliarity ca n be heaped upon him with impunity, and, by im plication, upon the a u d ie n c e . And a final in s t a n c e of a g g re ssio n is found when som eone from th e a u d ie n c e i s o fficially brought into the team. Again, he may be jokingly m istreated and ' g i v e n a hard tim e , for much the s a m e r e a so n th a t he was ab u s e d when he d ep arted from the team he h a s ju st left. 1 The te c h n iq u e s of derogation which have been co n s id e re d point out th e fa c t tha t, v erbally, in d iv id u a ls a r e tr e a te d re la tiv e ly well to th e ir f a c e s and r e la tiv e ly badly behind their bac ks. T h is s e e m s to be one of the b asic g e n e r a liz a tio n s th a t c a n be made abo u t in te ra c tio n , but we should not s e e k in our all-too-hum an natu re an ex p lan a tio n of it. As previously su g g e ste d , b a c k s ta g e derogation of the audien ce s e r v e s to maintain the morale of th e team. And when the a u d ie n c e is p r e s e n t, c o n s id e r a t e treatm ent of them is n e c e s s a r y , not for th e ir sa k e , or for th e ir s a k e merely, but so that c o n tin u a n c e of peaceful and orderly in te r a c tio n will be a s s u re d . The a c t u a l (ee lin g s of th e perform ers for a member of the a u d ie n c e (.whether p o s it iv e or n eg a tiv e ) seem to have li t t l e to do with rhe q u estion, eith er a s a determ inant of how th is member of the a u d ie n c e is tre a te d to h is face or as a determ inant of how
1 Cf. Kenneth Burke, A R h eto ric o f M o tiv es, p. 234 ff., who g i v e s a so c ia l

a n a l y s i s of the i nd iv idu al being in itiated , u s i n g a s a k ey word 'h a z i n g . '

HI

he i s tre a te d behind h is back. It may be true that b a c k s ta g e a c tiv ity often t a k e s th e form of a co un c il o f war; but when two te am s meet on che field of in te raction it s e e m s chat they g en e ra lly do not m eet for p e a c e or for war. T hey meet under a temporary truce, a working c o n s e n s u s , in order to get th e ir b u s i n e s s done.

Staging Talk
When te am -m a tes a re out of th e p r e s e n c e of th e au d ien c e, d i s c u s s i o n often turns to problem s of s ta g in g . Q u e s t io n s a r e r a is e d about the con d itio n of sign equ ip m en t; s ta n d s , lin e s, an d p o s it io n s are te n ta t iv e l y brought forth and ' c l e a r e d ' by th e a s s e m b le d m e m b ersh ip ; the m erits and d em erits of a v a ila b le front re g io n s are a n a ly z e d ; th e s i z e and c h a r a c te r of p o s s i b l e a u d i e n c e s for the perform an ce a r e c o n s id e r e d ; p a s t perform ance d is r u p tio n s and likely d is r u p tio n s are ta lk e d a b o u t; new s about th e te a m s of o n e s c o l le a g u s i s tra n s m itte d ; th e reception given on es l a s t perform ance i s mulled o v er in what are sometim e s c a lle d ' p o s t m o r te m s ; wounds a r e lic k e d and morale i s s tren g th en e d for th e next perform ance. S tagin g talk, when c a lle d by other nam es suc h a s g o ssip , ' s h o p ta lk , e t c . , i s a well-worn notion. I have s t r e s s e d it here b e c a u s e it h e lp s point up th e f a c t that in d iv id u a ls with widely different s o c ia l r o l e s liv e in the s a m e clim a te of drama tu rg ic al e x p e r ie n c e . The t a l k s that com ed ia n s and s c h o la r s g iv e are quite different, but th e ir talk about th e ir work i s quite sim ilar. To a s u r p ris in g degree, before the talk, t a lk e r s talk to th e ir friends about what will and will not hold th e a u d ie n c e , what will and will not give o ffe n c e ; afte r th e ta lk , all ta lk e r s t a lk to their frie n d s about the kind of hall they s p o k e in, th e kind of a u d ie n c e they drew, and the kind of reception they o b ta in e d . S tag in g talk h a s a lre ad y been referred to in the d i s c u s s i o n of b a c k s ta g e a c tiv ity and colleg ial s o lid a rity and will not be further d i s c u s s e d here.

Team Collusion
When a p a rtic ip a n t c o n v e y s som ething during in te raction, we e x p e c t him to com m unicate only through the lip s of th e c h a r a c te r he h a s c h o s e n to project, openly a d d r e s s in g all of h is rem arks to the w hole in te ra c tio n s o that all p e r s o n s prese nt are given equal s t a t u s a s r e c ip ie n t s of communication. Thus
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w hispering, for exam ple, i s often c o n s id e re d improper and i s prohibited, for it c a n destro y the im p re ssio n th a t th e performer i s only what he a p p e a r s to be and that th in g s a r e a s h e h a s claim ed them to .be. 1 In s p i t e of the ex p e ctatio n that ev e ry th in g said by the perform er will be in kee p in g with the d e finition of th e situ a tio n fo s te r e d by him, he may convey a great deal daring an inter a c tio n chat i s out of c h a r a c t e r and convey i t in suc h a way a s to prevent the a u d ie n c e a s a w hole from r e a liz in g that anything out of k e e p in g with th e definition of th e situ a tio n h a s been convey ed. P e r s o n s who are adm itted to t h is s e c r e t commun ication a r e p la c e d in a c o l lu s iv e r e la tio n s h ip to one an other v is - a - v is th e rem ainder of th e p a r tic ip a n ts. By acknow ledging to one an other that th e y are kee p in g r ele v an t s e c r e t s from the o th e rs p rese n t, th ey ac k n o w led g e to one an other that the show of candour they m aintain, and the show o f being only t h e c h a r a c t e r s they o ffic ia lly project, i s merely a show. By m eans o f suc h by-play, performers ca n affirm a b a c k s ta g e s o lid a r ity even w hile e n g a g ed in a performance, e x p r e s s in g with impunity u n a c c e p ta b le th in g s about th e a u d ie n c e a s well a s th in g s about th e m s e lv e s that the a u d ie n c e would find u n a c c e p ta b le . I shall c a ll 't e a m c o l l u s i o n any c o llu s iv e com munication which i s c a re fu lly conveyed in such a way as to c a u s e no threat to the illu sio n that i s b eing fo stere d for th e a u d ie n c e . O ne important kind o f team co llu sio n is found in th e system of s e c r e t s i g n a l s through which performers ca n s u r re p titio u s ly r e c e iv e or transm it p ertinen t inform ation, r e q u e s ts for a s s i s t an c e, and o th e r m a tte rs of a kind r ele v an t to the s u c c e s s f u l p r e s e n ta tio n of a performance. T y p ic ally , t h e s e sta g in g c u e s come from, or to, the direc to r of the perform ance, and it greatly s im p lifie s h is t a s k of managing im p re ssio n s to h a v e suc h a su b te rra n ean lan g u ag e a v a ila b le . Staging c u e s often r e la te th o se e nga g ed in p re se n tin g a performance to th o s e who are offering a s s i s t a n c e or direction b a c k s ta g e . T h u s, by m eans o f a foot-buzzer, a h o s t e s s can g iv e d ir e c tio n s to her kitc h en s t a f f w hile a c tin g a s If s h e i s fully in volved in th e m eal-tim e c o n v e r s a tio n . Similarly, during radio and te le v is io n p roductions a vo cab ulary of s ig n s i s employed by t h o s e in th e control room
l fn r e c r e a t i o n a l g am es , w h ispered h u d d l e s may be defined a s a c c e p ta b le , a s they may before a u d i e n c e s s u c h a s children or fo re igners to whom l i t t l e c o n s i d e ra t i o n need be given. In s o c i a l a rra n g em ents in which k n o t s or c l u s t e r s of p e r s o n s hold s e p a r a te c o n v e r s a ti o n s in e a c h o t h e r s v is i b l e p r e s e n c e , an effort i s often made by the p a r t i c i p a n t s in e a c h c l u s t e r to a c t a s i f what they are sa y in g c o u ld be s a id in the other c l u s t e r s evei though i t i s not.

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to guid e perform ers, e s p e c i a l l y a s re g a rd s th eir timing, without allow ing th e a u d i e n c e to become aw a re that a system o f control com m unication i s in op era tio n in addition to the com munication in which perform ers and a u d i e n c e a re o ffic ia lly p a rtic ip a tin g . So a ls o , in b u s i n e s s o f fic e s , e x e c u t iv e s who want to term in ate in te r v ie w s both rapidly and ta ctfu lly will train th e ir s e c r e t a r i e s to in terrupt in te r v ie w s at the p ro per time with th e proper e x c u s e . Another e x a m p le may b e taken from th e kind of s o c ia l e s t a b l i s h ment in Am erica in which s h o e s a r e commonly so ld . Sometimes a cu s to m e r who w a n ts a s h o e of la r g e r s i z e than t h e on e that i s a v a ila b le or th e o n e th a t fits may be h an d le d a s f o llo w s:
T o im p re ss th e c u s t o m e r a s to the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of h is st r e t c h i n g t h e s h o e , the s a l e s m a n may t e l l the c u s to m e r chat he is going to s t r c t c h th e s h o e s on the thirty-four la st. T h i s p h r a s e t e l l s the wr apper no t to s t r e t c h the s h o e s , but to wrap them up a s they are an d hold them undet the co u n ter for a sh o rt w hile.

