Personal Reputation: Risks and Dangers

The paper reports outcomes of a theoretical research into the notion of 'personal reputation' in the context of the author's concept of personal representations of the 'I - Other' interaction. The paper distinguishes between reputational risks (that have a personal perspective and are related to the one taking the risk as well as to the one at risk) and reputational dangers (localized in society and constituting a threat to the Other/Others or a threat coming from the Other/Others. Results of an empirical research on personal reputation in real, functioning small groups are provided, along with the descriptions of reputational dangers and risks arising for an individual in the process of communication in a small group, such as risks of 'not revealing oneself' or 'evoking mistrust towards oneself ' and dangers of 'conformity' 'reference 'and 'double devaluation'.