At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:

 recognize what sociology tells about understanding the self and others;
 discuss how individuals view the self as a product of socialization;
 explain George Herbert Mead’s theory of the social self;
 discuss the self a product of modern and postmodern societies; and
 appreciate your own social experiences that have been particularly helpful in
understanding the self.

Understanding of the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to

people, ideas, and things; to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you.
Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge, there is no basis
for right thought and action. - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Sociological perspective of the self is based on the assumption that human behaviour is influenced
by group life. A particular view of oneself is formed through interaction with other people, groups,
or social institutions. This chapter draws on the principles and concepts of well-known sociologists
to foster student understanding of sociology and how sociology impacts students’ everyday lives,
and provide a pathway to self-understanding of “who are you” and “what you are” in
contemporary society. For sociologists like Mead and Cooley, the self does not depend on
biological predispositions; rather, it is a product of social interaction. The sense of self emerges as
the individual partakes in society. While the individual seeks for solid and stable self-identity in
modern society, the postmodern individual tries to avoid fixation and keeps the options open for
self-improvement. French sociologist Jean Baudrillard posits that in the postmodern society, the
self is found in the prestige symbols of goods consumed by people. The postmodern person has
become an insatiable consumer. Therefore, if people desire to be satisfied with things in life, they
should not be persuaded by the postmodern culture of advertisement and mass media which
suggest false needs.

Sociology as a scientific study of social groups and human relationships generates new insights
into the interconnectedness between the self and other people. Hence, sociologists offer theories to
explain how the self emerges as a product of social experience. The looking-glass self by Charles
Horton Cooley and the theory of the social self by George Herbert Mead is helpful in
understanding how a person views himself or herself as he or she interacts with the social
environment that includes family, school, peer groups, and mass media.

Sociologists Charles Horton Cooley in 1902 introduces the looking-glass self to highlight that the
people whom a person interacts with becoming a mirror in which he or she views himself or
herself. Self-identity or self-image is achieved through a threefold event that begins by conceiving
an idea of how a person presents himself or herself to others, how he or she analyzes how others
perceive him or her, and how he or she creates an image of himself or herself. Since these
perceptions are subjective, a person might have wrong interpretations of how other people evaluate
him or her. It would be critical if he or she thinks that others judge him or her unfavourably
because he could develop a negative self-image (Kendall, 2013; Macionis, 2015; Schaefer, 2014).

Another sociologist, George Herbert Mead, supports the view that a person develops a sense of self
through social interaction and not the biological preconditions of that interaction. Mead’s theory
of the social self explained that the self has two divisions: the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the
subjective element and the active side of the self. It represents the spontaneous and unique traits of
the individual. The “me”, on the other hand, is the objective element of the self that represents the
internalized attitudes and demands of other people and the individual’s awareness of those
demands. The full development of the self is attained when the “I” and the “me” are united.
According to Mead, the self is not present at birth. It develops only with social experience in which
language, gestures, and objects are used to communicate meaningfully. Since there is meaning in
human actions, a person infers people’s intention or direction of action, which may lead him or her
to understand the world from others’ point of view—a process that Mead labels as role-taking.
Then he or she creates his or her own role and anticipates how others will respond. When he or she
performs his or her own particular role, he or she becomes self-aware. The self continues to change
along with his or her social experience. In other words, no matter how much the world shapes a
person, he or she will always remain a creative being and be able to react to the world around him
or her (Kendall, 2013; Macionis, 2015).

Mead details the development of the self in a three-stage process:

1. In the preparatory stage (0-3 years old), children imitate the people around them,
especially family members with whom they have daily interaction. But they copy
behaviour without understanding underlying intentions, and so at this stage, they have no
sense of self. During this stage, children are just preparing for role-taking.
2. During the play stage (3 to 5 years old), children start to view themselves in relation to
others as they learn to communicate through language and other symbols. At this stage,
role-taking is exhibited; however, children do not perceive role-taking as something
expected of them. The self emerges as children pretend to take the roles of specific people
or significant others, those individuals who are important agents of socialization. At this
stage, the self is developing.
3. In the game stage (begins in the early school year; about 8 or 9 years old) children
understand not only their own social position but also those of others around them. At this
stage, children become concerned about and take into account in their behaviour the
generalized others which refer to the attitudes, viewpoints, demands, and expectations of
the society which include cultural norms and values that serve as a reference in evaluating
oneself. This time, they can have a more sophisticated look at people and an ability to
respond to numerous members of the social environment. During this stage, the self is now
present.

The Self As A Product Of Modern And Postmodern Societies

Gerry Lanuza’s (2004) article, “The Consitution of the Self,” discusses the relationship between
society and the individual. According to him, in modern societies, the attainment and stability of
self-identity are freely chosen. It is no longer restricted by customs and traditions. While this
newfound freedom offers infinite possibilities for self-cultivation, problems such as alienation and
dehumanization of the self also appear which hinder the full development of human potential.
Hence, there is a need to discover the “authentic core” of the self for the individual to freely work
towards self-realization. Whereas the dissolution of traditional values and communities in modern
society has led the individual to construct a solid and stable self-identity, the postmodern
individual welcomes all possibilities for self-improvement. In postmodern societies, self-identity
continuously changes due to the demands of a multitude of social contexts, new information
technologies, and globalization.

French sociologist Jean Baudrillard exposes the negative consequences of postmodernity to the
individuals in the society (Demeterio, 2013). For him, consumption structures the postmodern
society. Postmodern individuals achieve self-identity through prestige symbols that they consume.
Individuals seek a position in society through the quality of prestige symbols that they can afford
to consume. The cultural practices of advertising and mass media greatly influence individuals to
consume goods not for their primary value and utility but for the feeling of goodness and power
when compared with others. Hence, the postmodern person has become an insatiable consumer
and may never be satisfied in his or her life. For example, if a person buys an expensive cellular
phone not merely as a useful communication device, but because of its prestige symbol, he or she
will desire to buy a new phone when he or she learns that a new and more prestigious model has
come out in the market, or when he or she discovers that other people are using more expensive
mobile phones. Therefore, the self may be in a never-ending search for prestige in postmodern
society.

Discover

1. The looking-glass self, a concept introduced by Charles Horton Cooley, describes the
development of one’s self and identity through interactions with others.
2. Mead suggests that the self has two divisions: the I and the me. The I is the subjective
element and the active side of the self, whereas the me is the objective element of the self.
3. According to Mead, the self passes through three stages of development: preparatory, play,
and game.
4. According to Lanuza, self-identity continuously changes due to the demands of a multitude
of social contexts, new information technologies, and globalization.
5. Baudrillard explains that individuals achieve self-identity through prestige symbols that
they consume.