S ta g in g c u e s are, of c o u rse , em ployed between performers an d a sh ill or c o n fe d e r a te in the au d ien c e, a s in the c a s e of c r o s s fire* betw e en a pitchm an and h i s p la n t am ong t h e s u c k e r s . More commonly w e find t h e s e c u e s employed among te am -m a tes while engaged in a perform ance, t h e s e c u e s in fact providing us with one r e a s o n for employing th e co n c e p t of team in s t e a d of a n a ly z in g in te ra c tio n in term s of a pattern of in dividual perform ances. T h is kind of team-mate c o llu sio n , for exam ple, p la y s an important ro le in im pre ssion management in American s h o p s . C le rk s in a given sto r e commonly develop their own c u e s for handling the perform ance p rese n ted to the cu stom er, although c e r ta in te rm s in the vocabulary seem to be r e la tiv e ly s ta n d a r d iz e d and occur in the sa m e form in many s h o p s a c r o s s the country . When c l e r k s are members of a foreign lan g u ag e group, a s is so m e tim es th e c a s e , th e y may employ t h is la n g u a g e for s e c r e t com m u n ic atio n a practice also employed by p a re n ts who s p e ll out words in front of young c hildren an d by members of our b etter c l a s s e s who talk to e a c h o th e r in F re n c h about th in g s they do not want their c hildren, th e ir d o m e s tic s , or their trad e sm e n to hear. However, th is ta c ti c , like w hispering, is c o n s id e r e d crude and im p olite ; s e c r e t s c a n be kep t in th is way but not the fact that s e c r e t s a re being kept. U nder suc h c irc u m s ta n c e s , team -m ates can hardly m aintain th e ir front of s i n c e r e s o li c ii u d e for th e custom er (or f r a n k n e s s to th e ch ild re n , e t c . ) . H arm le ss-so u n d in g p h r a s e s which the c u s to m e r th in k s he u n d e r s ta n d s are more useful to salespersons. F o r example, if a cu sto m e r in a sh o e sto re deeply d e s ir e s , sa y , a B width, the s a le s m a n c a n c o n v in ce the custom er th a t that is what s h e i s g e ttin g :
'D a v i d G eller, 'L i n g o of the Shoe S a l e s m a n , ' .14 tmer ican 'tpre rh. I \ , -KV

. . . . th e s a le sm a n will c a l l to a n o th e r s a le sm a n down th e a i s l e an d s a y , " B e n n y what s i z e I s t h is s h o e ?'1 By c a l l i n g the sa l e s m a n , ' Benny he im plies th at the a n s w e r should be t h a t the width i s B. 1

An engaging illu s tr a ti o n of th is kind of c o llu sio n i s g ive n in a paper on th e Borax furniture house :
Now rhat the custo m e r i s in the s to r e , s u p p o s e s h e c a n t be sold? T h e p r i c e i s too hig h ; she must co n s u l t her h u s b a n d ; s h e is only sh o p pin g. T o let h er walk, ( i .e ., e s c a p e without buying) i s tr e a so n in a Borax H o u s e. So an S.O.S. i s se n t o u t by the s a l e s m a n through o n e o f the nu merous fo ot-p u s h es in the sto re. In a flash the m a n a g e r ' is on the s c e n e , preo ccu p ied with a s u i t e and wholly o b liv io u s o f the Aladdin who s e n t for him. " P a r d o n me, Mr Dix on, s a y s the s a l e s m a n , s im u la tin g re lu c ra n c e in d istu r b in g su ch a busy pe r so n a g e . " I wonder if you could do som eth ing for my c u s to m e r. S he th ink s th e p r ic e of t h i s su ite is too high. Madam, t h i s i s our manager, Mr Dixon." Mr Dixon d e a r s his thr oat i m p re s s iv e ly , l i e i s a ll of six f e e t , h a s iron-grey h air a n d w ears a Maso nic pin on the l a p e l of h i s coat- Nobody would s u s p e c t from h is a p p e a r a n c e t h a t he i s only a T .O . man, a s p e c i a l s a l e s m a n ro whom difficult c u s to m e rs are turned over. " Y e s , " s a y s Mr Dixon, stroking b i s w ell- sh av en chin, *1 se e. You go on, B en n ett. Ill tak e care of madam m y se lf. Pm not so b usy u the moment anyhow.* T h e s a l e s m a n s l i p s aw ay , v a l e t - l ik e , though h e ll give Dixoo hell if he muffs chat s a l e . 2

T he pra c tic e d e s c r ib e d here of 1 T . O . i n g a c ustom e r to an o th e r s a le s m a n who ta k e s the ro le of th e m anag er is app a ren tly common in many re ta il e s ta b l is h m e n ts . O th e r i ll u s tr a ti o n s may b e ta k e n from a report on t h e la n g u a g e of furniture salesm en :
' G i v e me the number of t h is a r t i c l e , i s a q u e s t io n co ncerning the p rice of the a r t i c l e . T h e forthcoming r e s p o n s e i s in co de. T h e codc i s u n iv e r sa l throughout the U n ite d S t a t e s a n d is con v ey ed by simply d o u b ling the c o s t , the s a le sm a n knowing what p e r c e n ta g e of profit to ad d on to t h a t . 3 V erlier i s use d a s a command . . . . m eaning ' l o s e y o u r se lf . 1 It i s employed when a s a l e s m a n w an ts t o let an o th er s a l e s m a n know thar the l a t t e r 's p r e s e n c e i s in terfe ring with a sa le . 4

In the se m i-ille g al and h ig h -p re ssu re fring es of our com mercial life, it is common to find that team -m ates use an e x p lic itly le arned vocabulary through which information crucial to the show can be se c r e tly conveyed. P re su m a b ly th is kind of code i s not commonly found in thoroughly r e s p e c ta b le c i r c le s . 5 We find, however, that team -m ates everywhere employ
^ David Gelier, op. c i t . t p. 284.
2 Conant, op. c t t ., p. 174.

^Charles Miller, ' F urniture L in g o ,' A merican S p eech , VI, 128. A l b i d . %p. 126. 5 An e x c e p t i o n , of c o u r s e , i s found in t h e b o s s - s c c r e t a r y r elatio n in r e s p e c t a b l e e s t a b l is h m e n t s . E squire E ti q u e t t e , for ex am p le, ap p ro v es the follo w in g ; p. 24 . M f you s h a re youc office with your s e c re ta ry , you w ill do well to arra ng e a sig n a l which m eans yo u'd l i k e h e r to g et out while you t a l k to a v isito r in p r i v a t e . "Will you leave u s a lo n e for a while, M is sS m ic h * e m b a r r a s s e s ev ery bo d y; it's e a s i e r all ar ound if you c a n convey the same i d e a , by p rearrang em en t, with so m e th in g like, * Will you s e e if you can s e t t l e that b u s i n e s s with the m erch an d isin g departm ent, M iss Sm ith?"'

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an informally and often u n c o n s c io u s ly le a rn e d vocabulary of g e s tu r e s and loo k s by which c o l lu s iv e s ta g in g c u e s can be conveyed. Sometimes t h e s e informal c u e s or ' h i g h s i g n s ' will in it ia t e a p h a s e in a perform ance. T h u s, when in com pan y,1 a h usba nd may c o n v e y to h is -wife, by s u b t l e sh a d in g s in h is tone of v o ic e , or a change in his p o stu re, that th e tw o of them will d e fin ite ly now s ta r t making th e ir f a re w e lls. T h e conjugal team ca n then m aintain an a p p e a r a n c e of unity in ac tio n w hich loo k s s p o n ta n e o u s but often p r e s u p p o s e s a s tr ic t d i s c ip li n e . Sometimes c u e s are a v a ila b le by w hich o n e performer can warn an other that the o th e r is beginning to a c t out of lin e . T he kick under the ta b le and the narrowed e y e s have become humorous e x a m p le s. A p ia no a c c o m p a n is t s u g g e s t s a way by which d e v ia tin g c o n c e rt s i n g e r s can be brought back into t u n e :
He (the a c c o m p a n i s t ) d o e s t h is by gettin g more s h a r p n e s s into h is to n e, so th at h i s tone will p e n e t r a t e to the s i n g e r s e a r s , over or rather thr ough h is v o ice. P e r h a p s one o f the n o t e s in th e pi anoforte harmony i s the very no te that the sing er s h o u ld be s in gin g , and so he m a k e s t h i s n o te pred o m inate. When t h i s a c t u a l n o te i s n o t writcen in the piano fo rte p a r t , he must ad d it in the tr e b l e c l e f , where it will p ip e loud a n d c l e a r foe the s i n g e r to hear. If the l atter i s s ing in g a quarter of a to n e s h a rp , or a quarter o f a tone flat, i t will b e an extraordinary feat on h i s p a r t to co ntin ue to s i n g out o f tune, e s p e c i a l l y i f the a c c o m p a n i s t p l a y s the v o c a l line with him for the whole p h r a s e . O n ce havin g s e e n the dan g er s i g n a l the acc o m p a n i s t will c o n t i n u e to be on the qui v i v e and will so u n d th e si n g e r 's note from time to tim e. 1

T h e sam e w riter g o e s on to sa y som ething th a t a p p l i e s to many k in d s of pe rfo rm a n c e s:

A s e n s i t i v e si n g e r w ill n eed only th e most d c l i c a t c of c u c s from h i s partn er. Indeed they can be s o d e l i c a t e chat even die s i n g e r h im se lf while p rofitin g by them will not be c o n s c i o u s l y aw are of Cnem. T h e l e s s s e n s i t i v e the sin g e r, the more p oin ted and therefo re the more o bv io u s t h e s e c u e s will h av e to be. 2

Another ex am ple may be c i t e d from D ales d i s c u s s i o n of how civil s e rv a n ts during a meeting ca n c u e their m in ister that he i s on tr e a c h e ro u s g r o u n d :
But in the co u r se of c o n v e r s a ti o n new and un f o re s e e n p o in ts may well arise. If a civ il se rv a n t at the com m ittee then s e e s h i s M in ister talcing a line which h e th i n k s wrong, h e will nor sa y s o f l a t l y ; he will e ith e r sc r i b b l e a note to the Minister or he will d e l i c a t e l y p u t forward som e f a c t or s u g g e s t i o n a s a minor m o dificatio n of h i s M inister's view . An e x p e r ie n c e d M inister will p e r c e i v e the red light a t o nce and gently withdr aw , or at l e a s t p o stp o n e d i s c u s s i o n . It will be c lear that the m ixture of M in is ters and civil s e r v a n t s in a Co m m ittee r e q u i r e s on o c c a s i o n so m e e x e r c i s e of t a c t and som e q u ic k n e s s of percep tio n on both s i d e s . 3

th a t

Very frequ ently informal sta g in g c u e s will warn te am -m a tes the a u d ien c e has sudd e n ly come into their p r e s e n c e ; 4
p. 57.

