LESSON 2 SOCIOLOGICAL SELF provide us with “social reality” that helps us determine

ABSTRACTION what to think, feel, and do (Hardin & Higgins, 1996). Now,
In philosophical views, the self evolves only in body, soul/ let’s examine in what forms society influences the self.
mind, and its relationship. But thinkers become tired of
debating about the dual nature of the self. And the birth of Looking Glass Self
social sciences gave a new perspective of the self. The American sociologist Charley Horton Cooley, who was
growth of the group geared the focus on the examination of born in 1864, is well known for his substantial contributions
the self into its relationship to the external world. Sociology to the discipline, particularly in the analysis of interpersonal
is one of those sciences that is concerned with studying relationships and the idea of the self. The concepts of
society, human behavior, and its relationship. Cooley established the foundation for the comprehension of
how society shapes individuals and how individuals shape
A human being is consisting of a unique yet complex self- society through their social interactions and self-
concept, which developed through time. But its perceptions. The idea of the “looking-glass self,” a potent
development heavily influences by the society that metaphor that highlights how people shape their sense of
surrounds us. And you have already discovered from your self through interactions with others and how others
activities some of those forces like self as a perceive them, lies at the core of Cooley’s writing. Cooley
mirror/reflection of others and how the opinions and views claimed that our self-concept is founded on how we believe
of others affect your self-concept and self-esteem. Thus, the others see us, rather than just on introspection or an
self is not created out of isolation rather it is shaped by individualistic understanding. Our sense of self and identity
observations of and interactions with others. Further, are significantly impacted by this process of introspection
questions like: are you pretty or not? Are you kind, and social comparison. Such a concept
generous, or polite? Are you good at Math subject or not? states that part of how we see ourselves comes from our
Are you the shy or sociable type of person? If your answer perception of how others see us. You come to believe that
is yes, how would you know? If you look at those around, you are funny if someone tells you that you are funny and
you then you will see the answers to that question. Others that motivates you to throw jokes to laugh about. This
would tell us that we shape our identity based on others’ between the self and society. The idea of “symbolic
perceptions and that we confirm such views in ourselves. interactionism,” which investigates how people shape their
Thus, individuals and society seemed to be not separable sense of self via interaction and conversation with others, is
instead of two aspects that complement the same central to Mead’s body of work. Mead maintained that
phenomena (Nickerson, 2021). rather than being a static thing, the self is a byproduct of
social processes that arises from our capacity to see things
According to Cooley, human beings have an inherent from other people’s viewpoints and predict how others
tendency to interact or socialize with people and objects would respond (Abbott, 2020).
that surrounds them. This is why he suggests that self- “Theory of Social Self” proposed that the self consists of
feeling and social-feeling must be harmonized since both self-awareness and self-image is a product of social
are two sides of the same phenomenon, then personal interactions and experiences. Children do not recognize that
freedom is tied to the relations that comprise society they are different from other people in the first few months
(Rousseau, 2002). Harmonizing self-feeling and social of existence, as such, infants only know the “I”. Infants
feelings does not mean losing one’s self in society instead begin to recognize the faces of those around them soon after
of being responsible for examining the effects of their birth. Through social interaction, they learn about “ME”
actions on others and the “OTHER”. They develop a concept of the
“Generalized Other”, which allows them to apply norms
and behaviors learned in specific situations to new
Theory of Social Self situations.
American philosopher and sociologist George Herbert
Mead is regarded as a key figure in sociology and is best If someone is staring at you, you will think what others
known for his breakthrough research on the self and social think about you and then, you adjust your behavior
interaction. Mead, who was born in 1863, had a significant according to what is acceptable to others. So the “ME” self-
impact on contemporary sociological thought, particularly counterbalances the actions of the “I”. A theory known as
with regard to understanding the nuanced interaction “symbolic interactionism,” which emphasizes the
importance of language and communication in the
formation of the self, is attributed to George Herbert Mead.
Mead contends that people build their sense of who they are
by social interactions, adopting other people’s viewpoints,
and foreseeing other people’s responses to their behavior. In
this process of comprehending social meanings and
identities, language and symbols are essential.
The term “social construction of the self” refers to the idea
that the self is not an immovable object but rather the result
of social processes. Our capacity to adopt other people’s
viewpoints and foresee how they will respond to our actions
is the basis for it. Mead and Cooley’s theories on the
sociology of the self both heavily rely on this viewpoint.