Question

Discuss the principle aspects of Charles Horton Cooley’s looking glass self.

Answer 1

According to Charles Horton Cooley, an individual develops through social interactions. The 'looking glass-self' denotes that an individual builds his self or self-concept based on the judgments of others. What others think about you, shapes what you think about yourself. For instance, your parents call you lazy, you eventually see yourself as a lazy one. A person does not counter judgments. You parents could have called you lazy because they wanted you to buck up, pull up your socks and do something instead of sitting back. However, you instead choose to associate yourself with laziness because that's how your parents view you. The principle aspects of looking glass self explains development of self through social/interpersonal interactions.