An Evaluation of Social Identity Theory, Introjection, Looking-Glass Self, and Belief Formation
I am increasingly becoming aware as to why my previous writing endeavors failed to take off. One of the reasons being simply my poor ability to remain consistently committed to spending my free-time on writing rather than other interests. The other being the paralysis by analysis that settles in as I try to answer the basic question, “What do I write next?”
I am prone to overthinking the issue and perhaps trying to curtail too fine a blog presentation rather than simply writing for my own enjoyment. I have an inner desire to have the status and reputation of an academic, and I have thought this blog may have a more scholarly tone; however, that is simply not my lot in life. Nor should I be preoccupied with having the hope that readers of this blog will see me as such. Nonetheless, in the end I have made decisions about what to write or not to write based upon how I think other people may perceive the blog – and myself as the author behind it.
This brings to the forefront a few concepts from sociology and psychology that will help explain aspects of belief formation. I want to take a brief overview of the individual concepts before making connections.
Self-Concept & Social Identity Theory
The first concept is from psychology and is known as “Self-Concept.” Self-concept is a broad term for describing how I conceptualize myself. Who am I? What comes to mind when I think about myself? What are the characteristics, competencies, relationships, beliefs, values, and skills that I view as being a part of who I am? Within self-concept there are more specific “selves” such as self-image, actual-self, self-esteem, and ideal-self (more on these in just a bit).
The second concept, Social Identity Theory, is taken from social psychology. Social Identity Theory (SIT) is a major framework for viewing human interactions and identity formation. SIT takes Self-Concept and splits it into two dimensions: personal identity and social identity.
Personal identity includes our unique physical, emotional, and cognitive qualities. For example I am a 6-foot 2-inches white male who experiences knee pain, enjoys learning, and easily gets aggravated at others on the road. My social identity includes my culture, family of origin, and religious affiliation among other things. For example, I am an American, I am Christian, and I am a Smith.
According to SIT a strong motivation factor of humans is to secure a preferred and favorable self-concept. That is to say that one of my primary goals in life is to like myself. If there are aspects about my self-concept that I do not like then I can change them to be more favorable to me. I am not in a position to change some things (e.g. being a straight cisgender male); however, I may be able to change others (such as whether I live in a big city or small town, or if I want to be a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan).
Returning to Self-Concept, this aspect of liking ourselves is related to having a positive self-esteem. If we have a negative self-esteem then the chances are we do not like the way our life is looking. This happens from an incongruity with our Actual-Self and our Ideal-Self.
The Actual-Self is the version of us that we see upon deep reflection and introspection. It goes beyond our Self-Image – which is a picture of ourselves given our observable qualities to others – and includes the innermost parts which are often hidden.
Our Ideal-Self is future oriented and is a picture of the person we would like to become. Positive self-esteem is related to a smaller gap between the Actual-Self and the Ideal-Self while a negative self esteem is related to a larger gap. The closer we are to the person we want to become, the higher our self esteem.
Therefore, since we are motivated to achieve a positive Self-Concept, we will strive to change parts of our personal and social identities which will help cater to that end. As we seek to make changes to ourselves and our social affiliations, changes can be done both consciously and unconsciously.
Conscious changes require an awareness of ourselves, our social context, and how to improve our Self-Concept within that context. Unconscious changes are automatic and happen without us realizing it.
Introjection
The third concept we’ll look at, Introjection, is an example of an unconscious method we may employ to improve our Self-Concept. Unlike the “Looking Glass-Self” or Goffman’s “Dramaturgy” (I’ll come back to these soon) which require us to be socially aware (i.e. conscious awareness of ourself and others), Introjection only requires that we be socially present.
Introjection is primarily associated as a defense mechanism in psychology; however, in child development it has broader implications for helping one foster a sense of belonging and belief formation in their early years that can be very positive.
Introjection is the automatic and unconscious process of adopting the values, beliefs, and behaviors of others as our own. In unideal situations this does have negative consequences as well such as instilling shame, lack of self-confidence, or a self-critical disposition. This is likely to occur if one had influential figures in life who were overly strict and negative.
Introjection highlights the basic human need for belonging and strategies that we employ to secure our place in a group. In early childhood it is an uncritical acceptance of beliefs, norms, and behaviors as we learn how to fit-in with our families and societies. It can be considered one of the fundamental parts of socialization.
Introjection, then, is one of the primary and earliest mechanisms through which we internalize norms and beliefs. There are, of course, other mechanisms and means of learning such as mirroring modeled behavior and conditioning. However, introjection serves as a powerful unconscious strategy for helping people foster a sense of belonging in their group which will boost their Self-Concept.
Looking Glass-Self & Impression Management
The fourth and fifth concepts are related to the conscious ways in which people will make changes to improve their Self-Concept.
The fourth concept, the “Looking Glass-Self” by Cooley, posited the idea that as I develop my Self-Identity I will look at myself through the lens of another. Furthermore, an individual has different “selves” that depend on the person or people group to whom one is relating.
