As humans, we spend most of our life working to understand our Personal Identities. The question of “who am I?” is an age-old philosophical thought that resonates with all of us and is particularly difficult to answer. Cooley (1902) discussed the concept of our social selves as a looking-glass self-concept: “Each to each a looking-glass Reflects the other that doth pass.” Our personal identities are shaped from the moment we are born. Our family, upbringing, environment, genetic makeup (psychological and physical) and social interactions all play a role in identity formation. Subsequent research on individuals and groups contributed to the social-identity theory, which has provided information and insight into this concept of identity. Let’s investigate the basis of this theory below. Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you increase the compassion and kindness you show yourself and will also give you the tools to help your clients, students, or employees show more compassion to themselves.