1 Moore, op. c i t ., pp. 56-57. 3 Dale, op. c it., p. 141.

A well-known f o rm ally -leam ed cu e of t h i s kind i s found in the v is u a l signal

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or that the c o a s t i s c l e a r and thar rela x atio n of o n es front i s now p o s s i b l e ; or that while it may seem all right to drop o n e s guard of d is c re tio n , th e re are in fac t members of the a u d ie n c e p re se n t, making it in a d v is a b le to do s o : 1 o r that an innocent'o o k in g member of the a u d ie n c e i s really a s p o tte r or s h o p p e r or som e one who is in o th e r w ays more or l e s s than he se em s. It would be d iffic u lt for any team a family, for exa m p le to m anage the i m p r e s s io n s it f o s te r s without suc h a s e t of warning s i g n a l s . A re c e n t memoir co n c ern in g a mother and d a u g h te r who liv e d in o n e room in London pro v id es che following e x a m p le :
On the way p a s t G enn aro 's 1 becam e filled wich ap p r e h e n s io n about our lunch, wondering how my mother would take to S co tty ( a m anicur ist* c o l l e a g u e s h e w a s bringing home to lun ch for t h e f i r s t time) a n d what Sco tty would think of my mother, and we w ere no so o n e r on th e s t a i r c a s e than 1 s t a r t e d to talk in a loud v o ice to warn her chat 1 w a s not a l o n e . I n deed , t h is w a s q u ite a signal between us, for when two p e o p le live in a s i n g l e room ther e i s no t e llin g what s o r t o f u n t i d i n e s s can meet th e u n e x p e c t e d v i s i t o r s eye. T h ere w a s nearly a l w a y s a co okin-pan or a dirty p l a t e where it should not be, or s t o c k i n g s or a p e t t i c o a t d ryin g ab ov e the s t o v e . My mother, warned by the r a i s e d voice o f her e b u l l i e n t d a u g h te r , would ru sh round l i k e a c i r c u s d a n c e r hid ing the pan or the p l a t e or the s t o c k i n g s , and then tu m h e r s e l f in to a p illa r of frozen dignity, very calm , all read y for the v isito r . If s h e h ad c l e a r e d th i n g s up too q u ic k ly , and forg otten so m e th in g ver y o bv iou s, 1 would s e e her v i g ila n t eye fixed upon it and I would be e x p e c t e d to do some* th in g about i t without e x c i t i n g the v i s i t o r 's a t t e n t i o n . 2

It may be noted, fin ally , that th e more u n c o n s c io u s ly t h e s e c u e s a r e le arn ed and em ployed, the e a s i e r it will be for the members of a team to co n c e a l even from th e m s e lv e s that they do in fact function a s a team. As p rev io u sly su g g e s te d , even to i t s own members, a team may be a s e c r e t s o c ie ty . C l o s e ly a s s o c i a t e d with sta g in g c u e s, we find th a t te a m s work out ways of c o n v e y in g exten de d verbal m e s s a g e s to one an o th e r in su c h a way a s to pro tec t a projected im p re ssio n chat might be d isru p te d were th e a u d ie n c e to a p p r e c ia te that
employed in b r o a d c a s ti n g s t u d i o s w hich lire rally or s y m b o lic a lly r e a d s : You a r e on the a i r . ' Another broad g e s t u re i s rep o rted by P o n so n b y , np, c i t , p. 102 : ' T h e Queen (V ictoria) often went to s l e e p durin g t h e s e h o t d r iv e s, a n d in o rd er that s h e sho u ld no t be s e e n like t h i s by a crowd in a v illa g e , 1 use d to dig my s p u r s in to the h o r s e w heneve r 1 s a w a lar ge crowd ah ead a nd make the a s t o n i s h e d anim al jump abo ut and m ake a n o i s e . P rin c ess [Beatrice a l w a y s knew t h a t t h is meant a crow d, an d if the Queen d i d n 't wake with th e n o i s e 1 m ade, she woke her h e r s e l f . ' A ty pical w arning cu e i s i l l u s t r a t e d by K ath erine Archibald, op, c it., in her stu dy of work in a sh ip y a rd : * At tim es when work w a s e s p e c i a l l y sla c k I h a v e myself sto o d guard a t t h e door o f a tool s h a c k , ready' to warn of the a p p ro ach of a super* in ten d en t or a front-office b o ss , w hile for day af ter day nine or ten l e s s e r b o s s e s and workmen p lay ed poker with p a s s i o n a t e a b s o rp tio n .' C r i m i n a l s commonly employ s i g n a l s of t h i s kind to warn their c o l l e a g u e s th a t ' l e g i t ' e a r s are l i s t e n i n g to them or le g i t e y e s are w a tc h in g them ; in crim in al a r g o t t h i s warning i s c a lle d 'g i v i n g the o f f i c e .' 2 Mrs Robert lle n r e y , M adeleine Grown Up (New Y o r k : Dutton, 1953), PP* '16-47.

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inform ation of th is kind w a s being co n v e y ed . Again w e may c i t e an illu s tr a tio n from the B r itis h civil s e r v i c e :
It i s a very dif fe r e n t m atter when a ci v i l s e r v a n t is c a l l e d on to watch over a Dill in i t s p a s s a g e through P a r lia m e n t, or to go down to e i t h e r H o u s e for a d e b a t e . He c a n n o t s p e a k in h i s own p e r s o n ; h e can only supply the M in ister with m a te r ia l and s u g g e s t i o n s , and hop e t h a t he will make good u s e o f them . It n eed har dly be s a i d th at the M inister i s carefu lly * briefed* b efore hand for a n y s e t s p e e c h , a s on the se co n d or third r e a d i n g o f a n im p ortan t Dill, or the in trod uctio n o f the Dep artm en t's ann u al e s t i m a t e s : for s u c h an o c c a s i o n the M in ister i s s u p p lie d with full n o t e s on ev ery p o in t li k e l y to be r a i s e d , even with a n e c d o t e s an d Might r e l i e f 1 of a d e c o r o u s o fficial nature. He him self, h is P r i v a t e S e c r e t a r y , a n d t h e P e r m a n e n t S ecretary probably sp e n d a good deal of time a n d labour in s e l e c t i n g from t h e s e n o t e s the m ost ef fe c t iv e p o i n t s to e m p h a s i z e , arrangin g them in th e b e s t o rder and d e v i s in g an i m p r e s s iv e p e r o ra tio n . All this i s e a s y both for the Minister an d h i s o f f i c i a l s ; it is done in q u iet and a t l e i s u r e . Dut th e crux is th e reply a t the end o f a d e b a t e . T h e r e the M inister m u s t mainly depend on h im self. It i s true t h a t the c i v i l s e r v a n t s s i t t i n g w ith p a t i e n t e n d u r a n c e in the l i t t l e g allery on the S p e a k e r 's right or ac the en tran ce to the H o u s e o f L o rd s , h av e n o te d down i n a c c u r a c i e s a nd d i s t o r t i o n s of fact, f a l s e i n f e r e n c e s , m i s u n d e r s ta n d in g s of th e Go vernm ent p r o p o s a l s a nd s i m i l a r w e a k n e s s e s , in the c a s e p r e s e n t e d by O pp o s itio n s p e a k e r s : b u t ir i s often d i f f i c u l t co g e t t h is ammunition up to the firing-lin e. Som etim es the M inis ters P a r lia m e n ta ry P riv a te S e c r e ta r y wili r ise from h i s s e a t j u s t beh ind h is c h ief, s t r o l l c a r e l e s s l y a l o n g to t h e official g a l i e t y and hold a w h isp e re d c o n v e r sa tio n with the civ il s e r v a n t s : so m e ti m e s a n o t e will be p a s s e d alon g to the M i n i s t e r : very r a r e ly he h i m s e l f will co m e for a moment and a s k a q ues tio n . All t h e s e li t t le co m m u n icatio n s m u st go on u nder the e y e s of the H o u s e , a n d no Minister c a r e s to se e m l i k e an a c t o r who d o e s not know h i s part ar.d r e q u ire s to be prompted. 1

B u s i n e s s e tiq u e tte , p e r h a p s more c o n c ern ed with s tr a te g ic s e c r e t s than with moral o n e s , offers the follow ing s u g g e s t i o n s :
. . . Guard your end of a phone c o n v e r s a ti o n if an o u t s i d e r i s within e a r s h o t . If you are t a k i n g a m e s s a g e from someone e l s e , a nd you want to be su re y o u v e got i t s t r a i g h t , d o n 't r e p e a t t h e m e s s a g e in th e u su a l f a s h i o n ; i n s t e a d , a s k the c a l l e r to r e p e a t it, so your clario n t o n e s w o n 't an n o u n ce a p o s s i b l y p r iv a te m e s s a g e to a ll b y s t a n d e r s . . . . Cover your p a p e r s before an o u t s i d e c a l l e r a r r i v e s , or make a h ab it o f k eep in g them in fo lders or under a co v er in g b lank sh e e r. . . . If you m u st s p e a k to someone e l s e in your o r g a n i z a t i o n when lie i s with an o u t s i d e r , or with an y o ne who is not co n cern ed with your m e s s a g e , do it in su c h a way chat che chird per so n d o e s n t p i c k up any information. You might u se the intero ffice t e le p h o n e r a th e r than the in tercom , s a y , or w rite y o u r m e s s a g e on i note you can hand over i n s t e a d of s p e a k i n g your p i e c e in p u b l i c . 2 A v i s i t o r who is e x p e c t e d sho u ld be a n n ou nced im m ed iately . If you are c l o s e t e d with an o th er p e r s o n yo ur se cre ta ry i n t e r r u p t s you to say so m eth ing l i k e , q Your t h ree o clock a p po in tm en t is her e. I thought y o u d lik e to k n o w , (She d o e s n ' t mention the v i s i t o r s name in the h e a r in g of an o u t s i d e r . If y o u arc not likely to remember who your th r e e o c lo ck a p p o i n t m e n t i s , s h e w r i t e s th e name on a s lip of pap et and h a n d s it to you, or u s e s your p r iv a te phone i n s t e a d of th e l o u d sp e a k e r sy s t e m . ) 3

S tagin g c u e s have been s u g g e s te d a s one main type of team c o l l u s i o n ; an o th er ty p e in v o lv e s co m m unications which function chiefly to confirm for the performer the fact that he
i D a l e , op. c i t . , pp. M8-149.
2 E sq uire E ti q u e t t e , op. cif., p. 7.

