Understanding The Looking Glass Self Theory - Essay Example

? Theory in Sociology: Understanding ‘The Looking Glass Self’ Theory Question Using sociological sources outline one sociological theory. With reference to sociological research explain (i) how it is useful for understanding society and (ii) any limitations that it has. Name and Student # Tutor’s Name ‘The Looking Glass Self” by Charles Horton Cooley Introduction Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), who had been successful in a number of other professions, came to sociology after taking courses in history, philosophy and economics, while still in college. His college education also inspired him to independently read Charles Darwin, British sociologist Herbert Spencer, and German sociologist Albert Schaeffle. His interests in the social outlook influenced some of his writing while still working in transportation, and as a draftsman and statistician. Other writers that later influenced his work were Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Sociological Association 2013). In reading such authors, Cooley began to examine more the connection between society and the individual, which he saw as being interrelated. Cooley designed the concept of the ‘Looking Glass Self’ which presented that a person’s self was determined by the society and that all social life, the interaction of persons, groups and organizations were all related by mental phenomena (American Sociological Association 2013). Some of his most important writings come from this period, such as the Personal Competition (1899), Human Nature and the Social Order (1902) and the Social Organization (1909), and Social Process (1918) (American Sociological Association 2013). Cooley determined that the self-perceptions a person attains through life are actually internalizations of the views of others put on to the self, that the self is a social product. Another way to state this is that we ‘see’ ourselves the way others see us. In the alternative side, a person (ego) convinces a friend or a group to see the person a certain way, as intended by the person (Yeung & Martin 2003). In a sense, this is more a psychology viewpoint, but yet the Looking Glass Self theory does have a sociological relevance today in a world that is highly influenced by media such as television, movies, magazines, newspapers and, more importantly, social media on the Internet. Imagery is the main vehicle of distributing what the rich and famous look like, what they wear, what they eat, and how they act, particularly during shows (Miley Cyrus comes to mind here). The social impression starts at the beginning of life when Mother is the overwhelming deliverer of food and attention, the basics needs of babyhood. As babies progress into childhood, crawl and walk around, the directives begin, with ‘don’t touch that,’ ‘don’t go there,’ and a description of the self as ‘bad boy’ or ‘bad girl’ when the order is not understood, or simply not followed. Cooley also states that women are more impressionable than men, who tend to be able to stand alone and have less need for social acceptance. Women, however, must conform more to the societal image of ‘proper’ womanhood and require personal support and corroboration that they are on the right track (Yeung & Martin 2003). In the Looking Glass Self Theory (LGST), there are three points that describes the process of the LGST development: 1. Our perception of how we appear to another; 2. Our estimate of the judgement the other person makes of us; and 3. A resulting emotional feeling about this judgement, whether it is pride or shame (Doob 2000, p. 151). One way to explain this is if a comedian starts his show onstage and tells a joke and there is little reaction, then he tells another joke and there is still not much reaction, he may wonder if there is anyone out there, or whether he just is not funny anymore. He may assume that if no one is laughing, maybe he just is not funny anymore. If the theatre wants their money back, then he is quite sure he is not funny anymore. But the problem here is that he might not have considered the audience who are a type of people he has never performed for previously (Doob 2000). As Doob (2000) points out, there can be a cultural aspect involved which overshadows what his jokes were about. If he were telling jokes about Muslims, while in a Muslim neighbourhood in New York City, it would not be considered funny at all. In a less obvious example, children growing up, like to get praise from their parents but they might do something wrong which has not ever come up before. Instead of being praised, they are punished by the parents, getting a totally opposite reaction from what they thought they would get. For example, if the parents, particularly the father, says curse words now and then, and the child follows his example not knowing what the words mean, then he might get punished. The puzzle is why Dad can say those, but Junior is not allowed (Doob 2000). It is something of a mixed message and can cause problems to the child if too many mixed messages occur while the child is growing up and trying to conform to his parents’ idea of what he should be. The Looking Glass Self Theory can be applied in everyday social interactions and, therefore, one of Cooley’s biggest contributions to sociology was the understanding of groups, particularly the Primary Group which is the family, or a group of people who provide emotional support and love. Other early social groups, such as in early schools and religious education, are also formative group components within any child’s growing up experience (Johnson 2013). Cooley was a founder of the Interactionist Perspective, which is a method that studies society through observing every day forms of interaction between individuals, and in different situations. The Looking Glass Self is the theory which is used for determining what those interactions are and how they are developed. Cooley suggested that the self and society could not live without each other, meaning that the ‘self’ had to develop through some type of human interaction (Johnson 2013). Without societal input, there would be no self, at least that which we would recognize, or relate to. We can relate this to stories where a baby, or young child, lost in the woods, grows up with animals, and has no social understanding of human interaction, values and principles. He has only a type of interaction with the animals, who are his primary group. The idea of interacting with other humans is not even conceivable, even frightening for the child (The Week 2012). Therefore, as Cooley puts it, the self is representative of the society the person lives in, which also includes the culture of the society. As not all societies