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| sociology | |
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LOOKING GLASS SELF A term created by Charles Cooley, meaning that we see ourselves as others see us. This term was created after extensive sociological testing of children in a controlled testing environment. Children were told to enter a room containing a bowl of candy and take only one peice. The children were then let in to the room and monitored by video camera. The children, unaware of being watched, took as much candy as they could. The experiment was then repeated, but this time the room the children entered was lined by mirrors so the children could see themselves. In almost all cases the children took only one piece of candy. Research has shown that people display greater personal morality when they know they are being observed so they can tailor their actions to the viewer. Three Main Components of Looking Glass Self 1) We imagine how we appear to others 2) We imagine what their judgement of that appearance must be. 3) We develop some self- feeling as a result of imagining other people's judgements. In the case of the children, by observing their own behavoir in mirrors, they modified themselves out of guilt. |
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