Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

Figure 3.2 Looking-Glass Self
industry, you may sense that you are always expected to smile. Since you want to be viewed positively,
you plaster on a fake smile all the time no matter what is going on in your personal life. At the same time,
others may start to view you as a happy-go-lucky person because you’re always in a good mood.
Thankfully, we’re not doing this all the time, or we would be driving ourselves crazy. Instead, there
are certain people in our lives about whose judgments we worry more than others. Imagine you are
working in a new job. You respect your new boss, and you want to gain her/his/their respect in return.
Currently, you believe that your boss doesn’t think you’re a good fit for the organization because you are
not serious enough about your job. If you perceive that your boss will like you more if you are a more
serious worker, then you will alter your behavior to be more in line with what your boss sees as “serious.”
In this situation, your boss didn’t come out and say that you were not a serious worker, but we perceived
the boss’ perception of us and her/his/their judgment of that perception of us and altered our behavior to
be seen in a better light.
One of the most commonly discussed intrapersonal communication ideas is an individual’s self-esteem.
There are a ton of books in both academic and non-academic circles that address this idea.
is an individual’s subjective evaluation of her/his/their abilities and limitations. Let’s break
down this definition into sizeable chunks.
Subjective Evaluation
The definition states that someone’s self-esteem is an “individual’s subjective evaluation.” The word
“subjective” emphasizes that self-esteem is based on an individual’s emotions and opinions and is not
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