Mead's "I" and "Me"

George Herbert Mead identified the "I" and the "Me" as components of the self. The "Me" represents the organized set of attitudes, beliefs, and expectations learned from social interactions—how we see ourselves from others' perspectives. The "I" is the spontaneous, creative aspect that acts independently of social norms, responding to situations in novel ways. The "Me" develops through social experience, while the "I" emerges in moments of personal response. Together, they shape our identity—"Me" providing social awareness, and "I" enabling individual agency.