Self-Disclosure & Relationships (DP IB Psychology): Revision Note

Self-disclosure

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

• It plays an important role in attraction and relationship development

Factors influencing self-disclosure

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

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

  • The stage of the relationship:

    • in the first few weeks disclosure is limited

    • after several months disclosure becomes deeper

    • after several years, disclosure continues, contributing to relationship maintenance

  • Person disclosing: individual characteristics affect what and how much is revealed

  • Nature of information:

    • Superficial details: e.g., 'I went to St Freud’s school'

    • Sensitive details: e.g., 'I have spent time in prison'

  • Reasons for disclosure:

    • To build trust and intimacy.

    • To encourage reciprocity, i.e., the partner sharing in return

• Self-disclosure is not fixed; it varies with age, relationship status, profession, mood, and context

Social penetration theory

• Social penetration theory (SPT), suggested by Altman & Taylor (1973), describes self-disclosure as a gradual process, starting shallow and moving deeper

• Relationship development is like peeling back layers of an onion: as layers are removed, intimacy increases

Figure 1: Social Penetration Theory

• Levels of disclosure:

  • Superficial: facts like where someone lives, their job, and hobbies (breadth, little depth)

  • Intimate: ambitions, past relationships, family conflicts

  • Personal: hopes, desires, mistakes, insecurities

  • Core: deeply private issues (fears, guilt, secrets that risk rejection)

• As disclosure deepens, the relationship becomes stronger and more intimate

Self-disclosure & romantic relationships

• Self-disclosure may be one of the most important ways of establishing and maintaining a romantic relationship because:

  • self-disclosing involves trust

  • self-disclosure increases liking, which in turn can lead to intimacy

  • without self-disclosure, the relationship would stagnate at a superficial level

Research which supports self-disclosure & relationships

Collins & Miller (1994)

Aim:

• To investigate the link between self-disclosure and liking in the maintenance of relationships

Procedure:  

• A meta-analysis of research in the field of self-disclosure 

• Studies were selected from range of journal articles published between 1955 and 1992, isolating the key terms linked to self-disclosure and liking

• Studies from a variety of academic textbooks were also included in the sample

• A statistical programme was used to calculate the effect size in studies of self-disclosure in relationships.

• Studies in the meta-analysis included lab experiments through to self-reports

Results: 

• