Factors affecting attraction: Self disclosure Flashcards
Self disclosure
Revealing personal info about yourself. Romantic partners reveal more about their true selves as their relationship develops
One’s deepest thoughts and feelings can strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately
State and explain the theory where self disclosure is a major concept
- who proposed this theory?
The social penetration theory (Altman and Taylor) suggest it is a gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else
Revealing personal info is a sign of trust
Partner then has to reciprocate and reveal personal info
Explain how penetration leads to development
As romantic partners increasingly disclose more info they ‘penetrate’ more deeply into each other’s lives
Depenetration describes how dissatisfied partners self disclose less as they disengage from the relationship
State and explain the two elements of self disclosure
Breadth - narrow at the start of the relationship because if too much info is revealed this may be off putting and one partner may decide to quit the relationship
Depth - as the relationship develops more layers are gradually revealed. We are likely to reveal more intimate info including painful memories, secrets e.t.c
Reciprocity of self disclosure
- include the names
Reis and Shaver - in addition to broadening and deepening of self disclosure, there must be reciprocity
Successful relationships will involve disclosure from one partner which is received sensitively by the other partner
Leading to further self disclosure from the other partner
What are the two strengths
Research support
Correlation vs Causation
Evaluation: Research support
The concept of self disclosure has been investigated in numerous studies
Sprecher and Hendrick, for instance, analysed dating heterosexual couples and discovered thatself-disclosure increase and so did relationship satisfaction.Another study by Laurenceau et al. on dating couples provided evidence in favour of this.
They had participants write daily journal entries on how their relationships were doing, and they discovered that increased feelings of closeness in a pair were correlated with both self-disclosure and the perception of disclosure in a partner. On the other hand, couples who expressed dissatisfaction over a lack of intimacy also revealed themselves less frequently. Our belief in the effectiveness of self-disclosure as a component contributing to more fulfilling relationships is strengthened by such confirming research.
Evaluation: Correlation vs Causation
The majority of evidence in favour of the self-disclosure theory comes from correlational studies. Although there is clearly a connection between self-disclosure and higher levels of happiness in relationships, the concept’s validitydecreases because cause and effect cannot be proven. Nonetheless, the idea of self-disclosure has many practical applications since it may enhance partners’ ability to communicate in close relationships.
Couples might attain greater intimacy and contentment in their relationship by purposefully and effectively turning in more information about themselves. This demonstrates how the application of Social Penetration Theory might improve romantic relationship experiences.
Evaluation: Cultural variations
Cultural variations however is a weakness. Not all cultures share the belief that more breadth and depth of self-disclosure will result in a more fulfilling and close romantic relationship. It mostly relies on the nature of the self-disclosure.
For instance, Tang et al. (2013) analysed research on sexual self-disclosure, or the revealing of one’s feelings about particular sexual activities. They came to the conclusion that, compared to men and women in China (a collectivist culture), men and women in the USA (an individualist society) self-disclose far more sexual thoughts and feelings.
According to those cultures, relationship satisfaction is correlated with both levels of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure theory is a narrow view of love relationships based on research from individualist western cultures that may not apply to other cultures (culturally biased)
