self-disclosure Flashcards
1
Q
what is meant by self-disclosure
A
- ‘the voluntary sharing of private aspects of the self with another person’
2
Q
what is neutral self-disclosure
A
- mundane information
e.g. preferences, music, films
3
Q
what is intense self-disclosure
A
- more influential information
e.g. disappointments, accomplishments, previous sexual relationships
4
Q
what are the consequences of self disclosure
A
- leads to greater intimacy in romantic relationships
- ultimately to more satisfaction
5
Q
who came up with social penetration theory
A
Altman & Taylor (1973)
6
Q
what was the social penetration theory
A
suggests self disclosure is the gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else
- limited at the start
7
Q
breadth and depth (social penetration theiry)
A
- important factors of self-disclosure using an onion analogy to explain how we choose to share info
- start of relationship = self disclosure covering a wide range of topics
- if sharing happens too soon however, an incompatibility may be found before the other person has reached a suitable level of investment
8
Q
reciprocity
A
- if one person shares more than the other is willing to, there may be a breakdown of trust
- one establishing themself as more invested than the other
- Reis & Shaver 1988 = B&D is not sufficient for a relationship to develop. There MUST be a reciprocal element to disclosure
9
Q
factors to consider in self disclosure
A
- appropriateness of disclosure
- attributions for the disclosure
- gender differences
- content of the disclosure
10
Q
appropriateness of disclosure
A
- those who contravene social norms will be seen as maladjusted and lacking in social skills
- attractiveness increases when the other person is sensitive to social norms
11
Q
attributions for the disclosure
A
- the reasons we believe a person is self-disclosing are important to us
- less attractions = individual seen as kind of person who discloses personal information to everyone
- more attraction = we believe an individual sees us someone who they especially want to disclose info to
12
Q
gender differences
A
- women are generally seen as better communicators of and more interested in in intimate info, therefore intimate self-disclosure is seen as more appropriate from a female than a male
- alternatively disclosure from a male may be seen as very rewarding by a female
- males may feel threatened by females disclosing because they are less used to the intimate info
13
Q
content of the diclosure
A
- generally intimate disclosures are seen as favourably
- disclosure of highly intimate info may be seen as inappropriate and violating social norms
- could decrease attraction
- attraction is stringer when self-disclosure is of moderate intimacy rather than low or high intimacy
14
Q
AO3: SD increases the strength of attraction
Sprecher & Hendrick (2004)
A
- studied heterosexual dating couples and find strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure
- those who believed their partner disclosed more were more satisfied with their relationship
- Sprecher (2013) ‘recieved’ was a better predictor of liking and loving in a relationship than self disclosure ‘given’
15
Q
AO3: SD in the development and maintenance of relationships
Collins & Miller (1994)
A
- meta analysis
- found people who disclose at intimate level more liked than those disclosing at lower levels
- disclosing had a ‘halo’ effects - people liked others who they had ‘given’ to
- liking was stronger if the person perceived the disclosure to be selective
