factors affecting attraction: self-disclosure Flashcards
Define self-disclosure
refers to 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
self-disclosure early in a relationship enables partners to understand each other better- most people are careful about disclosing too much too soon but ultimately
self-disclosure is an important element in the development of a relationship
explain Altman and Tallor’s social penetration theory
- suggests that when a partner reveals personal information they display trust
- development of the relationship requires the other partner to also reveal sensitive information
- the process of increasing disclosure allows a partner to penetrate into other partner’s life which leads to an increasing understanding of the other partner
- a recognition that a partner is willing to reveal sensitive information about themselves indicates that the relationship has reached a certain developmental stage
what is key to the social penetration theory?
both breadth and depth of self-disclosure
at the start of a relationship, much is revealed but
breadth is narrow and the content superficial as we try to avoid off-limits subjects
as relationships develop, what becomes deeper?
self-disclosure- we are more likely to reveal high-risk information such as painful memories, secrets etc
who suggested that in addition to the broadening and deepening of self-disclosure there must be reciprocity?
Reis and Shaver
what are the evaluation points for self-disclosure?
- support from research studies (Sprecher and Hendrick)
- support comes in form of correlational evidence
- social penetration theory does not apply to all cultures (Tang et al)
- limitation of social penetration theory is the fact that self-disclosure is implicated in the breakdown of a relationship as well as attraction
explain how there is support from research studies (Sprecher and Hendrick)
- Sprecher and Hendrick found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure in heterosexual couples supporting social penetration theory
- men and women who used self-disclosure and those who believed their partners also disclosed more were satisfied with and committed to their romantic relationship
- this supports the concept of self-disclosure being a key component of committed romantic relationships
explain how support comes in form of correlational evidence
- studies such as Sprecher and Hendrick have found a positive correlation between self-disclosure and satisfaction
- however..
- so such research provides only limited support for the theory
explain how social penetration theory does not apply to all cultures (Tang et al)
- in a review of findings on sexual self-disclosure, Tang et al concluded that men and women in the US (individualist culture) self-disclose significantly more sexual thoughts and feelings than men and women in China (collectivist culture)
- both levels of self-disclosure are linked to relationship satisfaction in those cultures but nevertheless the pattern of self-disclosure is different
- social penetration theory is therefore a limited explanation of romantic relationships which are generally not necessarily generalisable to other cultures
explain how a limitation of social penetration theory is the fact that self-disclosure is implicated in the breakdown of a relationship as well as attraction
- sometimes the breakdown of relationships is characterised by a reduction in self-disclosure, however this is not always the case
- Duck’s phase model of the breakdown of relationships recognises that many couples will discuss the state of their relationship with each other in intimate detail i.e. self disclose, yet this may not be sufficient to save the relationship
- this suggests that increased self-disclosure may not always lead to positive development in a relationship
