In 1902, Charles Horton Cooley created the concept of the looking-glass self, which explored how identity is formed.
-
Charles Cooley
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept, created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902, stating that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others.
Key Points:
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept stating that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others.
-
There are three components of the looking-glass self: We imagine how we appear to others, we imagine the judgement of that appearance, and we develop our self (identity) through the judgments of others.
-
George Herbert Mead described self as "taking the role of the other," the premise for which the self is actualized. Through interaction with others, we begin to develop an identity about who we are, as well as empathy for others.
Terms:
-
George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) was an American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. -
Charles Horton Cooley
Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864-May 8, 1929) was an American sociologist and the son of Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan, and he was a founding member and the eighth president of the American Sociological Association. -
Looking-Glass self
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept, created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902, stating that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others.
Examples:
-
An example of the looking-self concept is computer technology. Using computer technology, people can create an avatar, a customized symbol that represents the computer user. For example, in the virtual world Second Life the computer-user can create a humanlike avatar that reflects the user in regard to race, age, physical makeup, status and the like. By selecting certain physical characteristics or symbols, the avatar reflects how the creator seeks to be perceived in the virtual world and how the symbols used in the creation of the avatar influence others' actions toward the computer-user.
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902. It states that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. The term refers to people shaping their identity based on the perception of others, which leads the people to reinforce other people's perspectives on themselves. People shape themselves based on what other people perceive and confirm other people's opinion of themselves.
There are three main components of the looking-glass self:
- First, we imagine how we must appear to others.
- Second, we imagine the judgment of that appearance.
- Finally, we develop our self through the judgments of others.
An example of the looking-self concept is computer technology. Using computer technology, people can create an avatar, a customized symbol that represents the computer user. For example, in the virtual world Second Life, the computer-user can create a human-like avatar that reflects the user in regard to race, age, physical makeup, status, and the like. By selecting certain physical characteristics or symbols, the avatar reflects how the creator seeks to be perceived in the virtual world and how the symbols used in the creation of the avatar influence others' actions toward the computer user."
Read more...
More info...
The Looking Glass Self: How Our Self-image is Shaped by Society