the nature of self is inextricably linked to
relationships in life. For instance, Erving Goffman (1967) asserted that “we
become ourselves through others” (p. 45).
In this respect, my personal experience has taught me that past
relationships with people with whom I had strong affinity has contributed
significantly towards the way in which I behave and perceive reality
today. It is also interesting to notice
that in his “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” Goffman (1959)
proposed that people normally strive towards acceptance and, therefore, their
identity and self-conception depends upon their relationship with others. Thus, we are constantly drawing upon other
peoples’ opinion (or what we may think their opinion is) to make sense of
ourselves. In other words, we are what
we think others think we are (Jones, 2003).
It would seem, therefore, that relationships are a sine qua non for
the formation of personality and self-conception.