What is the Looking-Glass Self?

 

And how can this theory make you a better person?

In 1902, American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley introduced the concept of the Looking-Glass Self in his book Human Nature and the Social Order.

Cooley said that a person’s concept of self is developed through their interpersonal interactions and their perception of how others view them.

He said that there are 3 stages to this theory:

1. We imagine how we appear to others.
2. We imagine their judgment of that appearance.
3. We develop our sense of self through the judgments of others.

For example, a basketball player receives compliments on his playmaking skills.

Socialized Self: Merton's self-fulfilling prophecy and Cooley's looking-glass self

(Robert Merton)

Robert Merton was an American sociologist who won the 1994 National Medal of Science for his founding of the sociology of science. He spent most of his career as a professor at Columbia University, where he developed the concepts of the "reference group," and "self-fulfilling prophecy." For the purposes of this post, I will only discuss the latter.