“Looking Glass Self” is a theory of sociology that explains the formation of personality through reflection. The theory posits that individuals learn from their family members how to behave, relate, associate, and carry out activities. The family influences an individual to adopt behaviors that are believed to suit the family culture (Yeung and Levi 17). Consequently, individuals tend to judge the actions of others through their own culture.
This form of discrimination is referred to as ethnocentrism whereby an individual uses his own culture as a yardstick in measuring the performance of others. The three have three major rudiments. First, an individual imagines how he or she appears in front of other members of society. In society, each group has its values and beliefs. Groups tend to believe that their lifestyles are superior and as such, they should not be compared to those of others.
In this regard, an individual would imagine the reaction of other groups towards his or her behavior. If other groups rebel against an individual’s behavior, such an individual would tend to revolt as well, and would probably develop a negative attitude towards other individuals in society. In society, change is inevitable implying that people are required to adjust to fit well in society. Ethnocentrism is known to prevent an individual from socializing with other members of society. Through judgment and evaluation, an individual develops an image, which shapes his or her appearance, verbal communication, attitude, and actions (Shaffer 16).
From the theory, people’s actions are indeed shaped by cultural values and lifestyles. In my life, family symbols and sign language has helped in restructuring my consciousness. I tend to evaluate the actions of other members of society through my own culture and family values. When I receive negative comments regarding my behavior, I am tempted to believe that I am less attractive and appealing.
Conversely, when I receive positive comments regarding my behavior, I am tempted to believe that people are pleased with my behavior. In the future, I will try as much as possible to keep off from behaviors that attracted negative comments from those I socialize within society. However, I tend to do things that received positive comments quite often. It is observed that the reflection of the self shapes behavior in many ways.
In the film, the teacher experimented to show how class conflict is a result of societal construction. The teacher wanted to prove that children with blue eyes superior to children with brown eyes. After an experiment, children with blue eyes started accusing their brown-eyed counterparts. This is because they were believed to be inferior. In the next experiment, the teacher convinced the student to believe that those with brown eyes were superior to those with blue eyes. After the test, all students agreed that eye color should not be used to favor some groups in society. The teacher explained that she was against discrimination after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
In the film, the labeling of individuals demoralizes them since they cannot perform well in class. The teacher picked one of her colleagues with blue eyes and asked him how he felt after being labeled as inferior. The colleague appreciated that labeling affects the socialization of an individual in society. From the theory and the film, it is concluded that labeling affects the socialization of children in society.
Works Cited
Shaffer, Leigh. “From Mirror Self-Recognition to the Looking-Glass Self: Exploring the Justification Hypothesis.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 61.2 (2005): 47-65.
Yeung, King-To, and M. Levi. “The Looking Glass Self: An Empirical Test and Elaboration.” Social Forces 81.3 (2003): 843-879.