Cooley was not the only social psychologist to believe that we learn our idea of our physical appearance and our sense of appropriate behaviour from those individuals around us. Related theories such as:

Social learning theory (AS syllabus 10.10.7),
Social influence theory (AS syllabus 11.2.1/2)
Attribution theory (AS syllabus 11.3.2),
Social power/pressure and aggression (AS syllabus 11.2.1)

These theories emphasize the social context under which people learn and emphasis is placed on the fact that people, especially children, learn behaviour patterns from observation and modelling (Bandura, 1979). The behaviour is then repeated if the personal rewards out-weigh the punishments. People are further influenced by the observation of another person who receives rewards for a particular behaviour. The more the observed person is seen as an authority figure the more likely the person observing is to repeat the behaviour being viewed (this is social learning theory)

Cooleys mirror can be seen from three viewpoints:

Radical Humanist (RH): The person alters his/her perception in the eyes of others by acting in a radical or unusual way, thus shattering one social mirror in order building up a new one.

Functionalist Position (FP): This is a deterministic perspective in which the social mirror determines the social role which the individual must adopt.

Interpretative Humanist (IH) : The group creates the social mirror which enables the individual to gain a sense of self identity, but also s/he can reinterpret and renegotiate this image.