E l l i p s i s d o t s the a u t h o r s .

* Esquire Etiquette , op. cit., pp. 22-23.

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d o e s not rea lly hold with th e working c o n s e n s u s , thac th e show he p u ts on i s only a show, thereby providing him self with at l e a s t a priv ate d efe n c e a g a i n s t the c la im s made by the a u d ie n c e . We may la b e l th is a c tiv i ty 'd e r i s i v e c o l l u s i o n ; ' it ty p ic a lly in v o lv e s a s e c r e t d erogation of the a u d ie n c e although so m e tim es c o n c e p tio n s of the a u d ie n c e may be conve y ed that are too com plim entary to fit w ithin the working c o n s e n s u s . We have here a furtive public co unterpart of w h at was d e s c r ib e d in th e seccion c a l l e d 'T r e a t m e n t of th e A b s e n t . D erisive co llu sio n o c c u r s most frequently, perhaps, between a perform er and hi nisei f. School c hildren provide exam ples of t h is when they c r o s s their fingers w h ile te llin g a lie or stick out their to n g u e s when th e t e a c h e r momentarily moves to a po sitio n where s h e c a n n o t s e e th e tribute. So, too, em p loyees will often grim ace a t their b o s s , or g e s t i c u l a t e a sile n t c u r s e , performing t h e s e a c t s of contem pt or insub ord ination at an a n g l e s u c h th a t th o s e to whom t h e s e a c t s are directed c a n n o t s e e them. P e r h a p s th e most timid form of th is kind of c o llu s io n i s found in th e pra c tic e of ' d o o d l i n g 1 or of going a w a y to im aginary p l e a s a n t p la c e s , w hile still m aintaining som e show of performing the part of lis te n e r. D e risiv e c o llu sio n a l s o o c c u rs between members of a team when they are p r e s e n tin g a perform ance. T h u s, while a s e c r e t co d e of verbal i n s u l t s may p erh a p s be employed only on the lu n a tic fringe of our co m m ercial life, th e re i s n o com m ercial e s ta b lis h m e n t so re p u ta b le th a t i t s c le r k s do not c a s t e a c h other knowing lo o k s when in the p r e s e n c e of an u n d e s ira b le c lie n t or a d e s ir a b le c l i e n t who c o n d u c ts h im self in an u n d es ira b le way. Similarly, in our s o c ie t y it is very d ifficult for a husband and wife, or two c l o s e friends, to sp e n d an even ing in c o nv iv ial in te r a c tio n with a third person w ithout a t s o m e tim e lo oking a t e a c h oth e r in su c h a way a s to c o n tra d ic t s e c r e tly the a t titu d e they a r e o ffic ia lly maintaining toward the third person. A more damaging form of th is kind of a g g r e s s io n ag a in st th e a u d i e n c e is found in s it u a ti o n s where one member of a team perform s his part for th e s p e c i a l and s e c r e t am usem ent of his te a m -m a te s ; for exam ple, he may throw him self into h is part with an a f f e c tiv e e n th u sia sm that is at o n c e ex a g g erated and p r e c is e , but s o c l o s e to what the a u d ie n c e e x p e c ts that th e y d o not q u ite r e a liz e , or are not sure, that fun is being made of them. 1 A somewhat sim ila r form of co llu sio n o cc u rs
Su g gested by Howard S. Be ck cr in a p e r s o n a l co m m unication. Mr Becker s r a t e s rliat j a z z m u s i c i a n s obliged to p lay c o r n y music will s o m e tim es play it a l i t t le more corny than n e c e s s a r y , the s l i g h t ex agg eratio n se rvin g n s a m e a n s by which the m u s i c i a n s c a n co nvey to e a c h other th eir contempt for the aud ien ce.
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when o n e team member a tte m tp s to t e a s e an o th er while both a r e e n g a g e d in a perform ance. T h e im m ediate ob je ct here w ill be to make o n e s team -m ate alm o st b u rst out laughing, o r a lm o st trip, or a lm o st l o s e h i s p o is e in oth e r w ays. For exam ple, in the is l a n d to u r is t h o te l s tu d ie d by t h e writer, th e cook would s o m e tim e s sta n d a t th e k itc h en e n tra n c e to th e front r eg io n s of th e hotel and so le m n ly a n s w e r with dignity and in sta n d a rd E n g lis h the q u e s t i o n s put to him by hotel g u e s t s , w hile from within the k itc hen th e m aids, s tr a ig h t- fa c e d , would s e c r e t l y but p e r s i s t e n t l y g o o se him. By m ocking the the a u d ie n c e or t e a s i n g a team -m ate, th e performer ca n show not only th a t he i s not bound by th e o ffic ia l in te r a c tio n but a l s o th a t h e h a s th is in te r a c tio n s o much u n d er control that he can toy wirh it at will. A final form of d e r is i v e by-play may be m entioned. O ften w hen an individual is in te r a c t in g with a se c o n d individual who is o ffe n siv e in so m e way, h e will try to c a tc h th e e y e of a third in d iv id u a l one who i s d efin e d a s an o u ts id e r to the i n te r a c t io n and in th is way confirm that he i s not to be held r e s p o n s i b le for th e c h a r a c t e r or behav iour of th e se co n d in d iv id u al. It may be noted in c o n c lu s io n that all o f t h e s e form s of d e r is i v e c o llu s io n te n d to a r is e alm ost involuntarily, by c u e s th a t are co n v e y e d before th e y c a n be c h e ck e d .

Reoligning Actions
It h a s bee n s u g g e s te d th a t when in d iv id u a ls com e to ge ther for th e pu rp o se of in te ractio n , e a c h a d h e r e s to the part that h a s been c a s t for him within his team s routine, and e a c h jo in s with h is te am -m a tes in m a inta ining the a p p ro p riate mixture of formality and inform ality, o f d i s t a n c e and intim acy, toward the members of the oth e r team. T h is d o e s not mean th a t te am m a tes will open ly tre a t one a n o th e r in th e sa m e w ay a s they openly t r e a t t h e a u d ie n c e , but it d o e s u su a lly mean th a t team m a te s will tr e a t on e an o th e r d iffe ren tly from th e way th a t would be most ' n a t u r a l 1 for them. C o l lu s iv e com m unication h a s been s u g g e s te d a s one way in w hich te am -m a tes c a n free th e m s e lv e s a l it tle from the r e s t r i c t i v e re q u ire m e n ts of in te r a c tio n betw een t e a m s ; it is a kind of d e v ia tio n from ty p e w h ich th e a u d ien c e i s m eant to remain unaw are of, a n d it te n d s , therefore, to le a v e the status quo in ta c t . However, perform ers rarely seem c o n ten t w ith sa fe c h a n n e ls for e x p r e s s in g d is c o n te n t with the working c o n s e n s u s . T h e y often attem p t to s p e a k out of c h a r a c te r in a w ay th a t w ill be heard by t h e a u d ien c e but w ill not openly th r e a te n e i th e r the integrity of th e tw o te am s or the s o c ia l
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d i s t a n c e between them. T h e s e temporary unofficial, or co n tro lled re a lig nm e nts, often a g g r e s s iv e in cha racter, provide an in t e r e s t i n g a r e a for study. When two te am s e s ta b l is h an o fficial working consensus a s a g u a r a n te e for s a fe s o c i a l in te ractio n , we may usually d e te c t an unofficial lin e of com munication which ea ch team d ir e c ts a t the other. T h is u nofficial com munication may be ca rrie d on by innuendo, mim icked a c c e n t s , w ell-placed jo k e s, s ig n ific a n t p a u s e s , v e ile d h in ts , purposeful kidding, e x p r e s s iv e ov erto n e s, and many other sig n p r a c tic e s . R u le s regarding th is laxity a re quite s tr ic t. T he com m unicator h a s the right to deny th a t h e ' m e a n t a n y t h i n g 1 by h i s ac tio n , sh o u ld h is r e c ip ie n t s a c c u s e him to his f a c e of h av ing co n v e y ed som ething u n a c c e p ta b le , and th e r e c ip ie n t s have th e right to a c t a s if nothing, or only som ething in n o c u o u s, h a s been conveyed. In many kinds of s o c ia l in te r a c tio n , unofficial com munication p rovides a way in which o n e team can ex ten d a defin ite but non com prom ising in v itatio n to th e other, r e q u e s tin g that s o c ia l d is t a n c e and formality be i n c r e a s e d or d e c r e a s e d , or th a t both te am s sh ift the in te ra c tio n to one involving the perform ance of a new s e t of r o le s . T h is is so m e tim es known a s 'p u ttin g out f e e l e r s and in v o lv e s guarded d i s c l o s u r e s and hinted dem ands. By m eans of s ta te m e n ts th a t a re c a refu lly am biguous or that hav e a s e c r e t meaning to th e in itia te , a performer is a b le to d is c o v e r , w ithout dropping h is d e f e n s iv e sta n d , w hether or not it is s a f e to d i s p e n s e with the c u rre n t defin itio n of the s itu a tio n . F or exam ple, s in c e it is not n e c e s s a r y to retain s o c ia l d is t a n c e or be on guard before th o s e who are o n e s c o l le a g u e s in o cc u p atio n , ideology, e th n ic ity , c l a s s , e t c ., it i s common for c o l le a g u e s to dev e lo p s e c r e t s ig n s which seem innoc uous to n o n -c o lle a g u e s w hile a t the s a m e tim e they convey to th e i n it ia t e that he is among his own and can relax the p o s e he m a in ta in s toward th e public. T h u s the murderous T h u g s o f n in e tee n th -ce n tu ry India, who hid t h e i r annual d e p r e d a tio n s behind a nine-m onth show o f civic-m inded a c tio n s , p o s s e s s e d a code for r e c o g n iz in g one ano th er. As one w riter su g g e sts:
When T h u g s meet, though st r a n g e r s , ther e is so m e th in g in th eir m anner which soon d i s c o v e r s i t s e l f to e a c h other, a nd to a s s u r e the su rm ise th u s ex c ite d , one e x c l a i m s ' A l e e K h a n ! ' which , on being r e p e a t e d by t h e other party, a recognition of each o t h e r s h a b i t t a k e s place . . . *

