Factors affecting romantic relationships: SELF- DISCLOSURE

Question 1

Social penetration theory

Answer 1

Altman and Taylor (1973)
* self-disclosure is important for the healthy continuation of a relationship
* it involves the reciprocal exchanges of information between intimate partners
* at the beginning partners share low risk information and the breadth of disclosure is narrow
* as the relationship continues, partners show high risk information
* as they increasingly disclose more and more, partners penetrate more deeply into each other’s lives and develop a greater understanding of each other
* disatisified partners self-disclose less as they gradually disengage from the relatiosnhip (depenetration)
* insuccessful relationships theres a balance of self disclosure between both partners (a level of trust had developed)

Question 2

what factors affect the influence of self disclosure?

Answer 2

1. Gender
2. Content
3. Culture
4. Age

Question 3

Gender

Answer 3

females tend to be more and may place more importance on self disclosure
they will therefore have expectations of disclosure from a potential partner

Question 4

Content

Answer 4

what is disclosed may have an impact on how a potential partner reacts e.g. disclosing very personal information at the beginning of a relationship may not be welcomed by a potential partner as it may be viewed as a violation of social norms
this could be off putting

Question 5

Cultures

Answer 5

different cultures have different traditions and norms whilst dating e.g. arranged marriages

Question 6

Age

Answer 6

different age groups will disclose more or less information

Question 7

Evaluation

Answer 7

+ Supportive evidence
+ Real world application
- Unrepresentative of other cultures

Question 8

Supportive evidence

Answer 8

Sprecher and Hendrick (2004)
carried out a correlational study into heterosexual couples and found that men and women who used self-disclosure in a reciprocated way, were more satisfied and committed to their relationships
- its a correlational study which only identifies a relationship between self-disclosure and successful relationships. it cannot establish cause and effect

Question 9

Real world application

Answer 9

research findings into self disclosure could bring benefits to relationships experiencing problems
such research has real world application as it carries the view that self-disclosure can strengthen the bond bewteen partners
in one research study, 57% of homosexual men and women said that self-disclosure helped to strenthge and deepen their relationship

Question 10

Unrepresentative of other cultures

Answer 10

critiques argue that research on self disclosure may not apply in the same way to all cultures
Nu Tang et al (2013) found that couples in the US (idividualist ciltures) disclose more sexual thoughts and feelings than couples in China (collectivist culture) and found the same level of satisfaction in both countries, despite lower levels of self disclosure in China