At the start of the twentieth century the sociologist Charles Horton Cooley introduced the idea of the “looking-glass self” to suggest that people's identity, rather than internal to their psychology, is formed through a reflection of how they look from the outside. This self is no “mere mechanical reflection”; rather, it is populated by judging audiences whose imputed sentiments determine whether the reflection is flattering or not. There are three steps needed to create a looking-glass self: first you imagine how you appear in the eyes of an audience; next you imagine what they must be thinking of you; and finally you apply those imagined judgements to yourself. The process is nicely illustrated by this young internet blogger's description of her embarrassing moment:

1. 1. I step outside of myself for a second. See a slenderish girl, wispy black hair, looking bewildered due to the not-quite-bloodlike stuff splattered all over her shirt.

2. 2. Who does she think she is? Why is she dressed that fancily, anyway? Why does she act like she's all grown-up when obviously she can't even keep her spaghetti on her plate? Ugly. Oh, by the way, ugly hair too. How disgusting. I pity her.

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