Similarly, men of th e B ritish working c l a s s can be found who still a s k a s tr a n g e r 'h o w far E a s t i s h e ; fellow F re e m a s o n s
Col. [ . L . S l e e m a n , n. d.), p. 79. T k u g s or a Million Murders ( L o n d o n : S am pson Low,

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know how to a n s w e r th is p as sw o rd and know th a t afte r they do a n s w e r it th o s e p r e s e n t ca n r e la x into in to le r a n c e for C a th o li c s and th e e f f e te c l a s s e s . In A nglo-Am erican s o c ie t y t h e surnam e an d the a p p e a r a n c e of p e rso n s to whom one is intro d u c ed se rv e a s im ila r function, te llin g one which of the se g m e n ts o f t h e population i t will b e im p o litic to c a s t a s p e r s i o n s a g a in s t. T h e guarded d i s c l o s u r e by w hich two members o f an intim ate s o c i e t y make t h e m s e lv e s known to e a c h oth e r is perhaps the l e a s t s u b tle v ersio n of d i s c l o s i v e com m unication. In everyday life , where in d iv id u a ls have no s e c r e t s o c ie t y to d i s c l o s e th e ir membership in, a more d e l i c a t e p r o c e s s is involved. When in d iv id u a ls a r e unfam iliar with e a c h o th e rs o p in io n s and s t a t u s e s , a feeling-out p r o c e s s o c c u r s w hereby o n e in d ividual adm its h is v ie w s or s t a t u s e s to another a l i t t l e at a tim e. After dropping h is guard j u s t a l i t t l e he w a its for the o th e r to show r e a so n why it is s a f e for him to do t h is , and a f te r th is r e a s s u r a n c e he can sa fe ly drop h is guard a lit tle b it more. By p h r a s in g e a c h s t e p in th e a d m issio n in an am biguous way, th e in d ividual i s in a p o sitio n to halt the p rocedure of dropping h is front at th e point where he g e t s no confirm ation from the other, and at th is point he can a c t a s if h i s l a s t d is c lo s u r e w ere not an overture at all. T h u s when two p e rso n s in c o n v e r s a tio n are a tte m p tin g to d isc o v e r how ca re fu l they a re going to have to be about s ta tin g th e ir true p o litic a l o pinion s, one of them ca n halt h is gradual d is c lo s u r e o f how far left or how far right he is ju s t a t the point where t h e o th e r h a s come to th e f u rth e s t extrem e o f his a c tu a l b eliefs. In s u c h c a s e s , the person with th e more extrem e v ie w s will ta c tf u lly act a s if his view s are no more extrem e than the o th e r s. T h i s p r o c e s s of g radua l guard e d d i s c l o s u r e i s a l s o i l l u s tr a te d by so m e of the mythology and a few of the f a c ts a s s o c i a t e d with s e x u a l life in our s o c ie t y . T he s e x u a l relation i s d efine d a s one o f intim acy with in itia tiv e superordination for the male. In fact, courting p r a c tic e s inv olve a concerted ag g r e s s io n a g a in s t the alignm ent between the s e x e s on the part of th e male, a s he a tte m p ts to m anoeuvre som eone for whom h e m ust a t f irs t sh ow r e s p e c t into a p o s itio n o f su b o rd in a te in tim acy. However, an even more a g g r e s s i v e action a g a in st the alignm ent between the s e x e s is found in s it u a ti o n s where the working c o n s e n s u s is d efin e d in terms of supero rdinatio n and d is t a n c e on the part of a performer who happens to be a woman and su b ord ination on the part of a performer who hap p e n s to be a man. T h e p o s s i b ility a r i s e s that the
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male performer will r ed e fin e th e sicuation to em p h a siz e h is s e x u al su p e ro rd in a tio n a s o p pose d to h i s socio-econo m ic sub o rd in atio n . 1 In our p r o le ta ria n l it e r a tu r e , for example, i t i s th e poor man who in tro d u c e s t h i s r ed e fin itio n in regard to a rich w oman; Lady Chatterley's J^over, a s h a s often been remarked, i s a c le a r- c u t ex am ple. And when we study s e rv ic e o c c u p a t io n s , e s p e c i a l l y lowly o n e s , in e v ita b ly we find that p r a c titio n e r s hav e a n e c d o t e s to te ll about th e tim e they or one of th e ir c o l le a g u e s redefined the s e r v ic e relacion inco a s e x u a l one (or had it re d e fin e d for them). T a l e s o f such a g g r e s s iv e re d e fin itio n s a r e a s ig n i f ic a n t part of th e myth ology not only of p a r tic u la r o c c u p a tio n s but a l s o of the male su b c u ltu re generally. T em porary realignm ents through which iir e c tio n of the in te ra c tio n may be s e iz e d in an uno fficial way by a subordinate, or uno ffic ia lly e x te n d e d by a s u p e ro rd in a te, attain som e kind of s t a b ili ty and in stic u tio n a liz a tio n in what is so m etim es c a l l e d ' d o u b le -ta lk . 2 By th is com m unication tech n iq u e two in d iv id u a ls may convey inform ation to on e a n o th e r in a manner or on a m atter chat i s i n c o n s is te n t with th e ir o fficial rela tio n ship. D ouble-talk in v o lv e s th e kind of innuendo that can be c o n v e y e d by both s i d e s and carried on for a s u s t a i n e d period of tim e. It i s a kind of c o l lu s iv e com munication differenc from other ty p e s of co llu sio n in thac th e c h a r a c t e r s a g a in s t whom th e c o llu s io n i s su sta in e d are projecced by th e very p e r s o n s who en ter into the c o llu s io n . T y p ic a lly double-talk o c c u rs during in te ractio n betw een a su b o rd in a te and a super ord in ate co n c ern in g m a tte rs which are o ffic ia lly o u ts i d e th e th e com p ete n ce and ju risd ic tio n of th e su bordinate buc which a c tu a lly depend on him. By em ploying double-talk the sub o rd in a te c a n i n it ia t e lin e s of ac tio n without giving open recognition to the e x p r e s s iv e im plica tion of such in itia tio n and w ithout putting into jeopardy th e s t a t u s d iffe re n c e between h im s e lf and h i s su p e ro r d in a te . B a rr a c k s an d j a i l s ap pa ren tly abound in d o uble -talk. It i s a l s o commonly found in s it u a ti o n s
P e r h a p s b e c a u s e of r e s p e c t for the F re u d i a n e t h i c , so m e s o c i o l o g i s t s se em t o a c t a s i f it wou ld be io bad t a s t e , im pious, or s e lf- re v e la to ry to d e f i n e se x u a l in te r c o u rs e a s p a r t o f t h e ce rem onial sy s tem , a r ecipro cal r itu a l performed to confirm sy m b o lically a n e x c l u s i v e s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h i s c h a p t e r d raw s h eavily on K enneth Burke, who cle a r ly t a k e s the s o c i o lo g i c a l view in d e f in in g c o u r t s h i p a s a p r i n c i p le of rh e t o ri c through w h ich s o c i a l e s t ra n g e m e n t s a r e tr a n s c e n d e d . S ee Burke, A Grammar o f M o tiv es, p. 208 ff. and p p. 267-268.
2 In ev ery d ay s p e e c h t h e term 'd o u b l e - t a l k ' is a l s o u s e d in two o th er s e n s e s :

it i s u se d to re fe r to s e n t e n c e s in w h ich s o u n d s have been i n j e c t e d which s e e m a s if they mi^ht be m eaningf ul bu t r e a l l y are n o t ; i t i s use d to re fe r to p r o t e c t i v e l y am biguous a n s w e rs t o q u e s t io n s for w hich the a s k e r d e s i r e d a c l e a r c u t reply.

