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External image


In psychology, the external image (also alien image, foreign image, public image, third-party image; German: Fremdbild) is the image other people have of a person, i.e., a person's external image is the way they are viewed by other people. It contrasts with a person's self image (German: Selbstbild); how the external image is communicated to a person may affect their self esteem positively or negatively.

An external image is the totality of all perceptions, feelings, and judgments that third parties make about an individual. These interpersonal perceptions are automatically linked to earlier experiences with the person being observed, and with the feelings arising from these interactions and evaluations. The image that others have of a person shapes their expectations of this person, and significantly affects their mutual social interaction.

A person's external image, or more precisely, how this image is communicated to the individual, and how others react to the individual as a result of his or her external image, significantly affects the person's self image. Positive, appreciative external images strengthen an individual's self confidence and self esteem. In extreme cases, negative or conflicting external images can cause mental illness.

The external image is always different from an individual's self-image. From the two perspectives and the differences between them - or more accurately, the inferences that the two parties draw for themselves, social interactions evolve, influenced by the parties' own selves.


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