 Frame Analysis : An Essay on the Organization of Experience ( 1974 ) is Goffman 's attempt to explain how conceptual frames – ways to organize experience – structure an individual 's perception of society . This book is thus about the organization of experience rather than the organization of society . A frame is a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives that organize experiences and guide the actions of individuals , groups and societies . Frame analysis , then , is the study of the organization of social experience . To illustrate the concept of the frame , Goffman gives the example of a picture frame : a person uses the frame ( which represents structure ) to hold together his picture ( which represents the content ) of what he is experiencing in his life . 
