scriptions of "who we are" seem to move from merely describing physical characteristics towards descriptions of more psychological states i.e. "I have brown hair and a small nose" becomes "I am curious and confident". (These descriptions of psychological states are also curiously social in nature - relating to how people interact.) As mentioned earlier these changes in self descriptions grow with language development, which is in turn developed due to social interactions. This is not claiming that thought does not occur as a consequence of language acquisition, but the ability to develop complex and abstract thought can be helped by language development (i.e. education) which is a very social process and only possible through interaction (also seen as key to self-formation). Influence of language will be discussed again later on in the essay.
             Both Cooley (1902) and Mead (1934) view self-formation as a reflective process, with the key to self development being interactions with others. The idea that the self is socially constructed - with individuals looking to others for cues to know who we are. This idea of a "looking glass" society, has those surrounding us holding the mirror, displaying an image of who they think we are. To an extent this very true, we look to others for confirmations of our roles within our communities an also the ability to look at ourselves through other people's eyes is crucial to developing a sense of self. As through this we can learn to understand that we may see the world differently from how others do. Experiments with great apes (Gallup, 1977) found that those held in social isolation were less likely to recognise or react to a reflection of themselves in the mirror, than those with social experience. Human children can recognise or react to a mirror image of themselves from the age of two, when a child is much more socially experienced. This experiment show a knowledge of who we are stems from being aro...