L2 - Factors affecting attraction: Self-disclosure

Question 1

self-disclosure

Answer 1

• revealing personal information about yourself
• romantic partners reveal more about themselves as the relationship develops
• these are one’s deepest thoughts and feelings and strengthen a romantic bond when appropriately used
• we share what is important to us which means that we understand each other better

Question 2

theory name

Answer 2

Social Penetration Theory - Altman & Taylor (1973)

Question 3

Social Penetration Theory - Altman & Taylor (1973)

Answer 3

• gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else and giving away your deepest thoughts and feelings
• involves reciprocal exchange of info between intimate partners
• when one reveals something personal it indicates trust, encouraging the other to share personal info
• as more info is disclosed partners penetrate more deeply into each others lives and gain a better/deeper understanding of each other
• self-disclosure encourages reciprocation and a stronger relationship

Question 4

elements of self-disclosure

Answer 4

2 elements - breadth and depth
- as both increase so will commitment of both partners
- described as ‘many layers of an onion’
- as we peel we are revealing more about ourselves - happens gradually over time as revealing too much at the start leads to TMI - can ruin relationship before even started

Question 5

Evaluation of Self-disclosure

Answer 5

strengths
- research support
- practical value
weaknesses
- correlational
- cross-cultural validity

Question 6

reciprocity of self-disclosure

Answer 6

• Reis and Shaver (1988) explain that for a relationship to develop, there needs to be reciprocity in disclosure
  e.g. if one discloses something intimate then the other will respond with empathy and their own thoughts
• so a balance of self-disclosure between partners in a romantic relationship which increases intimacy and deepness of the relationship

Question 7

research support

Answer 7

• Sprecher & Hendrick (2004) studied heterosexual dating couples - found strong correlation between several measures of satisfaction & self-disclosure for both partners
• men & women who reciprocated self-disclosure were more satisfied and committed to their relationship
• further supported by Sprecher et al. (2013) - confirmed the reciprocity of self-disclosure as being a factor that helped relationships to become closer and satisfying
• findings increase the validity of the theory that self-disclosure needs to be reciprocated for a relationship to be successful and more long term

Question 8

practical value

Answer 8

• it can help people who want to improve the communication in their relationships
• partners sometimes use self-disclosure to increase intimacy
  e.g Haas & Stafford (1988) found 57% of homosexual men and women said open & honest self-disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their relationship
• if less skilled partners learn to use self-disclosure then this could bring deeper satisfaction and commitment to their relationship
• study supports the idea that couples with problems can be supported and helped through self-disclosure

Question 9

correlational

Answer 9

e.g. Sprecher & Hendrick’s study used self-report to gather data - so many findings were correlational
- this only suggests a relationship but doesn’t conclude that self-disclosure causes more satisfaction
- could be more satisfied partners are in a relationship or could be a 3rd variable e.g amnt of time spent w/ partners that can affect satisfaction
- so we should be mindful of concluding that self-disclosure causes satisfaction in a relationship

Question 10

cross-culture validity

Answer 10

• self-disclosure lacks cross-cultural validity as it is not true for all cultures that incr. depth and breadth of self-disclosure leads to more satisfying and intimate relationships - studied in collectivist and individualistic cultures
• Nu Tang et al. (2013) reviewed research into sexual self-disclosure - found men & women in US self disclose more sexual thoughts then those in China
• despite low levels of self-disclosure in China levels of satisfaction in romantic relationships are no different from the US
• So self-disclosure may increase intimacy in some but not all cultures, so should not make generalised ethnocentric conclusions about self-disclosure increasing satisfaction in romantic relationships