self-disclosure

self-disclosure

the details people reveal about themselves to a partner. as breadth and depth increases, romantic partners become more committed to each other

explanation of SD

people often don’t disclose too much about themselves early on in a new relationship

but sharing things about ourselves helps people know each other better and helps to strengthen relationships

Altman and Taylor 1973

SD is a major concept within A&T’s social penetration theory

they studied the development of interpersonal relationships and the gradual process of revealing our inner-self to another person

Altman and Taylor aims

they argued that trust between two intimate partners is created through the reciprocal exchange of info

by increasing these disclosures, romantic partners penetrate more deeply into each other’s lives. in the process, they gain a greater understanding of each other

depth

the metaphor of a multi-layered onion is often used to illustrate the idea of depth in SD

we disclose a lot about ourselves at the start of a relationships but details are superficial

as the relationship matures, we begin to disclose deeper details about ourselves

breadth

SD can be restricted because we see many topics being off-limits in he early stages of a relationship

people don’t want to reveal too much too soon for fear of ruining the relationship

this means their breadth of topics is reduced in the early stages of a relationship

Reis and Shaver 1988

view reciprocity as essential for any romantic relationship to develop. as we reveal something about our true self, our partner will respond. this increases levels of understanding, empathy and other intimate thoughts and feelings.

this will also increase intimacy and deepen the relationship