L3 Factors affecting attraction - Self disclosure Flashcards
Define self disclosure
The revealing of personal information about ourselves to another
Why is self disclosure important
Build trust, develop a close intimate romantic relationship. the more people like each other the more personal information they tend to reveal
How do relationships develop
Through graudal increasing of self disclosure in terms of breadth and depth of information
Define reciprocal self disclosure
People expect the same level of self-disclosure from others as they actually give. The more self-disclosure someone gives, the more self-disclosure they expect in return
What factors affect the success of self disclosure and attraction
- Appropriateness (when is appropriate to self disclose eg. on a 1st date, may vary with norms)
- Attributions for self disclosure (the reasons for disclosing, trauma dump)
- Gender differences (females tend to disclose more so male disclosure may seem more impactful)
- Content (inappropriate and violating social norms, attraction may be swayed)
Evaluation of self disclosure (Altman and Taylor supportive research)
Research conducted by Altman and Taylor (1973) supports the theory about self-disclosure. They found that self-disclosure on the first date can be inappropriate and did not increase attraction levels. The person who was self-disclosing was seen as maladjusted and not very likeable.
Evaluation of self disclosure (attraction is not solely dependent on disclosure)
Self-disclosure can be criticised because it seems unlikely that attraction of a potential partner is reliant on self-disclosure alone. Self-disclosure might be an important element, but other factors are also needed in order to increase attraction, such as physical attraction, similarity etc.
Evaluation of self disclosure (Tal Or celeb big brother)
Tal-Or (2015) conducted research which supports the fundamental concepts of self-disclosure being a gradual process that can affect attraction for romantic relationships. For instance reality TV series like Big Brother show some contestants who have self-disclosed lots of information early in the show. Viewers did like contestants who self-disclosed early on, but they still preferred the contestant who self-disclosed gradually (which mirrored relationships in real life).
Evaluation of self disclosure (most important factor)
Sprecher (2013) found research evidence that stated self-disclosure is important for romantic relationships, but the most important factor is the amount of self-disclosure that a person receives, rather than what they give. The level of self-disclosure received is the best predictor of liking and loving than the amount of self-disclosure given. This point therefore goes against the idea of reciprocal self-disclosure, and focuses on the information that people receive from others self-disclosing information to them (-) (+)
Research conducted by Sprecher on self disclosure
He investigated whether reciprocal self-disclosure or one sided self-disclosure (and listening) was more important in determining attraction in relationships
· 156 American undergraduates were studied and they did not know each other beforehand
· Put into pairs
· 66% were female-female, 33% male-female
· Each pair engaged in the self-disclosure task on Skype
· One group were the reciprocal self-disclosure group, each person in the pair took turns asking a question and self-disclosing information
· The second group were the non-reciprocal group, one person in the pair asked all of the questions and the other person answered and self-disclosed information. They then switched roles afterwards.
· The participants were then assessed on a range of factors about the interaction they had experienced, these included, liking, closeness, perceived similarity, enjoyment of interaction
· The findings showed that reciprocal self-disclosure (taking turns in asking and answering questions) leads to more liking, closeness, perceived similarity and enjoyment than those in the non-reciprocal group. Therefore reciprocal self-disclosure is very important in terms of attraction and the positive forming of relationships.
Evaluation of Sprecher (skype rather than face to face)
The study conducted by Sprecher can be criticised because self-disclosure was measured using skype, rather than direct face to face communication that would occur on a real date. Therefore it could be argued that using Skype might distort/interfere with the quality of self-disclosure and this might cause the study to lack validity when investigating how self-disclosure affects attraction. The study by Sprecher might not be a good source of evidence to illustrate the importance of self-disclosur
Evaluation of Sprecher
Evaluation of Sprecher reserach (America only cultural bias)
The study by Sprecher can be criticised because it was only conducted in America and therefore the results are
culturally biased and do not have cross cultural validity. Self-disclosure might differ in more collectivist cultures (eastern cultures) and therefore we might have to be wary about generalising results from this study to other cultures.
Evaluation of Sprecher research (supported by Altman and Taylor)
The study conducted by Sprecher can be supported by the theory proposed by Altman and Taylor about reciprocal self-disclosure. It seems that self-disclosure is only successful when two people both self-disclose equally to each other. This is also supported by the equity theory by Hatfield which says successful relationships are fair and equal and this can apply to self-disclosure too
Evaluation of Sprecher research (male to male research not conducted)
The study could be criticised because it did not investigate male to male self-disclosure which would have been good to use as a comparison. By looking at all three interactions of male to male, female to female and male to female, Sprecher could have compared self-disclosure amongst different genders and between genders to see if there are any real differences that could have exist. The sample was initially quite biased as 66% of the sample were female to female and 33% were male to female. Maybe the sample could have been divided into three groups (see above) with equal percentages. This would have given a broader view of self-disclosure
