Question:Explain Charles Horton Cooley's concept of "the Looking-Glass
Self." Then apply the concept of "the looking-glass...
Question
Explain Charles Horton Cooley's concept of "the Looking-Glass
Self." Then apply the concept of "the looking-glass...
Explain Charles Horton Cooley's concept of "the Looking-Glass
Self." Then apply the concept of "the looking-glass self" to
describe hypothetically how a person who has an eating disorder
could have been influenced by others.
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept
created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902. It states that a person's
self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the
perceptions of others.
The term refers to people shaping their identity based on the
perception of others, which leads the people to reinforce other
people’s perspectives on themselves. People shape themselves based
on what other people perceive and confirm other people’s opinion of
themselves.
There are three main components of the looking-glass self:
First, we imagine how we must appear to others.
Second, we imagine the judgment of that appearance.
Finally, we develop our self through the judgments of
others.
A person suffering from eating disorder definitely becomes
conscious about one's image and body,as is viewed by themselves and
others,which engages them to either starve themselves or binge eat
and throw up to look like how models or celebrities are portrayed
in films or advertisements.
The stereotypical image of slim woman which is prevelant in our
society is the cause for eating disorder,wherein girls especially
are fat shamed in schools and colleges,which makes them indulge in
this erratic behaviour.
The perception of others is critical in teenage phase which has
either a positive or negative effect on the individual thus leading
to eating disorders,depression,low self issues or even suicide.At
this stage a teenager is still figuring out their identities,which
is why this unreal portrayal of a beautiful woman who is slim and
flawless is extremely effective during this stage.
The main point is that people shape their self-concepts based
on their understanding of how others perceive them. We form our
self-image as the reflections of the response and evaluations of
others in our environment.