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looking-glass self

Definition of Looking-glass Self

(noun) An individual’s conception of how they appear to others.

Looking-glass Self Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: look·ing glass self

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /lUk-ing-glAs sElf/
  • British English – /lUk-ing-glahs sElf/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈlʊkɪŋ-glæs sɛlf/
  • British English – /ˈlʊkɪŋglɑːs sɛlf/

Usage Notes

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Ferrante, Joan. 2011a. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Looking-glass Self

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “looking-glass self.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved May 8, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/looking-glass-self/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

looking-glass self. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/looking-glass-self/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “looking-glass self.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 8, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/looking-glass-self/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“looking-glass self.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 8 May. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/looking-glass-self/>.