Factors effecting attraction: self-disclosure

Question 1

What is self disclosure?

Answer 1

Revealing personal information about ourselves. Romantic partners reveal their true selves the more the relationship develops, these self-disclosures about ones deepest thoughts and feelings can strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately.

Question 2

What is social penetration theory?

Answer 2

Altman and Taylor (1973)- It is the gradual process of revealing your inner-self to someone else. It involves the exchange of information between intimate partners. As they reveal more they “penetrate” into each others lives, greater understanding of each other. Basic feature of romantic relationship where self-disclosure becomes welcomed,

Question 3

What are the two elements of self-disclosure?

And how do these develop?

Answer 3

• Breadth and Depth

We disclose a lot at the start but it is surface-level, breadth is narrow in early stages, if we reveal too much may threaten relationship. Self-disclosure becomes deeper as a relationship develops, eventually we reveal intimate high-risk information. DE penetration is where dissatisfied partners reveal less as they disengage.

Question 4

What is necessary for a relationship to develop?

Answer 4

Reis and Shaver-for a relationship to develop there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure. Balance of self disclosure

Question 5

What is brief AO3 of self-disclosure?

Answer 5

• Research support: Sprecher and Hendrick BUT, self disclosures may not cause satisfaction directly

-RWA (Haas and Stafford)

-Cultural differences (Tang et al)

Question 6

What are strengths of self-disclosure?

Answer 6

Sprecher and Hendrick studied heterosexual dating couples and found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure for partners. Men and women who used satisfaction felt more committed. Sprecher et al found closer and more satisfying when partners take turns to self-disclose.
BUT, the research is correlational it is generally assumed greater self-disclosure equals more satisfaction. Could be a third variable about the amount of time spent together. Self disclosures may not cause satisfaction directly reducing validity of social penetration theory

Some people use self-disclosure deliberately to increase intimacy and strengthen their bond. Haas and Stafford (1998) found 57% of homosexual men and women found that open and honest self-disclosure was the way they maintained their relationships. Can be beneficial in helping people who have problems in their relationship.

Question 7

What are weaknesses of self-disclosure?

Answer 7

Not true for all cultures that increasing depth and breadth leads to a more satisfying and intimate relationship. Tang et al- sexual self disclosure, men and women in US disclose feelings about sexual thoughts more than people in China (individualistic vs collectivist culture). Despite lower levels of disclosure in China levels of satisfaction were no different. Self-disclosure is a limited explanation of romantic relationships because it is based on findings from individualistic culture and not generalisable to other cultures.