factors affecting attraction: self-disclosure Flashcards
what is self-disclosure?
revealing personal information about yourself. romantic partners reveal more about their true selves as their relationship develops. these self- disclosures about one’s deepest thoughts and feelings can strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately.
who proposed social penetration theory?
Altman and Taylor
what is social penetration theory?
self- disclosure reveals one’s inner self and displays trust in the other person. this leads to romantic partners ‘penetrating’ into eachothers life more deeply
what are the two elements of self disclosure?
breadth and depth
breadth and depth in self disclosure
•disclosures at the start of a relationship are many but superficial (the other layers of an onion), the information is low-risk
•as a relationship develops we remove more layers, revealing more ‘high risk’ information
what does depenetration mean?
it’s a term used to describe how dissatisfied partners self- disclose less as they gradually disengage from the relationship
what is the significance of reciprocity of self- disclosure?
self- disclosure by one partner encourages the other to reveal information about themselves, deepening the relationship between them. this is needed for the success of a romantic relationship.
strength: research support
•Sprecher and Hendrick found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self- disclosure for both partners
•men and women who used self disclosure were more satisfied with and committed to their romantic relationship
•better relationships where the self disclosure is reciprocated
•these supportive research findings increase the validity of the theory that reciprocated self- disclosure leads to more satisfying relationships
limitation: much self-disclosure research is correlational
•it is assumed that greater self- disclosure leads to more satisfaction in relationships but alternatives may be just as likely
•for instance, it may be the more satisfied the people are in the relationship the more likely they are to self disclose
•there may be other variables at play, like the amount of time partners spend together
•therefore self- disclosures may not cause satisfaction directly, reducing the validity of social penetration theory of self-disclosure
strength: real-world application
•research into self-disclosure can help people who want to improve communication in their relationships
•research found that 57% of homosexual men and women said that open an honest self disclosure maintained and deepened their relationship
•this shows that psychological insights can be valuable in helping people who are having problems in their relationship
limitation: cultural differences
•in not all cultures does self disclosure lead to more satisfying romantic relationships
•self- disclosure leads more towards individualist cultures, due to the focus on the ‘self’- meaning the concept may not be applicable to collectivist cultures
•despite lower levels of disclosure in china, levels of satisfaction were no different from those in the US
•therefore self-disclosure theory is a limited explanation of romantic relationships because it is based on findings from individualist cultures, which are not necessarily generalisable to other cultures
