The Self

The Self Every situation that an individual is exposed to throughout life,

helps mold our “self.” As humans we have the ability to see ourselves

from the outside, and all through life we try to see what others see

and our “self” revolves around the generalized other. We observe how

others perceive us and we make conclusions depending on our

observations. How we act around others depends on the image we feel

they have towards us.

Charles Horton Cooley, a symbolic interactionist, concluded that our

sense of “self” develops from interactions with others. Cooley

described this process as the looking -glass self. The looking- glass

self consisted of three elements. We first imagine how we appear to

those around us. We may feel that others see us as boring or quiet.

Therefore we try to interpret the reactions of others when we are

around them to confirm if what we think is true. If others seem to

avoid to talk to you or ...