COOLEY, CHARLES HORTON

born Aug. 17, 1864, Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S. died May 8, 1929, Ann Arbor U.S. sociologist who followed a socio-psychological approach to the understanding of society. Son of the noted jurist Thomas McIntyre Cooley, he taught sociology at the University of Michigan from 1894. He was more productive as a theorist than as a research scientist, believing that social reality is qualitatively different from physical reality and therefore is less subject to measurement. Cooley's Human Nature and the Social Order (1902; reprinted 1956), is mainly concerned with the determination of the self by interaction with other persons. In his view, the sense of self is formed by one's actual experiences and also by imagining others' ideas of oneself. From this conception follows Cooley's fundamental theory that the mind is social and society is a mental construct. In Social Organization (1909; reprinted 1956), Cooley deals with the objective consequences of his psychological views. The ideal of the moral unity of society, involving qualities of loyalty, justice, and freedom, is said to be derived from face-to-face relationships in primary groups such as the family and neighbourhood or children's play groups. In his last major work, Social Process (1918; reprinted 1966), he applied to collective existence the Darwinian principles of natural selection and adaptation. Cooley and Social Analysis (1968) is a collection of centenary lectures by University of Michigan scholars.