Running head: COMPARE AND CONSTRAST 1

Compare and Contrast: "Looking Glass Self" and the "Stages to development"

When required to come up with a compare and contrast essay, you have to have clear

details on how to go about in writing the paper. The looking glass self basically explains how

individuals build their perception towards themselves based on how other people perceive them.

This psychological perception was developed by Charles Horton Cooley and its basis is that an

individual’s inner self tends to grow based on their interaction with the society and the

perception that people hold towards them. On the other hand, the stages to development

psychological concept discusses the various stages that individuals go through in their life from

the time of conception until the time that an individual dies. The following paper which has been

written at online class help identifies various similarities and differences that exist between these

two psychological concepts.

The first similarity is that the two concepts that are the looking glass self and stages to

development involve a form of transformation in humans. In the looking glass self, an individual

inner self is transformed or shaped based on the perception that other people hold towards them.

In the second concept that is stages to development, one is transformed fully over various stages

in their lifetime. The other similarity is that in both cases, there exists an aspect of attachment or

bond with other people and this bond serves as the stimulus towards the change that is attained.

For instance, in the looking glass self, it through interaction with people that are close to an

individual that a person's inner self is modified. On the other hand, in the stages to development,

one aspect of growth that occurs is psychological development and it is mostly influenced by

interaction with people close to an individual (Lesley, 2017).

However, these two psychological concepts are also different in various ways. The first

difference is that the looking glass concept is based on one aspect of development which is how
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one perceives themselves. On the other hand, the stages to development covers different aspect

of development which are physical, cognitive and emotional. The other difference that exists is

that the glass self-concept usually applies to individuals whose cognitive ability has developed or

those with the ability to form perceptions and meanings about their life. On the other hand, the

stages to development concept is based on development at different stages of life right from

conception (Lumen, 2018).

In conclusion based on the various issues that have been raised, a clear picture of what

the glass self-concept and the stages to development entail. The latter concept basically focuses

on how an individual’s inner self is shaped based on how other people perceive them. The latter

discusses the various stages that people undergo in their life. These stages may be physical

psychological or emotional. This concept is broader, unlike the glass self-concept which only

focuses on an individual’s inner self. Based on these two concepts, it is clear how individuals can

easily be influenced by others through interaction and as individuals, it always good to ensure

that one’s inner self is not negatively shaped by others. Therefore, if you need help with an

essay, we believe you have the insight required in coming up with a similar paper.
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References

Lesley. (2017). Perception Is Reality: The Looking-Glass Self. Retrieved from

https://lesley.edu/article/perception-is-reality-the-looking-glass-self

Lumen. (2018). Stages of Development | Introduction to Psychology. Retrieved from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wsu-sandbox/chapter/stages-of-development/