Self-disclosure (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

What is self-disclosure?

• Self-disclosure is the act of revealing personal information about oneself to another person

• The nature of self-disclosure and how much is revealed will depend on several factors:

  • The person to whom the details are disclosed, e.g., a romantic partner

  • The stage of the relationship, e.g., in the first few weeks, after several months, after several years (even though self-disclosure is a factor in attraction, it continues as the relationship progresses)

  • The person who is disclosing the information, e.g., they may be a naturally confident, outgoing person, or they may be naturally shy and reticent

  • The nature of the details being disclosed, e.g., these may be banal, e.g., ‘I went to St Freud’s school’ or controversial, e.g., ‘I have spent time in prison’

  • The reasons behind the self-disclosure, e.g., to cement a bond of trust between the partners, or maybe to encourage self-disclosure from the other person (known as reciprocity)

• Self-disclosure is not a set and stable type of communication: it is likely to vary per individual depending on their age, their relationship status, their profession, their mood, etc

Theories of self-disclosure

Social Penetration Theory (SPT)

• Social Penetration Theory (SPT), suggested by Altman & Taylor (1973), describes the process of self-disclosure, beginning with shallow levels of disclosure and gradually progressing deeper as the person reveals more private information, thoughts, desires, hopes, and secrets to the other person

• The SPT model is shown below:

• Superficial self-disclosure might include details of where someone lives, their job, their hobbies; the information has some breadth but not much depth

• Intimate self-disclosure might include someone’s ambitions, previous relationship history, or a fall-out they had with their mother

• Personal self-disclosure starts to go deeper into areas such as hopes, desires, mistakes made in the past, insecurities, etc

• Core self-disclosure has real depth and possibly less breadth, as someone may only have a few (or choose to disclose only a few) details which are buried deep within the layers of their psyche, e.g., their innermost fears, something they feel guilty or embarrassed about or something that risks rejection from their partner

• As each layer is ‘peeled’ away, the relationship (according to SPT) becomes stronger

Reciprocity of self-disclosure

• Reis & Shaver (1988) argue that, for a relationship to develop, there needs to be a reciprocal element to self-disclosure

  • Once one partner reveals something personal about themselves, the hope is that the other partner responds with empathy and disclosures of their own

  • This creates a balance of self-disclosure between both partners, which increases feelings of intimacy and deepens the relationship

Social Comparison Theory (SCT)

• Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) is a general theory of how individuals assess their worth and value by comparing themselves to others — it can also be applied to self-disclosure

  • Upward comparison occurs when someone feels that others (or specifically their partner) are superior to them, e.g. better-looking, richer, more intelligent

  • Downward comparison occurs when someone feels that others (or specifically their partner) are inferior to them, e.g. less interesting, not as well-dressed, less athletic

  • Someone may disclose personal information about themselves to a potential (or even existing) partner to gauge their reaction, e.g., ‘Have I made myself look silly? Are they impressed?’

  • Someone may make disclosures about their achievements, which could lead to self-validation if the person being disclosed to responds with praise and admiration

  • Someone may disclose information about their beliefs and values to determine the extent to which they are similar or different to the other person, whether these beliefs and values are acceptable or unacceptable

How does self-disclosure affect relationships?

• SPT argues that self-disclosure is essential if a relationship is to develop and thrive

• SPT claims that self-disclosure is a kind of ‘glue’ that holds a relationship together, as it creates trust between partners, plus it reinforces the special bond that the couple have

• Self-disclosure can be risky

  • If one person discloses and the other person then fails to follow through with their disclosure, it can unbalance a relationship and lead to inequality in terms of trust

  • Disclosing high-risk personal details (possibly involving illegal or immoral features) to another person gives that person some power and can put the discloser in a position of vulnerability, which is why the SPT model suggests that only low-level details are disclosed at first

• SCT suggests that people engage in social comparison via self-disclosure, which allows each partner to determine whether or not they are interested in pursuing a relationship

• The SCT explanation of self-disclosure is that each person provides a kind of mirror which reflects the image of the discloser by either affirming or denying each partner’s self-image (and, as a result of this, their self-esteem)

Research which investigates self-disclosure

• Collins & Miller (1994) – a meta-analysis which showed that self-disclosure plays a key role in attraction: people who disclose intimate information tend to be liked more than those who disclose less

• Lippert & Prager (2001) -  113 cohabiting couples completed questionnaires and kept diaries of their interactions

  • The results showed that couples with higher levels of mutual self-disclosure expressed more satisfaction with their relationship than couples who disclosed less

• Sprecher & Hendrick (2004) – studied heterosexual dating couples and found strong correlations between measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure (both their own and their partner's)

• Laurenceau et al. (2005) – used daily diary entries and found that self-disclosure, and the perception of self-disclosure in a partner, were linked to higher levels of intimacy in long-term married couples; the reverse was also true, with less intimate couples self-disclosing less often

Evaluation of self-disclosure 

Strengths

• Self-disclosure research has good practical application, at least in Westernised nations: with its emphasis on open communication, it can be used to guide and inform relationship counselling

  • Hass & Stafford (1998) found that 57% of gay men and women reported that open self-disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their committed relationships

    • This shows that self-disclosure research applies beyond heterosexual relationships and demonstrates its real-world value

• The rewards of using self-disclosure wisely are not confined to romantic relationships

  • It can help to build and maintain friendships, family bonds, professional relationships, etc

Limitations

• Self-disclosure is a difficult variable to operationalise, as it is open to subjective interpretation

  • This means that associated theories lack the features of science

• Self-disclosure theories do not explain how some relationships do not follow the ‘rules’ and yet remain healthy

  • E.g., one partner discloses a lot while the other partner rarely discloses anything of any great importance or depth

• Much self-disclosure research (e.g. Sprecher & Hendrick, 2004) is correlational, so it cannot be concluded that self-disclosure causes greater satisfaction — it may be that satisfied couples simply disclose more

Issues & Debates

• Self-disclosure theories are culturally biased, as self-disclosure in relationships varies a lot between cultures

  • Tang et al. (2013) – reviewed research into sexual self-disclosure and concluded that men and women in the USA (an individualist culture) disclose significantly more sexual thoughts and feelings than men and women in China (a collectivist culture)

    • However, both levels of disclosure were linked to relationship satisfaction, suggesting that high self-disclosure is not essential for a satisfying relationship, i.e., the SPT model may be culturally biased

      • Therefore, what is considered “normal” in one culture (e.g., being open about emotions) might not be the same elsewhere, showing how Western theories like SPT may not apply universally