factors affeting attraction :self-disclosure Flashcards
self-disclosure
revealing ourselves to another person
has a vital role in a relationship beyond initial attraction
most people are careful with what they disclose at the beginning
its used widely and effectively and can really help the course of true love run smoother
social penetration theory
Altman and Taylor
gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else
giving away your deepest thoughts and feelings
reciprocal exchange of information between intimate partners
when one partner reveals some personal info they are signally they trust the other perosn
to go further the other partner must also reveal sensitive info
as they increasingly disclose more and more romantic partners penetrate more deeply into each others lives and gain a greater understanding of each other
breadth and depth of self-disclosure
self disclosure has two elements- breadth and depth
as bith of these increase romantic partners become more committed to each other
researchers use the metaphor of many layers of an onion
we disclose a lot about ourselves at the start if a relationship but what we reveal is superficial mostly on the surface stuff - low risk info
breadth of disclosure is narrow because many topics are off limits in the early stages - if we reveal too much it could threaten the relationship
as relationship developers self-disclosure becomes deeper progressively removing more and ore layers - high risk info
depenetration - how dissatisfied partners self-disclose less as they gradually disengage from the relationship
reciprocity of self-disclosure
Reis and Shaver
point out that for a relationship to develop as well as increase in breadth and depth there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure
balance
strength
research support
several predictions about self-disclosure derived from social penetration theory have been supported by research
Sprecher and Hendrick
studied heterosexual dating couples and found strong correlation between several measures of satisfaction and self-discourse for both partners
men and women who used self-disclosure and believed their partners did were more satisfied with and committed to their romantic relationships
later study - sprecher
showed that relationships are closer and more satisfying when partners take turns to self-disclose (reciprocated)
supportive research increases the validity of the theory that reciprocated self-discourse leads to more satisfying relationships
strenght
real-world application
research into self-disclosure can help people who want to improve communication in their relationships
romantic parters sometimes use self-discolosure deliberately to increase intimacy and strengthen their bond
Haas and stafford found that 57% of homosexual men and women said that open and honest self dissolute is the main way they maintained and depended their relationships
is less-skilled partners such as those who limit communication learn to use self-disclose then this could bring several benefits to their realtionship in terms of depending satisfaction snd commitment
shows how psychological insights can be valuable in helping people who are having problems in their relationships
limitation
cultural differences
not true for all cultures that increasing depth and breadth of self-discoloured leads to a more satisfying and intimate romantic relationship
Tang - reviewed research into sexual self-disclosure
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)
despite lower levels of disclosure in china levels of satisfaction were no different form those in the US
therefore self-disclosure theory is a limited explanation of romantic relationships because it is based on findings form individualist cultures which are not necessarily genralisaible to other cultures
