Properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their mind. But as the individuals who carry the images fall naturally into classes, we may practically say that he has as many different social selves as there are distinct groups of persons about whose opinion he cares. Self-fulfilling prophecy Perceiver has expectations. Perceiver acts toward target. Target responds, matching expectations.
People find support for their existing self-concepts.
They gravitate toward relationships in which their partners see them as they see themselves. Self-verification theory suggests that at least then, I know what to expect of them. I can make accurate predictions about social relationships. They also rated their partner. It seems logical that we would be more committed to relationships if the partner thinks positively of us.