Reflected appraisal

Reflected appraisal is a term used in psychology to describe a person's perception of how others see and evaluate him or her. The reflected appraisal process concludes that people come to think of themselves in the way they believe others think of them (Mead, 1934; Cooley, 1902; Sullivan, 1947). This process has been deemed important to the development of a person's self-esteem, especially because it includes interaction with people outside oneself, and is considered one of the main influences on the development of self-concept.

Harry Stack Sullivan first coined the term reflected appraisal in 1953 when he published The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry, though Charles H. Cooley was the first to describe the process of reflected appraisal when he discussed his concept of the looking-glass self (1902). Although some of our self-views are gained by direct experience with our environment, most of what we know about ourselves is derived from others.

In 1979, Shrauger and Shoeneman found that rather than our self-concepts resembling the way others actually see us, our self-concepts are filtered through our perceptions and resemble how we think others see us. Felson (1993) explained that individuals are not very accurate in judging what others think of them. Among the causes of the discrepancy is the apprehension of others about revealing their views. At best, they may reveal primarily favorable views rather than both favorable and unfavorable views. Consistent with other research (DePaulo, Kenny, Hoover, Webb & Oliver, 1987, Keny & Albright, 1987), Felson found that individuals have a better idea of how groups see them than of how specific individuals see them. Presumably, individuals learn the group standards and then apply those standards. In turn, when group members judge individuals, they use the same standards that individuals originally applied to themselves. Thus we find a correspondence in self-appraisals and other’s appraisals of the self.

The extent to which reflected appraisals affect the person being appraised depends upon characteristics of the appraiser and his or her appraisal. Greater impact on the development of a person’s self-concept is said to occur when: (1) the appraiser is perceived as a highly credible source (2) the appraiser takes a very personal interest in the person being appraised (3) the appraisal is very discrepant with the person’s self-concept at the moment (4) the number of confirmations of a given appraisal is high (5) the appraisals coming from a variety of sources are consistent and (6) appraisals are supportive of the person’s own beliefs about himself or herself.

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