It’s like looking into a social mirror. We take a look outward of ourselves as a way of trying to view ourselves. We then make adjustments to our appearance so that others may see us a certain way.
For example, if I want to be seen as an athletic individual then I may put on athletic attire and go to the gym so that others will see me as an athlete. If I want to be seen as a quasi-academic then I may write a blog which tries to use a higher amount of technical language and concepts so that I will be seen as a learned individual.
I am forming the belief that I will gain acceptance, approval, or affirmation by projecting a version of myself that will be accepted by others of a particular group. Furthermore, Cooley argued that rather than having one unique “self” that is unchanging, we have multiple “selves” that are constructed through our unique social relationships.
The “self” I embody and enact while at home is often different from the “self” I portray in formal settings. This is part of why we behave differently with our friends at a dinner party than we would at a business meeting. The context helps set the tone for which “self” we are going to be at a particular time.
Cooley’s “Looking Glass-Self” was later taken and expanded upon by Erving Goffman who developed it in terms of dramaturgy. Goffman describes our day-to-day personal interactions within the framework of a theatrical performance. I have a role to play, a script to follow, and props to use.
I have different roles which are context-dependent: being a son, brother, father, husband, neighbor, and stay-at-home dad. I have social scripts to follow such as saying “thank you” when someone offers me a compliment or a gift. Furthermore I use props like mulit-colored socks, a branded clothing item, or an Apple phone to convey something about the type of person I am (or at least the type of person I want to be perceived as.)
The fifth concept which aids in improving our Self-Concept was coined by Goffman: Impression Management. Simply put, people want to manage the impressions they “give” and “give off” to other people. For Goffman to “give” an impression is our intentional frontstage performance while what we “give off” is an unintentional backstage behavior that reveals something we may have otherwise desired to have kept behind the curtain.
When I go out in public or invite people into my own home I do not want them to have the impression that I am a slob with poor hygiene. Therefore I try to keep a reasonably tidy home and not leave the house until my teeth are brushed and hair combed.
Personal Reflection and Belief Formation
“By whom?” is the key follow-up question to the title of this post. I just want to belong and be liked . . . but by whom?
As I shared at the beginning, one of the groups – or “generalized other” (as George Herbert Mead–another expounder upon Cooley–would call it) – to whom I put on a stage-like performing act of identity is the Intelligentsia. There are, of course, other and more important groups such as family and friends, but I will focus on the former.
As far back as Junior High I have been impressed by and sought to impress those whom I knew enjoyed thinking. While I have always enjoyed sports and music, I have not had the internal draw towards becoming a great athlete or musician as I have towards being an academic.
Somewhere within me is the belief that my self-esteem will improve if I am viewed by others as someone of intelligence. Somewhere within is the belief that I could be just a little bit happier or life would be a little bit better if I only knew “x.” That “x”, whatever it is, will perhaps be able to cure whatever ill I face.
The situation I find myself in is this: I am a unique self who is motivated to achieve a positive, healthy, and strong Self Concept. Be it by the hard-wiring of my personality or by some early introjected sentiment, I acquired a longing to find belonging in a group of more academically minded folk. To do that I adapt their spectator eyes to see what is an acceptable performance deserving of applause. I then go on to manage my performance in such a way as to impress them in hopes of being part of their group.
Throughout this process I see three areas of belief formation in my life:
- Being in with the Intellects – During my upbringing there was some form of nature & nurture where I had unconsciously formed the belief that being associated with the crowd of academics is a worthwhile pursuit.
- Passing Criteria for the intellectual community – Through adolescence and adulthood I consciously internalized beliefs about scholarship criteria. This enables me to use strategies such as the use of technical language and including a list of references as means of promoting that Self-Image to others.
- Specific propositions – I am a chronic self-doubter who is a people-pleaser to a fault. I want to please those whom I see as being smarter than me and will be quick to second-guess my own conclusions. On a bad day that results in me adopting a particular position on a debated issue on the basis of wanting to be accepted rather than from a stance of conviction and veracity.
If all I need to do is say, “I believe ‘x’” to be accepted, then that may be enough to push me along to genuinely believing it. Certainly it’s more complicated than that, but I have had moments when I have nearly felt that transition take place, and it was a shocking experience.
This evaluation helps give me reasons for why I think the way that I do. It also serves to help my future writing be more authentic and on track with my personal goals rather than getting distracted with a performative appearance in order to dress to impress.
References
Kte’pi, B. (2020). Impression Management. EBSCO Research Starters. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/impression-management
Nickerson, C. (2026). Looking-Glass Self. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/charles-cooleys-looking-glass-self.html
Nickerson, C. (2026). Impression Management. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/impression-management.html
McLeod, S. (2026). Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html
McLeod, S. (2026). Dramaturgy In Sociology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/dramaturgy-in-sociology.html
McLeod, S. (2026). Introjection as a Defense Mechanism. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/introjection-defense-mechanism.html
McLeod, S. (2026). Self-Concept in Psychology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html
