Deference is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior out of respect or reverence. Deference has been studied extensively by political scientists, sociologists, and psychologists.

Politics

Smolenski (2005) examines deference in colonial Pennsylvania, to see how claims to political authority were made, justified, and accepted or rejected. He focuses on the "colonial speech economy," that is, the implicit rules that determined who was allowed to address whom and under what conditions, and describes how the qualities that inspired deference changed in the province from 1691 to 1764. The Quaker elite initially established a monopoly on political leadership based on what they believed to be their inherent civic virtue grounded in their religious and social class. By 1760, this view had been discredited and replaced with the general consensus that civic virtue was an achieved, not an inherent, attribute and that it should be determined by the display of appropriate manliness and the valor of men who were willing to take up arms for the common defense of the colony. Further, Pennsylvanians came to believe that all white men, not just wealthy property owners, were equally capable of achieving political voice. Martial masculinity, therefore, became the defining characteristic of the ideal citizen and marked a significant transformation in the way individuals justified their right to represent the public interest.

Sociology

Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman was a Canadian-born sociologist and writer.The 73rd president of American Sociological Association, Goffman's greatest contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical perspective that began with his 1959 book The Presentation of Self...

, a Canadian-born sociologist

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 and writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, explored the relationship between deference and demeanor in his 1967 essay "The Nature of Deference and Demeanor". According to Goffman, a person with a poor demeanor will be held in lower esteem in the eyes of society. The same is true for people who behave in a good demeanor, however: society will hold them in a higher esteem. An example of this situation can be seen through the way a person acts in a social setting. i.e. A man pulling out a chair for a woman at a restaurant. On the other end of the spectrum, a person not bathing before they go to a fancy dinner party. These examples can be defined as presentational deference. Demeanor does not only limit itself to the actions of an individual, but also the appearance of an individual. A person offers themselves to a social group through a good appearance or a well demeanored appearance. When an individual has a well demeanored appearance it makes interaction between people easier. After a person is socially accepted to a group, it is expected that they will conform to interactional norms. Through acting on those norms, people receive deference.

Psychology

There is ongoing debate among psychologists as to the extent to which deference in a relationship is determined by a person's innate personality type

Personality type

Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...

 or is the result of a person's experiences and conditioning

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...

. In interpersonal relationships, a partner can assume a submissive role to fit in or to make him or herself acceptable to the other partner, and can be a benign aspect of a relationship. On the other hand, it may be an indication of an interpersonal problem, such as partner abuse

Domestic violence

Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...

. If one or both of the people are experiencing chronic, pervasive emotional distress then the sex partners or individuals may require psychological evaluation.

In interpersonal relationships, some people prefer or are willing to adopt a submissive role in sexual activities or personal matters. The level and type of submission can vary from person to person, and from one context to another; and also is dependent on the other partner being willing to assume control in those situations. Some people can include occasional acts of submission in an otherwise conventional sex life, or adopt a submissive lifestyle.

Studies have shown that with increasing age, girls have increasingly positive evaluations of deferential behavior, while boys have increasingly negative evaluations of it. A complementary trait to deference is assertiveness

Assertiveness

Assertiveness is a particular mode of communication. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines assertiveness as:During the second half of the 20th century, assertiveness was increasingly singled out as a behavioral skill taught by many personal development experts, behavior therapists, and cognitive...

.

See also

• Codependency
• Compliance (psychology)
  Compliance (psychology)
  Compliance refers to a response — specifically, a submission — made in reaction to a request. The request may be explicit or implicit . The target may or may not recognize that he or she is being urged to act in a particular way.Social psychology is centered on the idea of social influence...
  
  
• Dominance (ethology)
• Dominance and submission
• Obedience (human behavior)
  Obedience (human behavior)
  In human behavior, obedience is the quality of being obedient, which describes the act of carrying-out commands or being actuated. Obedience differs from compliance, which is behavior influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behavior intended to match that of the majority. Obedience can...
  
  
• Passive–aggressive behavior
• Reverence (emotion)
  Reverence (emotion)
  Reverence [rev-er-uh ns, rev-ruh ns] is defined by as, "A feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.". The word comes from the late 13th century Old French term reverence which derives from the Latin "reverentia 'awe, respect,' from revereri 'to revere,' from re- ,...
  
  
• Sycophancy

Further reading

• Foley, Deference and the Presumption of Constitutionality (Dublin: IPA, 2008)
• Zuckerman, Michael. "Endangered Deference, Imperiled Patriarchy," Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal, Fall 2005, Vol. 3 Issue 2, pp 232–252; in colonial Virginia
• Soper, Philip. 2002. The Ethics of Deference. United Kingdom: University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0521810477
• Telles, Joel. 1980. The Social Nature of Demeanor. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia, Cabell Hall.