Looking Glass Self Theory meaning by Charles Horton Cooley?

Question

Looking Glass Self Theory meaning by Charles Horton Cooley?

Answer 1

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) was an American sociologist.

He received a BA (1887) and a PhD (1894) in economics from the University of Michigan, before deciding to turn his career to social psychology. He taught at the University of Michigan starting from 1892.

Cooley's concept of the "looking glass self" is undoubtedly his most famous, and is known and accepted by most psychologists and sociologists today. It expanded William James's idea of self to include the capacity of reflection on its own behavior. Other people's views build, change and maintain our self-image; thus, there is an interaction between how we see ourselves and how others see us. According to Cooley, in his work "Human Nature and the Social Order", his "looking-glass self" involved three steps:

1) To begin, we picture our appearance of ourselves, traits and personalities.

2) We then use the reactions of others to interpret how others visualize us.

3) We develop our own Self-concept, based on our interpretations. Our Self-concept can be enhanced or diminished by our conclusions.

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Answer 2

Could you be referring to Charles Houston Cooley? He wrote a short children's story about a young girl, Avril, who magically fell through a looking glass into a strange world where, after many adventures, she found herself.

The idea of a world  through a looking glass was taking up by Charles Lutwidge Dodson who used it in his book 'Through the Looking Glass (and what Alice found there)'.