Explain the key components of sociologist Charles Horton Cooley's looking-glass self theory and explain its contribution to our understanding of the socialization process

What will be an ideal response?


Cooley's looking-glass self refers to the way in which a person's sense of self is

derived from the perceptions of others. He asserted that we base our perception of

who we are on how we think other people see us and whether this opinion seems good

or bad to us. The looking-glass self is a self-concept derived from a three-step process:

(1) we imagine how our personality and appearance will look to other people? (2) we

imagine how other people judge the appearance and personality that we think we

present? and (3) we develop a self-concept. We use our interaction with others as a

mirror for our own thoughts and actions? our sense of self depends on how we interpret

what others do and say. Consequently, our sense of self is not permanently fixed? it is

always developing as we interact with others in the larger society.

Sociology

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