The first part of Cooley's "looking-glass self" is imagining how we appear to others. This involves considering how others perceive us, what they think about us, and how they judge us.
Here's a breakdown of the three parts:
1. Imagining our appearance to others: This is the initial step, where we consider how we think others see us.
2. Imagining their judgment of that appearance: We then imagine what others think about us based on how we perceive they see us.
3. Developing our self-feeling based on their imagined judgment: We then develop our self-concept based on the judgments we imagine others are making.
This process is continuous and dynamic, as our self-concept is constantly being shaped and reshaped by our interactions with others.