Self-Disclosure

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Self-Disclosure (S-D)

  • Revealing personal information about yourself
  • The more we know about the partner the more we seem to like them
  • By revealin ourselves to another person, we share our likes and dislikes, our hopes and fears, our interests and attitudes. This enables the partner to understand you more and we with them. 
  • Most people are careful about what they disclose to begin with because revealing to much could harm the relationship.
  • S-D also allows a romantic bond to be formed because you are understanding each other better.
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Social penetration theory

  • Theory by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor
  • The theoty suggests how relationships develop through S-D. Its a gradual process of revealing you inner self to someone else, of giving away your deepest thoughts and feelings. 
  • In romantic relationships it involves reciprocal exchange of information between the partners.
  • When one partner reveals some personal information they display trust - the other partner must also reveal personal information too.
  • When partners increase disclosure of information, the partners penetrate more deeply into each other's lives and then gain a greater understanding of each other. 
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Breadth and depth of S-D

  • According to Altman and Taylor, S-D has two elements which is breadth and depth.
  • As both of these increase, romantic partners become more committed to each other.
  • They used the metaphor of the many layers of an onion to illustrate this process.
  • We reveal 'low-risk' information to our partner at the start of the relationship which is like the outer layers of an onion. This type of information can be revealed to friends, co-workers etc.
  • Breadth is narrow because some topics are not to be spoken about in the early stage of the relationship.
  • As the relationship develops, S-D becomes deepers (depth), removing more and more layers to reveal our true selves. As we remove each layer, we then reveal intimate, high-risk information such as secrets, painful memories etc.
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Reciprocity of S-D

  • Harry Reis and Philip Shaver point out that in order for a relationship to develop, as well as an increase in breadth and depth there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure.
  • When one partner reveals something about themselves, the other partner should respond in a way that is rewarding, with undestanding, empathy and they should also share their own personal information to their partner.
  • This then should keep a balance of S-D between the both partners as both of them a not holding back any sensitive information.
  • Having a balance of S-D increases feelings of intimacy and deepens the relationship.
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Evaluation of S-D

  • There is support from research studies done by Sprecher and Hendrick. They studied heterosexual dating couples and found strong correlations between measures of satisfaction and S-D. Both sexes who used S-D were more satisfied with and committed to their romantic relationship.
    • Laurenceau et al used diary entries in their study. They found that S-D and the perception of S-D in a partner were linked to higher levels of intimacy in long-term married couples. Partners who were less intimate - S-D'd less.
    • This research provides validity and reliablity of the theory proposed which is S-D leads to more intimate relationships
  • S-D theory can be applied to real-life situations. Hass and Stafford found that 57% of gay men and women in their study said that open and honest S-D was the main way they maintained and deepened their relationships. This means that romantic partners who use S-D skillfully are able to increase their intimacy. However, those partners who communicate less can learn how to use S-D which could bring several benefits to the relationship such as deepening satisfaction and commitment. 
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Evaluation of S-D

  • There are some cultural differences in the theory. The prediction that increasing breadth and depth of S-D will lead to more intimate relationship is not true for all cultures.Tang et al found that men and women in the USA (an individualistic culture) self-disclose more sexual thoughts and feelings than men and women in China (a collectivist culture). Both of these levels of S-D are linked to relationship satisfaction in those cultures. Therefore, S-D theory has limited explanation of romantic relationships meaning it lacks eco-logical validity and cannot be generalised to other cultures. 
  • Duck's theory undermines S-D theory because he suggests that when couples argue or discuss the state of their relationship in an attempt to save it, they often involve deep S-D of very intimate thoughts and feelings, and yet these may not be enough to rescue the relationship. They may even contribute to its breakdown. However, social penetration theory suggests thats romantic relationships become more initmate as S-D deepens and broadens. 
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