The Self
The human concept of the “self” is dynamic and heavily influenced by our interpretations and internalizations of the social world around us. In 1902, Charles Cooley defined the so-called “looking-glass self” as a three-step appraisal and adjustment process that determines an individual’s sense of self [3]. The key to the “looking glass self” is the significance of our imagination; we are not only influenced by others’ opinions of us but rather how we imagine others see us, including both incorrect and correct perceptions.
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1902 – Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self”
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Dynamic
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Heavily influenced by our social world
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3 Step Process
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How do I appear to others?
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What do others think of me?
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How will I change myself accordingly?
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All about the imagination
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“I am not what I think I am. I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”
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In 1995, William Cross developed his model of racial identity which described the process of self-hating to self-healing to cultural affirmation [8]. Although this model was meant specifically for those of the Black community, the process can likely be somewhat generalized to other minority communities. Cross emphasized the fact that while self-esteem does not change throughout stages of development, what does change is a person’s worldview, ideology, and value system” [8].
Our “sense of self” develops over time and influences us at all stages of life. The adolescence phase is particularly important and is characterized as a “period in which adolescents actively explore who they really are and how they fit in their social world” [19]. This is the phase where we establish our “global self-esteem” which involves our self-evaluation of worthiness and competence. This is also where so-called “imposter syndrome” may come into play – when adolescents begin personally detaching from their accomplishments and experiencing strong self-doubt.
Transracial Adoptees On Their Racial Identity and Sense of Self [10]
Code Switch from NPR News