Question

Keisha notices that Sam, the youthful offender she is counseling, firmly believes himself to be "stupid" in spite of objective tests showing his intelligence well in the upper 10% nationally. She notes that his parents and friends constantly told Sam how "dumb" he was, and reinforced this in other ways they spoke to him and in the kinds of tasks they would and would not assign him to do. This situation illustrates

the "mind."

the principle of maximization.

the looking glass self.

the inaccuracy of many intelligence tests.

Answer 1

The looking-glass self - It is a social psychological concept introduced by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902. The concept of the no-glass self describes the development of one's self and of one's identity through one's interpersonal interactions within the context of society. Cooley clarified that society is an interweaving and inter-working of mental selves.

The looking-glass self has three major components and is unique to humans. According to Lisa McIntyre’s The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology, the concept of the looking-glass self expresses the tendency for one to understand oneself through their own understanding of the perception which others may hold of them. This process is theorized to develop one's sense of identity. Therefore identity, or self, is the result of learning to see ourselves as others do (Yeung & Martin 2003).

The looking-glass self begins at an early age, continuing throughout the entirety of one's life as one will never stop modifying their self unless all social interactions are ceased. Some sociologists believe that the effects of the looking-glass self wane as one ages. Others note that few studies have been conducted with a large number of subjects in natural settings.

There are three main components that comprise the looking-glass self (Yeung, et al. 2003).

1. We imagine how we must appear to others.
2. We imagine and react to what we feel their judgment of that appearance must be.
3. We develop our self through the judgments of others.