Two women are in an elevator together. After briefly acknowledging each other's presence with a slight head nod, they ignore each other for the remainder of the ride. Erving Goffman would refer to this behavior as an example of ___.

Two women are in an elevator together. After briefly acknowledging each other's presence with a slight head nod, they ignore each other for the remainder of the ride. Erving Goffman would refer to this behavior as an example of Civil inattention.

Explanation:

According to Erving Goffman, we often encounter situations in public places where we are stuck  with another person  for a short span of time like getting stuck in  elevators, traffic jams, office premises , or anywhere in public spaces.

During these situations it has been observed that most people would greet each other with a slight head nod or a small gesture LIKE a smile,or might get into small talks . However, they tend to ignore the presence of each other after that encounter. This behavioral phenomenon forms an example of civil inattention.