Chapter 9 - Social Penetration Theory

Question 1

Law of Reciprocity

Answer 1

When one person self discloses personal information to another, it is most often the case that the other person will open up equally as much.

Question 2

Social Exchange

Answer 2

Relationship behavior where each party tries to maximize reward and minimize cost, leading to whether they see social penetration as being worth it or not.

Question 3

Comparison Level

Answer 3

A threshold or standard that someone compares social exchanges to in order to gauge pleasedness. IE, Pete normally talks to gf for 30 minutes, so 30 minutes is what he uses to compare to every call he has with her.

Question 4

Comparison Level of Alternatives

Answer 4

A comparison between the relationship someone has with person A, and the perceived rewards of swapping that for a relationship with person B.

Question 5

Ethical Egoism

Answer 5

The belief that people should live purely to maximize their own pleasure and minimize pain, and that that is ethical.

Question 6

Dialectic Model

Answer 6

A model that stresses the importance people place both on intimacy in personal relationships as well as privacy.

Question 7

Territoriality

Answer 7

The tendency for people to claim a physical space or object as being under their ownership.