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where the su b o rd in a te h a s h a d long e x p e r ie n c e with th e job w h e r e a s the su p e ro rd in a te h a s not, a s in th e s p lit which o c c u r s in government o f f ic e s betw een a 'p e r m a n e n t deputy m in iste r and a p o litic a lly a p p o in ted m iniste r, and in th o s e c a s e s where the s u b o r d in a te s p e a k s th e la n g u a g e of a group of e m p lo y ee s but h i s su p e ro r d in a te d o e s not. We may a l s o find double-talk in s it u a ti o n s where two p e r s o n s e n g a g e in i l l i c i t a g re e m e n ts with e a c h other, for by t h is te c h n iq u e com m unication may o c c u r and yet n e ith e r p a r tic ip a n t n e e d p l a c e him s elf in th e h a n d s of the o ther. A sim ila r form of c o l lu s io n i s som e tim es found betw e en two t e a m s which must m aintain the im pression o f being r e la tiv e ly h o s ti le or r e la tiv e ly d is t a n t toward each other and yet find i t m utually p ro fitab le to com e to an agreem ent on c e r ta in m a tte rs , providing th is d o e s not e m b a r ra s s th e o p p o sitio n a l s ta n d they a r e o b lig e d to be ready to m aintain to w ard e a c h other. 1 In other w ords, d e a l s can be made without c r e a t i n g th e m u tu a l-so lid a rity r e la tio n s h i p which d ea lin g u s u a lly l e a d s to. More important, p e rh a p s, double-talk regularly o c c u r s in in tim a te d o m e stic and work s i t u a ti o n s , a s a s a fe m e a n s of making an d re fu sin g r e q u e s ts and com mands that could not be open ly made o r openly r e fu se d w ithout altering the r e la tio n s h i p . I h a v e c o n s id e r e d som e common r e a lig n in g a c t i o n s move m e n ts around, or over, or away from the lin e betw een the t e a m s ; p r o c e s s e s such a s "n o f f ic ia l grumbling, guarded d i s c l o s u r e s , and do ub le -talk were given a s i n s t a n c e s . 1 would lik e to add a few more ty p e s to th e pic tu re. When the w orking c o n s e n s u s e s t a b l i s h e d between two te am s i s one in volving avow ed o p p o sitio n , we find th a t th e d iv isio n of la b o u r within e a c h team may u ltim ately le ad to momentary re a lig n m e n ts o f th e kind that make us a p p r e c ia te that not only a rm ie s hav e the problem of fra te rn iz a tio n . A s p e c i a l i s t on one team may find that he h a s a great deal in common with h i s o p p o s ite number on the oth e r te am and that to g e th e r they ta lk a la n g u a g e which te n d s to align them to g e th e r on a sin g le team in o p p o sitio n to all the rem aining p a r ti c ip a n ts . T h us, during labour-m anagem ent n e g o tia tio n s , o ppo sin g la w y e rs may find th e m s e lv e s exch an g in g c o l l u s i v e lo o k s when a layman on e i th e r team m a k es a p a te n t legal gaffe. When th e s p e c i a l i s t s a r e not perm anently p art of a p a r tic u la r team but ra th e r hire th e m s e lv e s out for th e duration of n e g o t ia t io n s , they a r e likely to be more loyal in some s e n s e to t h e i r c a tli n g and th e ir
l S e e D ale, op. c i t . , pp. 182-183, foe an i l l u s t r a t i o n of t a c i t co m p ro m is es b e tw e e n two team s o f fi c i a l l y o p p o se d to e a c h other. S ee a l s o Melville Dalton, 'U n o f f i c i a l Uaion-Managem ent R e l a t i o n s , A m erica n S o ci o l o g i c a l R e v i e w , XV, p p . 611-619.

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c o l l e a g u e s chan to rhe team they happen at the time to be se rv in g . If, th en, th e im p re ssio n of o p p o sitio n between che te a m s i s to be m ain ta in ed , the c r o s s - c u t tin g l o y a ltie s o f s p e c i a l i s t s will have to be s u p p r e s s e d or e x p r e s s e d surrep tit io u s ly . T h u s American la w y e rs, in s e n s i n g th a t th e ir c l ie n t s w ant them to be h o s ti le to th e o p p o sin g law yer, may wait until a b a c k s ta g e r e c e s s before hav in g a friend ly colleg ial c h a t about the c a s e in p r o g re ss. In d i s c u s s i n g the role that c ivil s e r v a n t s play in parliam entary d e b a te s , Dale m a k e s a s im ila r s u g g e s t i o n :
A sec d e b a t e on one s u b j e c t . . . . a s a rule t a k e s only one day . If a D epartm ent i s so unlucky a s to have a long a n d co n te n tio u s BUI in Committee of th e w hole House, the M inister a nd th e c i v i l s e r v a n t s in c h a r g e of it m u st be th ere from 4 p.m. till 11 p.m. ( s o m e tim e s much l a t e r if th e 1! o ' c l o c k rule i s su s p en d ed ), p e r h a p s day a f t e r day from Monday till T h u rs d ay ev ery w e e k . . . . H ow ever, the c i v i l s e r v a n t s g e t one co m p en sation for th eir s u f f e ri n g s . It i s a t t h is time t h a t they a r e most likely to renew a n d e x t e n d t h e i r a c q u a i n t a n c e s in the H o u s e . T h e s e n s e of p r e s s u r e i s l e s s both am on Members an d among o f f i c i a l s than during a s e t d e b a t e of one day : i t is l e g itim ate to e s c a p e ftom the debating ch am ber to th e smoking*room ot t h e terrac e a nd e n g a g e in ch eerful co n v e r s a ti o n while a n oto rio u s bote is moving a n am en dm en t which ev eryo ne know s to be im p o s s i b l e . A ce r ta in camar ad erie a r i s e s among all en g aged night a f t e r nigh t upon a B ill, G o v e r n m e n t Op p osition , and civ il s e r v a n t s a l i k e . 1

In te r e s tin g ly enough, in some c a s e s e v e n b a c k s ta g e frater n iz a tio n may be c o n s id e re d too much o f a th rea t to the show. T h u s b a s e b a ll p la y e rs w h o se te a m s will r e p re se n t opposing s i d e s of fans are required by le a g u e ruling to refrain from co n v iv ial c o n v e r s a tio n with o n e an o th er ju st before the game sta rts.
T h i s i s a read ily u n d e r s t a n d a b l e rule. It would not be s e em ly to s e e p l a y e r s ch in nin g a s if th ey were a t an aftern oo n t e a , an d t h e n hope to su p p o rt the point chac they go af ter e a c h other h e ll- b e n t for leather, w h ich they do, a s soon a s t h e game beg in s . T h ey have to a c t like o p p on en ts all the time. 2

In all of t h e s e c a s e s involving fra te rn iz a tio n between opposing s p e c i a l i s t s , th e point i s not th a t the s e c r e t s of the te am s will be d i s c l o s e d or their in t e r e s t s made to suffer (although t h i s may o c c u r a n d may appear to occur) but rather th at th e im p r e s s io n of opp ositio n that is fo ste re d betw een th e te a m s may be d is c r e d ite d . T h e contribu tion of th e s p e c i a l i s t must app e ar to be a s p o n ta n e o u s re s p o n s e to the f a c t s o f t h e c a s e , in d e p en d e n tly p la c in g him in o p p o sitio n to th e other te a m ; when he f r a te r n iz e s with h is o p p o site number th e te c h n ic a l valu e of h is contribution may not suffer, but, d ra m a tu rg ic a lly s p e ak in g , it i s shown up for what it i s the p u r c h a s e d performance of a routine ta sk . I do not mean to imply by t h i s d i s c u s s i o n th a t fratern ization
1 UUe, op. cit., p. 150.

-Pin elli, op cif., p. 169

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o c c u r s only betw een s p e c i a l i s t s tem porarily t a k in g s i d e s a g a i n s t e a c h other. Whenever lo y a l t i e s c r o s s - c u t , a s e t of in d iv i d u a ls may loudly form o n e pair of te a m s w hile quietly forming another. O ften, when two te a m s e n t e r s o c ia l in te r a c tio n , we can id e n tify one a s hav in g th e low er gen e ral p r e s ti g e and th e o th e r team the higher. O rdinarily, when we think of rea lig n in g a c t i o n s in suc h c a s e s , we think of efforts on the part of th e low er team to a l t e r th e b a s i s o f in te ra c tio n in a direc tio n more f av o u rab le to them or to d e c r e a s e th e s o c ia l d i s t a n c e and formality betw e en th e m s e lv e s and the higher te am . In te re s tin g ly en ough, th e re are o c c a s i o n s when it s e r v e s t h e w ider g o a ls o f th e h ighe r te am to low er b arriers and admit the low er team to g r e a te r intim acy and e q u a lity with it. G ra n tin g th e co n s e q u e n c e s of e x te n d in g b a c k s t a g e fa m ilia rity to o n e s l e s s e r s , it may be in o n e s lon g -ra n g e in t e r e s t to do s o momentarily. T h u s , in o rder to p re v e n t a strik e , Mr Barnard t e l l s u s he d e lib e r a te ly s w o re in th e p r e s e n c e of a com m ittee r e p r e s e n tin g unem ployed w o rk ers an d a l s o t e l l s u s th a t he i s aw a re o f the s ig n i f ic a n c e o f t h i s :
In my judgment, confirm ed by o t h e r s w h o s e o pinion I r e s p e c t , it is a s a g e n e r a l rule e x c e e d in g l y bad p r a c t i c e fot one In a su p e rio r p o s i t i o n to s w e a r at or in th e p r e s e n c e of t h o s e o f su b o r d in a te or inferior sta tu s e v e n though t h e l a t t e r h av e no o b j e c tio n to o a t h s a n d even tho u gh they know th e su p e rio r i s a c c u s t o m e d to c u r s i n g . I h av e known very few men who could do it w itho ut a d y e r s e r e a c t i o n s on rhelr i n flu e n ce. I s u p p o s e th e r e a s o n is t h a t w h a t e v e r low ers the d ign ity of a su p e rio r p o s i t i o n m a k e s it more d if fi c u l t to a c c e p t d if fe r e n c e of p o s i t i o n . Also , w h e r e a s i n g l e o r g a n iz a tio n i s in v o lv ed in w h ich the s u p e ri o r p o s itio n i s sy m b olic o f the w h o le o r g a n iz a tio n , the p r e s t i g e of t h e la t t e r i s t hought t o be inju re d . In the p r e s e n t c a s e , a n e x c e p tio n , t h e o a t h w as d e l i b e r a t e a n d a c c o m p a n i e d by hard p ounding of the t a b l e . 1

A s im ila r situ a tio n is found in th o s e mental h o s p i t a l s w here m ilieu th e ra p y is p r a c tis e d . By bringing the n u rse and even a t t e n d a n t s into what are u su a lly s a c r o s a n c t s t a f f con f e r e n c e s , t h e s e non-m edical s t a f f p e r s o n s c a n fee l th a t the d i s t a n c e betw e en th e m s e lv e s and the d o c to rs i s d e c r e a s in g a n d may show more r e a d i n e s s to ta k e th e d o c t o r s point of view toward th e p a t ie n t s . By s a c r if ic in g the e x c l u s i v e n e s s o f t h o s e at th e top, it i s felt th a t th e morale of th o s e at the bottom ca n be in c re a s e d . A s ta id report of th is p r o c e s s i s given us by Maxwell J o n e s in h is report on E n g lis h e x p e rie n c e with milieu th e ra p y :
1 C hester

I. Barnar d, O rga n iz a tio n and M anagement (Cam bridge, M a s s . : H arvard U n iv ersity P r e s s , 1949), n. pp. 73-74. T h i s kind o f con d u ct must be c l e a r l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d from the rough la ng u ag e an d behavio ur employed by a s u p e ro r d i o a t e who s t a y s within the t eam made up of h i s e m p l o y e e s a nd ' k i d s ' them in to work.

