DEVELOPING THE

SOCIAL SELF
Learning outcomes:
At the end of this lesson no. 2, the students will be able
to:
a. recognize their own capabilities as social being

b. explain the importance of the social self

c. reflect on some ways to maintain harmonious social

relationships
 Overview
Sociologist George Herbert Mead believed that people develop self-images
through interactions with other people. He argued that the Self, which is the
part of a person’s personality consisting of self-awareness and self-image, is
a product of social experience.

Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley believed that we form our self-images

through interaction with other people. He was particularly interested in how
significant others shape us as individuals. A Significant Other is someone
whose opinions matter to us and who is in a position to influence our
thinking, especially about ourselves. A significant other can be anyone, such
as a parent, sibling, spouse, or best friend.
 Overview
Socialization is the lifelong process through which people learn the values
and norms of a given society. Socialization is not the same as socializing.

Socializing is to mix socially with others (i.e., family, friends, neighbors,

coworkers), whereas socialization is a process that may include socializing as
one element, but is a more complex, multi-faceted and formative set of
interactive experiences. It is also an adaptive lifelong learning experience,
because society is constantly changing, and because we may find ourselves in
new situations—such as a new job with different norms and values, or in a
different familial role—such as that of parent or caregiver to an older relative.

The looking-glass self describes the process wherein individuals base their
sense of self on how they believe others view them.
Social Theories

Sociological theories of the self attempt to explain how social

processes such as socialization influence the development of
the self.
George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931), American philosopher, psychologist and social theorist, is
often classed with William James, Charles Sanders Peirce, and John Dewey as one of the most
significant figures in classical American pragmatism.

Mead conceptualizes the mind as the individual importation of the social process.

Mead presented the self and the mind in terms of a social process. As gestures are taken in by the
individual organism, the individual organism also takes in the collective attitudes of others, in the form
of gestures, and reacts accordingly with other organized attitudes.
George Herbert Mead
Mead presented the “I” and the “me. ”

The “me” is the social self and the “I” is the response to the “me. ” In other words, the “I” is the
response of an individual to the attitudes of others, while the “me” is the organized set of attitudes of
others which an individual assumes.

The “me” is the accumulated understanding of the “generalized other,” i.e. how one thinks one’s
group perceives oneself. The “I” is the individual’s impulses. The “I” is self as subject; the “me” is self as
object.

The “I” is the knower, the “me” is the known. The mind, or stream of thought, is the self-reflective
movements of the interaction between the “I” and the “me. ” These dynamics go beyond selfhood in a
narrow sense, and form the basis of a theory of human cognition. For Mead the thinking process is
the internalized dialogue between the “I” and the “me. ”
George Herbert Mead
THE SELF: The self is the individual person, from his or her own perspective. Self-awareness is the
capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the
environment and other individuals.

GENERALIZED OTHER: the general notion that a person has regarding the common expectations of
others within his or her social group

SOCIALIZATION: The process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it.

COMMUNITY: A group sharing a common understanding and often the same language, manners,
tradition and law. See civilization.
George Herbert Mead
THE GAME STAGE: Idea of social interactions becomes more developed by considering the attitudes
and behavior of the people immediate to them.

Children then considers the attitudes, behaviors and beliefs of the generalized others that leads to a
new understanding of society. They also get to understand that people assume multiple roles.

Conversely, these other people has an opinions and perceptions about the child, that is based on the
child’s actions and words. This ultimately influences the child’s perception of themselves. Noting that
children are mainly concerned with the perception of the people close to them.

These understanding is the basis for the idea of “I” and “me”
George Herbert Mead
THE PREPARATORY STAGE: Children interact with others through imitation. These actions are not
deemed to be true interactions.

THE PLAY STAGE: Social relationships becomes significant, manifests in “pretend play” or “role
playing”. They will then focused on these roles by assuming the perspectives of the roles they play and
acting upon these perceived point of view.

Children on this stage creates interaction by responding and not just imitating social interactions.
Children, as they grow older focuses on communication through symbols
George Herbert Mead
“Me” (social self) is the response to the generalized others.

“I” (response to social self) what those responses to others means.

The “Me” can be seen as the society’s view and the “I” is the individual identity, our responses to what
society thinks.

Mead says that, Who we are or our self is a balance between the “Me” and the “I”
George Herbert Mead
He outlined four ideas about how the self develops:

1. The Self Develops Solely Through Social Experience. Mead rejected Freud’s notion that
personality is determined partly by biological drives.

2. Social Experience Consists Of The Exchange Of Symbols. Mead emphasized the particularly
human use of language and other symbols to convey meaning.

3. Knowing Others’ Intentions Requires Imagining The Situation From Their Perspectives. Mead
believed that social experience depends on our seeing ourselves as others do, or, as he coined it,
“taking the role of the other.”

4. Understanding The Role Of The Other Results In Self-Awareness. Mead posited that there is an
active “I” self and an objective “me” self. The “I” self is active and initiates action. The “me” self
continues, interrupts, or changes action depending on how others respond.

Mead believed that the key to self-development is understanding the role of the other.
Charles Cooley
Socialization is the lifelong process through which people learn
the values and norms of a given society. Socialization is not the
same as socializing.

It is facilitated by the observations of and interactions with the

people around us.

It also help shapes our self-image

The looking glass self

Charles Cooley
Our view of ourselves is not only from our reflection of our abilities
and qualities but also on the perceptions of how we are being
perceived by others.

The Looking-Glass Self refers to a self-image that is based on how

we think others see us. He posited a three-step process in
developing this self:

Step 1
We imagine that a significant other perceives us in a certain way.
Step 2
We imagine that he or she makes a judgment about us based on
that perception.
Step 3
We form a self-image based on how we think our significant
other sees us.
 Charles Cooley
Step 1
We imagine that a significant other perceives us in a certain way.
• Simply, how do I appear to others?

Step 2
We imagine that he or she makes a judgment about us based on that
perception.
• What must others think of me? We tend to imagine how others evaluate
us based on their observations of us.

Step 3
We form a self-image based on how we think our significant other sees
us.
• Revise how we think about ourselves. We develop feelings about
ourselves based on our impressions of their evaluations and
observations.
Charles Cooley
Cooley believed that we are not actually being influenced by the
opinion or observations of others, but instead by what we imagine the
opinions of other people are.

Therefore we might develop our self identities based on either correct

or incorrect perceptions of how other people see us.
George Herbert Mead V Charles Cooley
Both thinks that other people influences the way we view ourselves

Mead argues that only certain people can influence one’s perception of self and only in certain
situations

Cooley argues everyone that a person interacts with during their entire life influences his/her self-
identity and vice-versa.
Resources

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

http://www.csun.edu/~hbsoc126/soc1/Charles%20Horton
%20Cooley.pdf

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mead/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/
chapter/the-self-and-socialization/
 Reflection
Direction: Fill out the blank to complete the sentences.

1. I learned that developing one’s self means

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
______________________.
2. I understand the significant of developing one’s self means that…
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________.
 Assignment

Read the resources about the Concept of self by Cooley’s and Mead and
write a summary report about your readings.

Note: Keep a copy of said report after submitting it to our google classroom
 Announcement

Prepare for a short quiz on the following topics:

• Developing the Social Self

• Introduction to the Social Dimensions of Education
ARIGAT H A N K S F O R
LISTENING
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