Charles Horton Cooley�
The Looking Glass
Self
The process where individuals use others like mirrors and base their conceptions of self on what is reflected back to them during social interaction.
3 steps:
1) The imagination of our appearance to others
2) The imagination of their judgement of that appearance
3) Development of feelings about and responses to these judgments
The Situated Self
Social interacation requires us to present different selves to others in different situations, so we actually have multiple selves. This term is used to describe the fact that different� selves� emerge in� particular situations
Dramaturgy
Using the analogy of the theater, dramaturgy analyzes social interaction and our development of self concept as though we are actors in an ongoing drama.
Key concepts:
1) We have no core self.� Instead, we are constantly playing a role in relation to others on the world stage where we interact and live.
2) Impression Management�a process by which people communicate favorable impressions of themselves and attempt to play the role they are performing in the best possible manner, using revelations and concealment, revealing and concealing.
3) Front Stage, Back Stage