follow the same cultures, which also includes religions, interactions will be different from one group to the next. Interactions are based on the surrounding culture and, potentially, the religion, if it is the basis of the culture, as in Islamic countries. Those of the same cultural and religious group, will tend to stick together because they understand each other and the accepted ways of interaction that people in their group use (Doobs 2000). The Looking Glass Self in International Business Today’s global vision in business and economy, require an understanding of the different cultures and religions, when planning to move a national company into the global arena. As some have found, to their chagrin, not studying the culture and the methods of how self and interactions within that group, are built in those cultures, there is very likely to be a business failure. For example, an American company cannot plan to move itself into an Islamic-based culture or an Asian culture, without first understanding the sociological functions that operate within any of those countries (Cooley 1899/2009). The American business, identified as ‘Self,’ has to learn how to work with what becomes the ‘Primary Group,’ which could be Iraq or China. In much the same way that the individual ‘self’ must learn from the family ‘primary group,’ so must a business adapt the Self complex and learn how to deal with the country as the Primary Group, in order to learn the ways of the country they are about to move into. As an additional point, hiring people from that country, also helps to smooth the way through speaking the language and also helping to navigate cultural obstacles. These factors all amount to the same thing: learning how to communicate so that there is success in making a connection between the self (business) and the primary group (country) through understanding the primary group’s values and principles. It also helps to learn the language (Cooley 1899/2009). The Looking Glass Self in Ballet and Modelling The world of ballet and that of modelling require a focus on perfection of the body in ways that are not seen in any other profession. Both professions require that the body be thin enough to look beautiful on the stage while creating artistic visions of the body in many different positions. To be even slightly overweight means that a certain line is not as beautiful as it could be, or that a certain imagery of fragility and effortlessness, does not appear. In many respects, models also have the same problem in that they must be thin and display their bodies in clothes that can only be worn by the very thin. Those who have even one stone more than the next girl, may ruin the lines of the designer’s clothes, thus not displaying that piece to its best advantage. Often, as young girls start out in the modelling business, they must change their bodies by getting enhancements or reductions on various parts of the body (Hart 2013). Already, the Looking Glass Self changes in order to adapt to the market’s needs, in this case, the Primary Group, for certain types of bodies and appearances. The model’s body must be able to handle just about any job, including going nude, although those are usually reserved for specific models. Media, in all its forms which also presents a mirror into an international society today, is the dictator of the physical Looking Glass Self. As in the case of ballet dancers and models, the physical image identifies the self with the primary group, which is the artistic director and ballet company, or in the case of models, the modelling agency and the photographers who can make or break the model (Hart 2013; Bentley 2011; Belair 2013). The social world of ballet determines that it be the primary world for its dancers who must engage in daily ballet classes, rehearsals and performances (for the professional). Running through all of this is the daily corrections of the body, being told that a step or position is not good enough, or not being selected to do the prima ballerina role, which equates to ‘I am not good enough to do that role.’ As the ballet requires that all parts of the dancer be engaged, the mind, the body and, usually, the heart, when a dancer is told continually that something is not correct and that it must be fixed, then this can present a certain negativity that permeates the whole body, including the mind and the heart (Bentley 2011; Belair 2013). The self can become troubled because the primary group, as the Looking Glass, is telling the self that it is not good enough. Obviously, in most cases with ballet dancers, they understand that correction is part of the business of ballet and, if trained properly, the self understands that this is not a personal engagement against the self. It is merely a requirement that perfection, as seen and determined by the primary group (ballet company and director), require certain standards of the physical body. Many dancers, however, find it hard to disassociate the body from the mind and soul. After all, dance is everything to them in their lives (Bentley 2011; Belair 2013). However, the internal self can feel lost when the importance of the physical self is the only measure by which the self is accepted or rejected within the primary group. Indeed, it is hard to separate the internal self from the outer self because it is all one package, yet the primary groups is only addressing the physical side as being important for acceptance or rejection. The inner self is of no importance in this case. The Looking Glass Self in Social Media The Looking Glass Self Theory is applicable in every part of society and never more so than in the Internet Age as Self can be whoever it wants to be on the Internet. The phenomenon of Facebook, for example, presents a certain Primary Group aspect, whereby many version of self can come into play. There is a certain decorum that exists, perhaps unspoken, that one does not say too much, or else one offend all the people who are ‘friends.’ Indeed, politics and religion can cause feuds online between long-time friends. People may spend hours online in Facebook, justifying why they think the way they do about certain political perspectives. In truth, humans are the only species that attempts to justify why they think and act in a certain way (Shaffer 2004). Consequently, the human ego, or self, may find itself being ridiculed or, at worst, being unfriended on Facebook. Yet, if the self truly believes in the justification of why the self believes in a certain way, then being unfriended is an acceptable, although unfortunate, occurrence. Conclusion The theory of the Looking Glass Self is perhaps one of the most fluid theories in sociology in that it directly addresses how people fit themselves into groups of people and, either the people, or a person, take on the group mantle by focusing on what the group means. Alternatively, a person can come into the group and actually affect the group to move in a totally different way. In order for the group to do such a thing, however, the self that comes in, must first carry components of the group as part of identification (Shaffer 2004). Once accepted, the changes can happen over time as the self of that person presents different ways of looking at things. This is most commonly observed in areas of politics and religion, as part of recorded history, particularly if using Adolf Hitler as an example. The ability of Hitler to engage the German population to take him on as a leader was that he first, had to present his concept of self to the group and be integrated within its confines. From that point on, he had the capacity to slowly change thinking by offering what the group wanted for themselves as individuals and as part of the group (Toland 1991). Perhaps the only limitation in this theory that could be conceivable, is that the Looking Glass Self Theory can be flawed if the person who is looking at the self, is flawed in his or her thinking. This may be most evident for dancers and models who must see themselves a certain way, based on the primary group’s own picture of what it wants. This might be most evident in cases of eating disorders when people still see themselves as fat, yet, in truth, they are very thin. Word Count: 2509 Resources American Sociological Association 2013, ‘Charles Horton Cooley’, American Sociological Association (ASA) Online. Available from: . [20 November 2013]. Belair, A 2013, Out of Step: A Dancer Reflects, University Press of Florida, (Kindle Version). Alida Bentley, T 2011, Winter Season: A Dancer’s Journal, University Press of Florida, (Kindle Version). Toni Cooley, JD (1899/2009), Personal Competition, BiblioLife Publishers, Charleston, SC Doob, CB 2000, Sociology: An Introduction, 6th edn, The Harcourt Press, Fort Worth, TX. Hart, C 2013, The Stories Models Never Tell, Ediciones Harty S,L., (Kindle Version). Christine Johnson, B 2013, ‘Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Effect of Primary Groups’, Education Portal Online. Available from: . [19 November 2013]. Shaffer, LS 2004, ‘From Mirror Self-Recognition to the Looking-Glass Self: Exploring the Justification Hypothesis’, Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 61, pp. 47-65. Available from . [21 November 2013]. The Week 2012, ‘6 cases of children being raised by animals’, The Week Online, (23 October 20120. Available from: . [19 November 2013]. Toland, J 1991, Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography, Anchor Publishers, New York. Yeung, K-T & Martin, JL 2003, ‘The Looking Glass Self: An Empirical Test and Elaboration’, Social Forces, vol. 81, no. 3, pp. 843-879. Available from . [20 November 2013]. SC4001 DISCOVERING SOCIOLOGY SELF-EVALUATION OF LEARNING (ASSIGNMENTS D/E) – 500 words Student number:____________________________________________________ Question answered:­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_#1: Using sociological sources outline one sociological theory. With reference to sociological research explain (i) how it is useful for understanding society and (ii) any limitations that it has. Questions to address in your discussion: 1. Do you feel you understood what was required of you for this assignment? 2. Did you have any difficulties completing the research or preparing and planning for this assignment? 3. Did you attend all taught sessions and make full use of the resources available? 4. How much private study (i.e. outside of taught sessions) did you do for this assignment? Comment on how useful your private study was. 5. Would you have liked more help or input in order to help you with this assignment? If so, give details. 6. Are there any other ways in which you feel you could improve your performance for this or other written assignments? I felt very comfortable with the assignment and what was expected of me in producing this paper and particularly in researching the topic of the Looking Glass Self Theory. This is a very interesting subject that also is part of our daily lives, whether we recognize it or not. We do check ourselves in the ‘Looking Glass’ to see how we look to others, whether it is the physical self, but more often, how we present ourselves to others in our social approaches. There were nearly 20 hours spent in researching the subject and reading through the studies and the books. I also found this very useful in understanding just what this theory meant and, as part of the process, understanding how we can sometimes, change ourselves to be what the Primary Group wants us to be, in order for us to be successful, and be accepted. This theory is also potentially applicable with other theories that might have the same basis, but are more extended in how they are applied. It was also interesting to view how the Looking Glass Self Theory could be applied in so many aspects, such as how it applies to dancers and models, but can also apply to someone like Adolf Hitler, who could change the focus of a group (Germany) by giving it what it wanted, yet use that for his own less favourable agendas as well. To a certain degree, he became the primary group and the German people became the self (or selves), who wanted to gain approval from him, in order to become part of his group and gain what they wanted. Yet, it did start out with Hitler being in the ‘self’ position first in order to gain access to the primary group, the German people. I would always be interested in gaining extra help on how I developed my paper in order to see other ways of developing it. Nothing is ever perfect, nor is it set in stone either. I am not sure what other ways would work better in how I conducted the research as I did look in several different places and also I wanted to apply the theory in distinctly different venues, such as the dancer, the models, and Hitler. I did outline how I wanted to present this as first identifying the theory itself, and then progress into providing examples of how it could be seen in different situations. The stories I found on those children who were lost and brought up by animals, shows a clear indication that the Looking Glass Self Theory is directly affected by the social environment supporting the child. As the animals were the primary group in those cases, then the child was engaged in their group and not the human social group. As a final note, I did attend all the classes and make use of the materials provided, which provided a good background and were very helpful in framing my direction in looking for information on my subject matter. Read More