5.5 Self-Disclosure

Theories of Self-Disclosure

Social penetration theory states that as we get to know someone, we engage in a reciprocal process of self-disclosure that changes in breadth and depth and affects how a relationship develops. Depth refers to how personal or sensitive the information is, and breadth refers to the range of topics discussed (Greene, Derlega, & Mathews, 2006). In the movie Shrek, you may recall Shrek’s declaration that ogres are like onions. While certain circumstances can lead to a rapid increase in the depth and/or breadth of self-disclosure, the theory states that in most relationships, people gradually penetrate through the layers of each other’s personalities like we peel the layers from an onion.

The theory also argues that people in a relationship balance needs that are sometimes in tension. Balancing this tension is like walking a tightrope. You must lean to one side and eventually lean to another to keep yourself balanced and prevent falling. The constant back and forth allows you to stay balanced, even though you may not always be even or standing straight up.

We may also engage in self-disclosure for the purposes of social comparison. Social comparison theory states that we evaluate ourselves based on how we compare with others (Hargie, 2011). We may disclose information about our intellectual aptitude or athletic abilities to see how we relate to others. This comparison helps us decide whether we are superior or inferior to others in a particular area. Disclosures about abilities or talents can also lead to self-validation if the person to whom we disclose reacts positively. By disclosing our beliefs and values, we can determine if they are the same or different from others. Last, we may disclose fantasies or thoughts to another to determine whether they are acceptable or unacceptable. We can engage in social comparison as the discloser or the receiver of disclosures, which may allow us to determine whether or not we are interested in pursuing a relationship with another person.

The final theory of self-disclosure we will discuss is the Johari window, named after its creators, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham (Luft, 1969). The Johari window can be applied to a variety of interpersonal interactions in order to help us understand what parts of ourselves are open, hidden, blind, and unknown. To help understand the concept, think of a window with four panes. As you can see in the Johari Window below, one axis of the window represents things that are known to us, and the other axis represents things that are known to others. The upper left pane contains open information that is known to us and others. The amount of information openly known to others varies based on relational context. When you are with close friends, there is probably a lot of information already in the open pane, and when you are with close family, there is also probably a lot of information in the open pane. The information could differ, though, as your family might know much more about your past and your friends more about your present. Conversely, there isn’t much information in the open pane when we meet someone for the first time, aside from what the other person can guess based on our nonverbal communication and appearance.

Johari Window

The bottom left pane contains hidden information known to us but not others. As we get to know someone, we engage in self-disclosure and move information from the “hidden” to the “open” pane. By doing this, we decrease the size of our hidden area and increase the size of our open area, which increases our shared reality. The reactions we get from people as we open up to them help us form our self-concepts and also help determine the trajectory of the relationship. If the person reacts favorably to our disclosures and reciprocates disclosure, then the disclosure cycle continues and a deeper relationship may be forged.

The upper right pane contains information known to others but not us. For example, we may be unaware that others see us as pushy or a leader. People who have a disconnect between how they see themselves and how others see them may have more information in their blind pane. Perception checking and soliciting feedback from others can help us learn more about our blind area.

The bottom right pane represents our unknown area, as it contains information unknown to ourselves or others. To become more self-aware, we must solicit feedback from others to learn more about our blind pane, but we must also explore the unknown pane. To discover the unknown, we have to get out of our comfort zones and try new things. We have to pay attention to the things that excite or scare us and investigate them more to see if we can learn something new about ourselves.

By being more aware of what is contained in these panes and how we can learn more about each one, we can more competently engage in self-disclosure and use this process to enhance our interpersonal relationships.

There are two key ideas behind the Johari Window.

1. That individuals can build trust with others by disclosing information about themselves.
2. They can learn about themselves and come to terms with personal issues with the help of feedback from others.

The Process of Self-Disclosure

Many decisions go into the process of self-disclosure. We have many types of information we can disclose, but we must determine whether we will proceed with disclosure by considering the situation and the potential risks. Then we must decide when, where, and how to disclose. Since all these decisions will affect our relationships, we will examine each one.

Four main categories for disclosure include observations, thoughts, feelings, and needs (Hargie, 2011). Observations include what we have done and experienced. For example, you may tell someone that you live in a farmhouse in Illinois. If you said that moving from the city to the country was a good decision, you shared thoughts and judgments (or observations) about their experiences. Sharing feelings includes expressing an emotion—for example, you may say “I’m happy to wake up every morning and look out at the corn fields. I feel lucky.” Last, you may communicate needs or wants by saying something like, “My best friend is looking for a job, and I really want him to move here, too.”

We usually begin disclosure with observations and thoughts and then move on to feelings and needs as the relationship progresses. There are some exceptions to this. For example, we are more likely to disclose deeply in crisis situations, and we may also disclose more than usual with a stranger if we do not think we’ll meet the person again or do not share social networks. Although we don’t often find ourselves in crisis situations, you may recall scenes from movies or television shows where people trapped in an elevator or stranded after a plane crash reveal their deepest feelings and desires. Most of us have been in a situation where we said more about ourselves to strangers than we normally would. To better understand why let’s discuss some factors influencing our decision to disclose.

