Atkinson—“Looking Glass Self” 05/04/26

    In class we discussed the concept of the “looking glass self”. This is a psychological concept that means a person's self-concept is built through their interactions with others and their perceived judgments of them. So this means that we construct our identity based on how we imagine others perceive us. 
    I found this to be a really interesting idea. I feel like I can definitely see examples of this in my own life, where I’ve felt different with different groups of people depending on how I thought they saw me. I liked the analogy we used in class of the high school reunion, where a grown adult will start acting like they did in high school because that is what they think is expected of them. This is a common theme we see on tv all the time, where a character reconnects with their past, but neglects their current partner or friends by acting childish. It’s like a spell on us that we have to break. We don’t often discuss these psychological phenomenons in daily conversation, but I think that having awareness of these patterns is essential for full autonomy and a sound mind.

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