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In che un it we h av e a t te m p te d co d e v e lo p the role of the d o c to r to meer our lim ite d tr e a tm e n t goat a n d h av e trie d t o av oid p t e i e n c e . T h is has m ean t a c o n s i d e r a b l e break from h o sp ita l tradition. Vic d o no t d r e s s to conform co th e u su a l c o n c e p t of th e p r o fe s sio n a l man. V t'e have av o id ed the w hite c o a t , prom inent s t e th o s c o p e , a n d a g g r e s s i v e p e r c u s s i o n hammer a s e x cen s io n s of our body image. 1

A ctua lly, when we stu d y the in te ra c tio n between two te a m s in everyday s i t u a t i o n s we find that often the su pe r o rd in ate team will be e x p e c te d to unbend just a little . F o r one thing, su c h rela x a tio n of front p rovides a b a s is for b arte r; t h e s u p e ro rd in a te r e c e iv e s a s e r v i c e or good of some kind, w hile th e su b o rd in a te r e c e iv e s an indu lgent gran t of intim acy. T h u s , th e r e s e rv e which u p p e r - c la s s p eo p le in Britain m aintain during in te ractio n with trad e sm e n and petty o f fic ia ls h a s been known to g ive way momentarily when a p a r tic u la r favour must be a s k ed of t h e s e su b o rd in a te s. A lso, such rela xatio n of d i s t a n c e p rovides one m eans by which a fe e lin g of sp o n ta n e ity and involvemenc can be g e n e ra te d in th e in te ractio n . In any c a s e , in te ra c tio n between two te am s often i n v o lv e s th e taking o f very sm all lib e r tie s , if only a s a m e an s of t e s tin g the ground to s e e if u n e x p e c te d a d v a n ta g e might not be taken of th e o p p osing sid e . When a performer r e f u s e s to keep his p la c e , w hether it i s of higher or low er rank than th e a u d ie n c e , we may e x p e c t that the director, if th e re is one, and the a u d ie n c e may well become i ll - d i s p o s e d toward him. In many c a s e s , the rank and file a re a l s o lik e ly to o b je c t to him. As previously su g g e s te d in r e f e re n c e to r a te b u s te r s , any e x tra c o n c e s s io n to t h e a u d i e n c e on the part of o n e member o f the team is a th re a t to th e sta n d the o th e rs have taken a n d a threat to th e s e c u rity they obtain from knowing and co n tro llin g th e stand they will h a v e to ta k e . T hus, when o n e te a c h e r in a school i s d e e p ly sy m p a th e tic to her c h a r g e s , or e n t e r s into th e ir play during r e c e s s , or i s w illing to come into c l o s e co ntac t with th e l o w - s ta t u s o n e s among them, the other t e a c h e r s will find that th e im p re ssio n they are trying to m ain ta in o f what c o n s titu t e s ap propriate work i s th re a te n e d . 1 In fact, when p a rtic u la r perform ers c r o s s the lin e that s e p a r a t e s th e team s, when som eone b ecom es too intim ate, or too indulgent, or too a n ta g o n is tic , we may exp e ct a c ir c u it of r e v e rb e ra tio n s to be s e t up which a f f e c ts the su b o rd in ate te am , the s u p e ro rd in a te ___________ team, and th e p a rtic u la r t r a n s g r e s s o r s .
J o n e s , T he T hera p e u tic Comm unity (New Y o rk: 1953), p. 40. 2 P e r s o n a l communication ftom H e l e n Biaw, sc h o o l te a c h e r .
1 Maxwell

B a s i c Books,

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A h int of su c h re v e rb e ra tio n s may be c i t e d from a rec en t stu d y of m e rc h ant seam en, in w hich t h e au th o r s u g g e s t s that when o f f ic e r s quarrel in m a tte rs regarding ship duty, th e seam en will a v a il th e m s e lv e s of the breach by offering th e ir com m iser a t i o n s to the o ffic e r chey feel h a s been w ronged:
In d oin g t h i s ( p l a y i n g up to one of the d i s p u t a n t s ) t h e crewmen e x p e c t e d th e officer to r e l a x in h i s s u p e r i o r at t i t u d e an d to allow the men a c e r t a i n e q u a lity w h ile d i s c u s s i n g t h e si t u a t i o n . T h i s so o n led to th eir e x p e c t i n g c e r t a i n p r i v i l e g e s s u c n a s st a n d in g in th e w h e e l- h o u se i n s t e a d of on the w in g s of t h e brid g e. T h e y to o k a d v a n ta g e o f t h e m a t e s ' d i s p u t e to e a s e th e ir su b o r d in a te s t a t u s . 1

R ecenc tr e n d s in p s y c h ia t r ic trea tm e n t pro v id e u s with other e x a m p le s ; I would lik e to mention so m e of th e s e . O ne i n s t a n c e may be taken from th e Maxwell J o n e s report, although h is study pu rpo rts to be an argumenc for e a s i n g s t a t u s d if f e r e n c e s betw een s ta f f l e v e l s an d betw e en p a t i e n t s and s ta f f :
T h e in teg rity o f the n u r s e s group can be u p s e t by th e in d isc r e tio n o f a n y one m em ber: a n u t s e who a l l o w s her s e x u a l n e e d s to be met in an o v e r t way by t h e p a t i e n t a l t e r s the p a t i e n t s a ttitu d e towards the whole n u r s i n g group an d m akes t h e n u r s e 's th e r a p e u tic role a l e s s e f f e c t iv e o n e . 2

A nother i ll u s tr a ti o n i s found in B e tte lh e i m s com m ents on h i s e x p e r ie n c e in c o n s tr u c tin g a th e r a p e u ti c m ilieu at th e S onia Shankman O rth o g e n ic School at th e U n iv e r sity o f C h i c a g o :
Within the t o t a l s e t t i n g o f the t h e r a p e u t i c milieu, p e r s o n a l s e c u r i t y , a d e q u a t e i n s t i n c t u a l g r a t i fi c a t i o n a n d group s u p p o r t all s e n s i t i z e the ch ild to ince r-p ersonal r e l a t i o n s . It would, of c o u r s e , d e f e a t t h e p u t p o s e s o f m ilieu ther apy i f the children w ere not a l s o s a fe g u a rd e d from the k in d of d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t they h av e a l r e a d y e x p e r i e n c e d in th e ir original se ttin g s. Staff c o h e r e n c y is th erefo re an important s o u r c e of p erso n al s e c u r i t y to the c h ild r e n a s the s t a f f members remain impervious to the c h i l d r e n s at t e m p t s to p l a y off one s t a f f member a g a i n s t ano ther. O r i g i n a l ly , many c h ild r e n win the affe ctio n of o n e p a r e n t only a t the c o s t o f a f f e c t io n a te c l a i m s on th e oth er. A c h i l d s m ean s of co n tro llin g t h e fam ily sicuarion by p i t t i n g one p a r e n t a g a i n s t t h e o th er i s often d e v e l o p e d on t h i s b a s i s , but g i v e s him no more than a r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y . C h ildren who h a v e u s e d t h i s t e c h n i q u e with p a r t i c u l a r s u c c e s s are e s p e c i a l l y h a n d i c a p p e d in t h e i r a b i l i t y to form u nam b iv alen t r e l a t i o n s h i p s l a t e r on. In an y c a s e , a s the ch ildren r e c r e a t e o e d ip a l s i t u a t i o n s in th e sc h o o l they a l s o form p o s i t i v e , n e g a t i v e or am b iv alen t a t t a c h m e n t s to v ario us s t a f f m em bers. It is e s s e n t i a l t h a t t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b etw een c h ild ren a n d in d iv id u a l s t a f f mem bers do n o t affe c t the r e l a t i o n s h i p s of s t a f f m em bers to e a c h other. Without c o h e r e n c e in t h is a r e a o f th e to t a l m ilieu s u c h a t t a c h m e n t s mig ht d e t e r i o r a t e into n eu ro tic r e l a t i o n s h i p s a nd d e s t r o y the b a s i s of id e n t i fi c a t io n and s u s t a i n e d a ffe c t io n a te attachm ents. 3

A fin al ill u s t r a t i o n may be ta k e n from a group th e ra p y project, in w hich s u g g e s t i o n s a re s k e tc h e d in for hand lin g rec urrent in te r a c t io n d if f i c u lt ie s c a u s e d by tro u b le so m e p a t i e n t s :
Attem pts are made to e s t a b l i s h a s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p with th e d octor. P a t i e n t s often a t t e m p t to c u l t i v a t e th e i l l u s i o n of a s e c r e t u n d e r s t a n d i n g with the d o c t o r by, for e x a m p le , try in g t o c a t c h h i s ey e B eattie, op. c i l . , pp. 25-26. 38.

2 Maxwell J o n e s ,

op.

ciU, p.

3 Br uno B e tr elh eim a n d Emmy S y l v e s t e r , Milieu T h e r a p y , P s y c h o a n a l y t i c R e v i e w , XXXVI, 65.