Reasons for Self-disclosure

Generally speaking, some people are naturally more transparent and willing to self-disclose, while others are more opaque and hesitant to reveal personal information (Jourard, 1964). Interestingly, recent research suggests that the pervasiveness of reality television, much of which includes participants who are very willing to disclose personal information, has led to a general trend among reality television viewers to engage in self-disclosure through other mediated means such as blogging and video sharing (Stefanone & Lakaff, 2009). Whether online or face-to-face, there are other reasons for disclosing, including self-focused, other-focused, interpersonal, and situational reasons (Green, Derlega, & Mathews, 2006).

Self-focused reasons for disclosure include having a sense of relief or catharsis, clarifying or correcting information, or seeking support. Self-focused reasons for not disclosing include fear of rejection and loss of privacy. In other words, we may disclose to get something off our chest hoping to find relief, or we may not disclose out of fear that the other person may react negatively to our revelation. Other-focused reasons for disclosure include a sense of responsibility to inform or educate. Other-focused reasons for not disclosing include feeling like the other person will not protect the information. If someone mentions that their car wouldn’t start this morning and you disclose that you are good at working on cars, you’ve disclosed to help out the other person. On the other side, you may hold back disclosure about your new relationship from your coworker because he or she’s known to be loose-lipped with other people’s information. Interpersonal reasons for disclosure involve desires to maintain a trusting and intimate relationship. Interpersonal reasons for not disclosing include fear of losing the relationship or deeming the information irrelevant to the particular relationship. Your decision to disclose an affair in order to be open with your partner and hopefully work through the aftermath together or withhold that information out of fear he or she will leave you is based on interpersonal reasons. Finally, situational reasons may be the other person being available, directly asking a question, or being directly involved in or affected by the disclosed information. Situational reasons for not disclosing include the person being unavailable, a lack of time to fully discuss the information, or the lack of a suitable (i.e., quiet, private) place to talk. For example, finding yourself in a quiet environment where neither person is busy could lead to disclosure, while a house full of company may not.

Deciding when to disclose something in a conversation may not seem as important as deciding whether or not to disclose at all. But deciding to disclose and then doing it at an awkward time in a conversation could lead to negative results. Regarding timing, you should consider whether to disclose the information early, in the middle, or late in a conversation (Greene, Derlega, & Mathews, 2006). If you get something off your chest early in a conversation, you may ensure plenty of time to discuss the issue. If you wait until the middle of the conversation, you have some time to feel out the other person’s mood and set up the tone for your disclosure. For example, if you meet up with your roommate to tell her that you’re planning on moving out and she starts by saying, “I’ve had the most terrible day!” the tone of the conversation has now shifted, and you may not end up making your disclosure. If you start by asking her how she’s doing and things seem to be going well, you may be more likely to follow through with the disclosure. You may choose to disclose late in a conversation if you’re worried about the person’s reaction. If you know they have an appointment or you have to go to class at a certain time, disclosing just before that time could limit your immediate exposure to any negative reaction. However, if the person doesn’t react negatively, they could still become upset because they don’t have time to discuss the disclosure with you.

Sometimes self-disclosure is unplanned. Someone may ask you a direct question or disclose personal information, which leads you to reciprocate disclosure. In these instances, you may not manage your privacy well because you haven’t had time to consider any potential risks. In the case of a direct question, you may feel comfortable answering, giving an indirect or general answer, or you may feel enough pressure or uncertainty to give a dishonest answer. If someone unexpectedly discloses, you may feel the need to reciprocate by disclosing something personal. If you’re uncomfortable doing this, you can still support the other person by listening and giving advice or feedback.

Once you’ve decided when and where to disclose information to another person, you need to figure out the best channel to use. Face-to-face disclosures may feel more genuine or intimate given the shared physical presence and ability to receive verbal and nonverbal communication. There is also an opportunity for immediate verbal and nonverbal feedback, such as asking follow-up questions or demonstrating support or encouragement through a hug. The immediacy of a face-to-face encounter also means you have to deal with the uncertainty of the reaction you’ll get. If the person reacts negatively, you may feel uncomfortable, pressured to stay, or even fearful. You may seem less genuine or personal if you choose a mediated channel such as an e-mail or a letter, text, note, or phone call. Still, you have more control over the situation in that you can take time to choose your words carefully, and you do not have to face the reaction of the other person immediately. This can be beneficial if you fear an adverse or potentially violent reaction. Another disadvantage of choosing a mediated channel is the loss of nonverbal communication that can add much context to a conversation. Although our discussion of the choices involved in self-disclosure so far has focused primarily on the discloser, self-disclosure is an interpersonal process that has much to do with the receiver of the disclosure.

Effects of Disclosure on the Relationship

The process of self-disclosure is circular. An individual self-discloses, the recipient of the disclosure reacts, and the original discloser processes the reaction. The key elements of the process are how the receiver interprets and responds to the disclosure. Part of the response results from the receiver’s attribution of the cause of the disclosure, which may include dispositional, situational, and interpersonal attributions (Jiang, Bazarova, & Hancock, 2011).

