Who proposed the concept of the I and Me in the development of the self?

• A. George Herbert Mead
• B. Sigmund Freud
• C. Karl Marx
• D. Jean Piaget

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how the self develops through social interaction, with two distinct aspects: the Me and the I. The Me is the socialized, perceivable part of the self—the internalized attitudes and expectations of others and society. The I is the spontaneous, active part—the response to those expectations, the sense of action and originality. Through everyday interactions, especially by taking the perspective of others and imagining how they view us, a person develops a sense of self. This dynamic—the alternating influence of internalized social norms and creative, personal response—was proposed by George Herbert Mead. He framed self-development as arising from social experience and role-taking within a community. Other thinkers you might encounter in psychology or sociology, like Freud with the id–ego–superego, Piaget with stages of cognitive development, or Marx with class and economic structures, contributed different angles, but the I and Me distinction is specifically Mead’s contribution.