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if one p a t i e n t b rin gs up so m e th in g th a t so u n d s ' c r a z y . ' If they s u c c e e d in g e t t i n g a r e s p o n s e from the do ctor which they can in t e r p re t a s i n d i c a t i n g a s p e c i a l bond, i t can be very disru p tin g to the group. S in ce th i s ty p e of d a n g e r o u s by-play i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y non-verbal, th e d o cto r m u st e s p e c i a l l y control h i s own non-verbal a c t i v i t y . 1

P e r h a p s th e s e c i ta t io n s te ll us more about the parriy hidden so c ial se n tim e n t? o f th e w riters th a n about t h e gene ral p r o c e s s e s that can o cc u r when so m e o n e s t e p s out o f line, but r e c e n tly , in the work o f S tanton and Schw artz, we have been given a fairly d e t a ile d report o f the circ u it of c o n s e q u e n c e s which a r i s e s when the line between two te am s i s c r o s s e d . 2 It w a s s u g g e s t e d th a t a t tim es o f c r i s i s lin e s may momentarily break and m embers of o p p o sin g te am s may moment arily forget th e ir app ro p riate p l a c e s with r e s p e c t to on e another. It w as a l s o s u g g e s te d that c e r ta in p u r p o s e s can so m e tim es be se rve d, apparently, when b arriers betw een te am s a r e lowered, and . th at to a c h ie v e t h e s e p u r p o s e s s u p e ro rd in a te te am s may temporarily join with the low er ran k s. It m ust be added, a s a kind of lim iting c a s e , th a t in te r a c t in g te am s so m etim es seem to be prepared to ste p ou t o f the d ram atic framework for their a c tio n s and giv e th e m s e lv e s up for ex te n d e d p e rio d s of time to a prom iscuous orgy of c l in ic a l, re lig io u s, or e th ic a l a n a l y s i s . We can find a lurid v ersion of t h i s p r o c e s s in e v a n g e lic a l so c ia l movements w hich employ th e open c o n f e s s io n . A sinner, som etim es adm ittedly not of very high s t a t u s , s ta n d s up and t e l l s to th o s e who a r e p r e s e n t th in g s h e would ordinarily attem pt to co n c e a l or r a tio n a liz e a w a y ; he s a c r i f i c e s h is s e c r e t s and h i s s e lf- p r o te c tiv e d i s t a n c e from o th e rs, and t h i s s a c r if ic e te n d s to induce a b a c k s ta g e s o lid a rity among all p rese nt. Group therapy affords a s im ila r m echanism for th e building up o f team s p ir it and b a c k s ta g e s o lid a r ity . A p sy c h ic s in n e t
1 F l o re n c e B. P o w d erm ak er an d o t h e r s , 'P r e l i m i n a r y R e port for the N atio n al R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l : Group T h etapy R e s e a r c h P r o j e c t , p. 26. ( T h i s r e s e a r c h h a s s i n c e been r epo rted by Powderm aker and' Jero m e D . F ra n k , Group P s y c h o t h e r a p y (Cam bridge, M a ss.: Har var d U n iv ersity P r e s s , 1953).) Defrayal of on e's team by catch in g t h e e y e of a mem ber of the other team i s , o f c o u r s e , a common o c c u r e n c e . It may fee n o t e d t h a t in everyday l i f e re fu s a l to en ter in to momentary c o l l u s i v e com munication of t h i s kind when one h a s been invired to do s o i s i t s e l f a minor affront ro th e inviter. One may find oneseLf in a dilemma a s to w hether to b etray the o b ject of the r e q u e s t e d c o l l u s i o n or t o affront th e p erso n r e q u e s t i n g the co l l u s i o n . An ex am p le i s provided by Ivy Compton-Burnett, A F a m i ly a nd a Fortune ( L o nd o n: Eyre & Sp oeti sw oode, 1948), p . 13* " B u t 1 w a s not s n o r in g ," s a i d B lan c h e, i n th e e a s i e r tone of l o s i n g g r a s p of a s i t u a t i o n . * 1 s h o u ld h ave known i t m yse lf. It wou ld not be p o s s i b l e to be aw ake and m a k e a n o i s e an d no t h e a r i t . 7 1 J u s t i n e g a v e an a r c h loo k a t a n y on e who w ou ld r e c e i v e it. Edgar did so a s a du ty and ra pidly withd rew h i s e y e s a s a n o th e r . 1 2 Alfred H. S tan to n and Morris S. S chwartz, ' T h e Management of a T ype of I n s titu tio n a l P a r t ic ip a ti o n in Mental I l l n e s s , 1 P s y c h i a t r y , XII, 13-26. in t h i s p a p e r t h e w riters d e s c r i b e n u r se - s p o n s o r s h i p o f p a r t i c u l a r p a t i e n t s in term s of i t s e f f e c t s upon o th e r p a t i e n t s , the staff, an d t h e t r a n s g r e s s o r s .
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s ta n d s up and t a l k s about h im s e lf and i n v i t e s o th e rs to talk about him in a way th a t would be im p o s s ib le in ordinary in te r ac tio n . Ingroup s o lid a r ity te n d s to result, and th is ' s o c i a l s u p p o r t, a s i t i s c a lle d , presum ab ly h a s th e r a p e u ti c value. (By everyday s ta n d a r d s , th e only thing a p a tie n t l o s e s in th is way i s h is s e lf - r e s p e c t.) P e r h a p s an echo o f th is i s a l s o to be found in the n u rse-d o cto r m e e tin g s p rev io u sly mentioned. It may be th a t t h e s e s h if ts from a p a r t n e s s to intim acy oc c u r at tim e s of c h ro n ic str a in . Or p e r h a p s we ca n view them a s part o f an a n ti-dra m aturgic al s o c ia l movement, a c u lt of c o n f e s s io n . P e r h a p s such low ering of b arriers r e p r e s e n ts a natu ra l p h a s e in th e s o c ia l c h a n g e which transform s one team into a n o th e r : presum ab ly o p p o sin g te a m s tra d e s e c r e t s s o that th e y can s ta r t at th e beginning to c o l le c t a new s e t o f s k e l e t o n s for a newly sh a re d c l o s e t . In any c a s e , we find th a t o c c a s i o n s a r is e when o p p o sin g te am s, be they in d u stria l, m arital, n a tio n a l, e t c . , seem ready not only to te ll th e ir s e c r e t s to th e sa m e s p e c i a l i s t but a ls o to perform t h i s d is c lo s u r e in t h e e n e m y s p r e s e n c e . 1 In c o n c lu s io n I would lik e to s u g g e s t that one of the most fruitful p l a c e s to study rea lig n in g a c tio n s , e s p e c i a l l y temporary b e t ra y a ls , may not be in h ie ra rc h ic a lly o r g a n iz e d e s t a b l is h m e n ts but during informal co n v iv ial in te r a c tio n among r e la tiv e e q u a ls. In fact, th e s a n c ti o n e d o c c u rre n c e of t h e s e a g g r e s s i o n s s e e m s to be one of the d efining c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f our c o nvivial life . It is often e x p e c te d on suc h o c c a s i o n s that two p e r s o n s will e n g a g e e a c h other in a sp a rrin g c o n v e r sa tio n for th e benefit o f l i s t e n e r s and that e a c h will attem pt, in an u n s e r io u s way, to d is c r e d it the p o sitio n taken by th e other. F lir tin g may o c c u r in which m a le s will try to destro y th e f e m a le s p o s e of virginal u n a p p ro a c h a b ility , w hile fem a les may attem pt to force from m a le s a commitment of co n c e rn w ithout a t the same tim e w eaken ing th e ir own d e fe n siv e p o sitio n . (Where th o s e who flirt are at th e sam e time members of d ifferent connubial te a m s , r e la tiv e ly u n s e r io u s b e t r a y a ls and s e l l - o u t s may also occ ur.) In c o n v e r s a tio n a l c i r c l e s of five or six, b a s ic a lig n m ents a s betw een one con ju gal pair and another, or between h o s t s and g u e s t s , or betw een men and women, may be lighth e a rte d ly s e t a s i d e , and th e p a r ti c ip a n ts will s ta n d rea dy to shift and r e sh ift team a lig n m e n ts with l i t t l e provocation, jo k in g ly joining th eir p r e v io u s a u d ie n c e a g a i n s t th e ir prev io u s
'A n exam ple may be s e e n in the claim ed role of the T a v i s t o c k group a s t h e r a p i s t s for working th r o u g h ' th e antago nis m of labour a nd managem ent in ind u strial e s t a b l i s h m e n t s . See the co n s u l ta ti o n r e c o r d s rep orted in E l i o t J a q u e s , T h e Changing Culture o f a F acto ry ( L o n d o n : T a v i s t o c k Ltd ., 1951).

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te a m -m a te s by m e an s o f open betrayal o f them or by mock c o l lu s iv e com m unication a g a in s t them. It may a l s o be d efine d a s fittin g if som eone p r e s e n t of high s t a t u s be made drunk and made to drop h i s front a n d beco m e intim ately a p p r o a c h a b le by h i s som ew haC -lessers. T h e s a m e a g g r e s s i v e to n e i s often ac h ie v e d in a l e s s s o p h i s t i c a t e d way by p la y in g g a m e s or jo k e s in which th e p erson who i s the butt will b e led u n s e rio u s ly , into ta k in g a p o sitio n th a t i s lu d ic ro u sly untenable.
QJOOOUJXU

In t h i s c h a p t e r I h a v e c o n s id e re d four ty p e s of communi ca tio n out of c h a r a c t e r : treatm ent of the a b s e n t ; s ta g in g t a l k ; te am c o l l u s i o n ; and r e a lig n in g a c tio n s . E a c h o f t h e s e four t y p e s o f c o n d u c t d i r e c t s a tte n tio n to t h e s a m e p o in t: t h e perform ance given by a team i s not a sp o n ta n e o u s , im m ediate r e s p o n s e to t h e s it u a ti o n , absorbing all of the teams e n e r g ie s and c o n s titu t in g th e ir s o le s o c ia l r e a l i t y ; the performance i s so m e thing the team members c a n sta n d back from, b ac k far enough t o im agine or p la y out sim u lta n e o u sly o th e r k in d s of p erfo rm an ce s a t t e s t i n g to o th e r r e a litie s . Whether t h e perform ers feel th e ir official offering i s the r e a l i s t r e a lity o r not, th e y will give s u rre p titio u s ex p re ssio n to m ultiple v e r s io n s of r e a lity , e a c h te n d in g to be incom patible with th e o th e rs.

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