First edition. Cooley’s first published book on the subject of sociology, following a number of articles written in the 1890s. In this work Cooley lays out his conception of the individual self as being defined by its relationships with society, with a strong focus on the development of children. This was a fairly conservative outlook: ‘normal’ participation in society stemmed from an individual’s active participation; one’s freedom or free will was not constrained by conforming to social mores (Cooley includes a discussion of criminality called ‘personal degeneracy’ which preceded the introduction of Lombroso into English), but was derived from their existence, and from the structures and institutions of society.