Factors affecting attraction: self disclosure

Question 1

What is self-disclosure

Answer 1

Revealing personal information about yourself
-Can strengthen a relationship

Question 2

What is social penetration theory

Answer 2

Process of gradually revealing your inner self to someone else
-Reciprocal

Question 3

Consequences of social penetration

Answer 3

-Shows trust
-Allows for greater understanding
-Shows relationship has reached a deeper stage

Question 4

What is the breadth of self-disclosure

Answer 4

We reveal a lot about ourselves at start of relationship but the information is low-risk and superficial

Question 5

What is the depth of self-disclosure

Answer 5

Self-disclosure becomes deeper and we reveal intimate high-risk information

Question 6

depenetration

Answer 6

Dissatisfied partners self-disclose less as they gradually disengage from the relationship

Question 7

Reciprocity of self-disclosure

Answer 7

Once you disclose partner will respond with empathy/own disclosure= balance of self-disclosure= successful intimate relationship

Question 8

Strength of self-disclosure

Answer 8

Research support
-e.g Sprecher/Hendrick found correlations between several measures of satisfaction/self-disclosure in partners
-Later study found close/more satisfying when reciprocated

= increases validity of theory that reciprocated SD= + satisfying relationship

Question 9

Counterpoint to research support

Answer 9

Most studies correlational so show casual self-disclosure-satisfaction link but could be alternative explanation e.g 3rd variable

=Self-disclosure may not cause satisfaction directly, reducing the validity of social penetration theory

Question 10

Strength 2 of self-disclosure- real-world application

Answer 10

Can help unskilled couples improve their communication
-e.g Haas/Stafford found 57% homosexuals said maintained/deepened relationship mainly with SD

This shows that psychological insights can be valuable in helping people who are having problems in their relationships

Question 11

Weakness of slef-disclosure

Answer 11

Tang found individualist cultures self-disclosed significantly more than collectivist but no difference in satisfaction

So SD limited explanation of romantic relationships as not generalisable to other cultures

Question 12

Weakness of self-disclosure

Answer 12

Tang found individualist cultures self-disclosed significantly more than collectivist but no difference in satisfaction

So SD limited explanation of romantic relationships as not generalisable to other cultures