Who coined the term looking-glass self to highlight that our identity stems from interpersonal social interactions?
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Answer: B. Charles Horton Cooley
Explanation
Charles Horton Cooley introduced the looking-glass self to describe how identity emerges socially. Individuals imagine how they appear to others and interpret reactions to form self-evaluations. Our self-concept is constructed through ongoing interpersonal interactions within our social environments. Charles Horton Cooley was a prominent American sociologist associated with the symbolic interactionist tradition. The looking-glass self illustrates that human identity is inherently relational rather than purely innate. Socialization processes teach children how to perceive themselves through the feedback of caregivers.
Psychologists and sociologists use this concept to study self-esteem development and peer influence. Digital social media platforms amplify modern forms of looking-glass self evaluations among teenagers. Understanding self-formation helps explain why social approval plays such a powerful role in human motivation. Option A identifies George Herbert Mead, who studied the generalized other and role-taking behavior. Option C identifies Erving Goffman, famous for his dramaturgical approach to everyday social interaction. Option D identifies Harry Harlow, known for his attachment experiments with infant rhesus monkeys.
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