Subtle emotional cues in routine encounters ration who feels entitled to demand a service.

Evidence

Psychological sanctions serve to reduce the demands from clients within the system as well as help to limit those who come into it. The defendant in a lower criminal court who asserts that he or she does not understand the charges will be silenced by the hostile response of the judge or clerk who unenthusiastically attempts to redress the complaint. Teachers, by varying their tone of voice, encourage or discourage pupils from asking questions. A lawyer in responding to clients can communicate the opinion that the inquiry is stupid and the client unworthy of a thoughtful response. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 689

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names the micro-mechanism — unspoken tone and demeanor rather than formal rule — by which discretion silently triages claimants.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how administrative demeanor, not written policy, does the sorting work. — connects to: Agency layouts and queues teach clients their socially expected level of service — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 491; Sympathy and ethnic affinity drive discretionary favoritism in service delivery. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 794; Nonverbal demeanor overrides even legitimized contexts in service encounters — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1010 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Sympathy and ethnic affinity drive discretionary favoritism in service delivery. #corroborates (0.85) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 794
• Seeing a handicap makes some strangers feel licensed to intrude #exemplifies (0.85)
• Nonverbal demeanor overrides even legitimized contexts in service encounters #expands (0.80) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1010