Relationships: Self disclosure Flashcards
What is self disclosure?
Self-disclosure is the revealing of personal information about oneself to another individual we like. It is theorised that it acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Self-disclosure creates a sense of trust when the information disclosed is kept secret. It is a crucial element to early stages of a romantic relationship.
Altman & Taylor believed relationships are strengthened by an appropriate level of self-disclosures.
Disclosures signal that an individual likes us and we feel rewarded for this.
CTC - closeness, trust & commitment
What is Social Penetration Theory - Altman and Taylor (1973)
This theory claims that by gradually revealing emotions and experiences and listening to their reciprocal sharing, people gain a greater understanding of each other and display trust.
For example, one person shares that a traumatic experiences affected their whole family when they were 5 years old
Hence, self disclosure is deemed critical here
Explain of breadth and depth of self-disclosure
2 dimensions: breadth and depth.
As both of these increase, commitment rises
Social Penetration Theory uses an ‘onion metaphor’: at first, people often share a lot of info about certain aspects of themselves, but its quite superficial (low risk info) such as their music taste, hobbies and interests. BUT some topics are ‘off-limit’ (i.e. narrow breadth). If too much to soon - could be TMI! = BREADTH
Over time, as they build trust in their partner’s understanding, breadth increases and then depth also increases. With high risk information no longer off limits -such as religious and political beliefs, family values and difficult experiences = DEPTH
Explain reciprocity in relation to self-disclosure
Reciprocal element to disclosure for R/ships to form.
Once you have reveals aspects of your true self and intimate information - hopefully partner responds in a rewarding way with empathy and their own intimate thoughts and feelings
Hence, a balance must be achieved which creates greater feelings of intimacy and deepens the R/ship
Evaluation of self-disclosure: research from haas and hartford
One strength of the concept of self-disclosure is that is it supported by research.
For example, Haas and Hartford (1998) found that 57% of gay men and women considered open self-disclosure as a main way to maintain close relationships.
This demonstrates the importance of self-disclosure in romantic relationships, just as the theory has predicted.
Evaluation of self-disclosure: practical applications
Sprecher and Hendrick (2004) studied heterosexual couples who were dating, and found that as self-disclosure increased, so did relationship satisfaction.
This suggests that if less skilled partners learn to self disclose more appropriately this could lead to lots of benefits and happiness
Hence, such knowledge could be utilised in couples therapy /counselling to help secure and develop strong relationships
Evaluation of self-disclosure: individual differences
self disclosure in relationships does not take into account individual differences in R/ships
Personality is an important factor in self-disclosures. If the person is the type of individual who tells everything to everyone, we may not feel special. The personality of the recipient may also be important.
Some individuals may not actually be comfortable with knowing private, intimate details of their partners and might not know how to act.
Apparently, self disclosure is more important in women that men