Let’s say your coworker discloses that she thinks the new boss got his promotion because of favoritism instead of merit. You may make a dispositional attribution that connects the cause of her disclosure to her personality by thinking, for example, that she is outgoing, inappropriate for the workplace, or fishing for information. If the personality trait to which you attribute the disclosure is positive, then your reaction to the disclosure is more likely to be positive. Situational attributions identify the cause of a disclosure with the context or surroundings in which it takes place. For example, you may attribute your coworker’s disclosure to the fact that you agreed to go to lunch with her. Interpersonal attributions identify the relationship between sender and receiver as the cause of the disclosure. So if you attribute your coworker’s comments to the fact that you are best friends at work, you think your unique relationship caused the disclosure. Suppose the receiver’s primary attribution is interpersonal. In that case, relational intimacy and closeness will likely be reinforced more than if the attribution is dispositional or situational because the receiver feels like they were specially chosen to receive the information.

The receiver’s role doesn’t end with attribution and response. There may be added burdens if the information shared with you is a secret. As was noted earlier, there are clear risks involved in self-disclosure of intimate or potentially stigmatizing information if the receiver of the disclosure fails to keep that information secure. As the receiver of a secret, you may feel the need to unburden yourself from the co-ownership of the information by sharing it with someone else (Derlega, Petronio, & Margulis, 1993). This is not always a bad thing. You may strategically tell someone who is removed from the social network of the person who told you the secret to keep the information secure. Although unburdening yourself can be a relief, sometimes people tell secrets they were entrusted to keep for less productive reasons. A research study of office workers found that 77 percent of workers that received a disclosure and were told not to tell anyone else told at least two other people by the end of the day (Hargie, 2011). They reported doing so to receive attention for having inside information or to demonstrate their power or connection. Needless to say, spreading someone’s private disclosure without permission for personal gain does not demonstrate communication competence.

When the disclosure cycle goes well for the discloser, there is likely to be a greater sense of relational intimacy and self-worth. There are also positive psychological effects such as reduced stress and increased feelings of social support. Self-disclosure can also have effects on physical health. Spouses of suicide or accidental death victims who did not disclose information to their friends were more likely to have more health problems such as weight change and headaches and suffer from more intrusive thoughts about the death than those who did talk with friends (Greene, Derlega, & Mathews, 2006).

Benefits & Risks of Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure is essential to relationship development. However, as with all communication strategies, self-disclosure has benefits and risks.

Benefits

• catharsis – “get it off your chest”, reveal regrets, mental and emotional relief
• reciprocity – one act of self-disclosure leads to another, no guarantee though, honesty creates a safe climate
• self clarification – clarify beliefs, opinions, thoughts, attitudes, feelings by talking about them. “talk the problem out”
• self-validation – seeking validation of our behavior. “Did I do the right thing?”
• identity management – make ourselves more attractive, marketing ourselves, more attractive, likable, sensitive. Ex: when on a date
• relationship maintenance and enhancement – relational success
• social influence – revealing can increase control over the other and/or situation

Motives for Self-Disclosure can vary.  Motives for self-disclosure may include:

Disclosure to a Friend – strengthen or enhance friendship and friendship maintenance
Disclosure as Self Clarification – sort out any confusion, Ex: “I was at my boyfriend’s last night, not at the party”
Disclosure to a Stranger – most common way to get to know them (based on reciprocity), also impression formation is used in a positive way to make one look good

Risks

• rejection – fear of disapproval, dangers in being too revealing. Can be exaggerated and/or illogical. Ex: “I like you more than just a friend” “let’s spend some time apart”
• negative impression – Ex: not wanting to tell a new friend about when you broke the law and got into trouble
• decrease in relational satisfaction – Ex: “I think you are too clingy” “But I like being close to you…”
• loss of influence – confessing a weakness to another person can lead to them viewing you differently. Ex: a manager confesses they have no real control about wages resulting in employees viewing the manager as weak
• hurting the other person – Ex: :”I’m fat and my diet isn’t working” “Yeah, you should get a new one”

Alternatives to Self-Disclosure

So, what techniques can you use if you don’t want to self-disclose to others? There are four major alternatives we use to avoid self-disclosure.

Silence

You may choose to keep your thoughts and feeling to yourself.

Deception

Sometimes people lie simply to avoid conflict. This is true in cases where the person may become extremely upset. Other times we can lie to gain power or to save face. Lies can also keep our secrets or help us to guide conversations in the directions we desire. Deception comes in many forms for many reasons, which we will examine later in this book.

Equivocate

This means you don’t answer the question or provide your comments. There are many strategies to equivocate. One is to restate what they said differently. For instance, Sally says, “how do you like my new dress?” you can say, “Wow! That’s a new outfit!” In this case, you don’t disclose your opinion or how you feel. Another strategy may be to state something obvious. You may say, “I love yellow!” Again, you didn’t answer the question. Equivocation is often used to avoid hurting the other person’s feelings.

Hint

Perhaps, you don’t want to lie or equivocate to someone you care about. You might use indirect or face-saving comments in the form of hinting. For example, if your roommate has not helped you clean your apartment, you might say things like, “It sure is messy in here” or “This place could really use some cleaning.”