According to sociologist George Herber Meade, the self is a generalized other, a collection of others' perspectives; it is impossible to see one's self without taking on the perspective of others. The generalized other is what helps us to decide how to behave, from what clothes to wear to what to say in social situations. In deciding, we take on the perspective of the generalized other. Thus, when we put on a pair of pants, we wonder what others would think of those pants. When we prepare to say something, we reflect upon the possible responses our statement would elicit.  This suggests that adaptive functioning requires an accurate generalized other. Is your gernalized other accurate?

Testing your generalized other

To assure that the generalized other is accurate, start paying attention to what others think about what you do and say. This doesn't mean that one must accept everything anyone says, as the generalized other is after all "generalized," the average perspective of others. As with all averages, there is variance. Thus, for instance, one person may think what you say is completely wrong. However, if on average people believe it is accurate, the negative view may be considered an outlier. Nevertheless, learning to listen to what others say can only increase the accuracy of your statements, and cognitions for that matter, as the latter dictate the former.

Psychoadaptation psychotherapy and the generalized other

What's the role of the generalized other in Psychoadaptation psychotherapy? For the Psychoadaptation therapist, therapy is a matter of helping the client attain an accurate generalized other. To do so, the therapist must have an accurate generalized other. Thus, the therapist is not really a therapist but an embodiment of the generalized other. After establishing trust, the therapist proceeds to help the client allign the client's conceptions with the generalized other. This does not mean that the therapist eschews divergent thinking or is aiming to make everyone average. This is not at all the case. However, for the individual functioning poorly, the aim is to first re-align conceptions. This having been done, the client can move forward to the extremes of cognitive space.

Does one need a therapist to correct the generalized other? Not necessarily, unless of course psychological suffering is great. The key is to listen to others by actively attending to what others say, particularly after making statements. Further, reading the newspaper, research literature, and books published by reliable sources is helpful. I'd also stay away from fringe publications. Eventhough I'm writing a blog, not all blogs are accurate. You should trust the source before believing what is said. However, since the generalized other is the average perspective of others, if only one person says something, I'd be cautious.