1. Readthefollowing question, and write a 100 word response. The reseponse should be thoughtful, relevant, and raises several interesting points.

The psychoanalyst Guy Thompson (2005) feels that social influences are critical to the psychological makeup of an individual and (in the first person) states "...I am so obsessed with what others think of me and how they see me that I want to make myself into the person they expect me to be and, to a significant degree, that is who I am." Thompson also states that we are "...always looking to ‘them' to tell us what we should do and whom we must become in order to be loved and, above all, accepted." Do you agree or disagree? What is your opinion?

2. Readthefollowing opnion, and write a 100 word response. The reseponse should be thoughtful, relevant, and raises several interesting points.

I agree that all people, regardless of what they may trick themselves into believing, are deeply influenced by the perceived opinions of other human beings. I think the scope and degree of concern varies from person to person, but ultimately, even people who decide not to care how others perceive them have made said decision in attempt to refute the inescapable stress brought on by perpetual worry about what others think of them. Humans are inherently social beings. We are taught language before we can even truly think for ourselves, and once we are capable of independent thought, our ideas and observations can be broken down into a sequence of syllables invented by humans in order to communicate with other humans. The influence of language on our thought processes dooms our perception of self to be inextricably tied to the thoughts of others.