Charles Cooley

"We are motivated by the images we hold of ourselves."

"Inspiration comes from seeing possibility in limitation."

"The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives."

"In the mirror of another's eyes, we find ourselves."

"Growth requires honest self-examination and adaptation."

"The self emerges through the interplay of imagination and reality."

"The self is not something ready made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action."

"I am not what I think I am and I am not what you think I am; I am what I think that you think I am."

"Looking-glass self means we shape ourselves based on how we imagine others perceive us."

"Society is a relation among individuals; it exists in their minds as an imaginative idea."

"The mind is a social product; it develops in relationship and communication."

"We live in the minds of others without knowing it; this is our social existence."

"Human nature is not something fixed but something formed by social interaction."

"The primary group is the nursery of human nature; it shapes our most fundamental selves."

"Loyalty to the group is one of the deepest human instincts and one of the most important social forces."

"Imagination is the key to understanding society; we must imaginatively enter other minds."

"Competition and cooperation are woven together in the fabric of social life."

"The individual grows through participation in groups, yet remains distinct from them."

"Pride grows out of the estimation we place upon our own importance."

"Shame is the feeling that others think poorly of us; it is deeply social in nature."

"The sympathetic imagination allows us to truly understand another person's experience."

"We are never wholly comfortable unless we feel that our opinions and sentiments are shared by others."

"Leadership emerges from the ability to influence the imaginations and sentiments of others."

"The desire to appear well before others is one of the strongest human motives."

"Art and literature are expressions of the human imagination working through social materials."

"History is the record of how human imagination has shaped social institutions."

"Democracy requires people who can imaginatively understand perspectives different from their own."

"Justice demands we consider how our actions affect others' sense of dignity and worth."

"The development of conscience is a social process, not an individual one."

"Public opinion is powerful because we internalize what we believe others think of us."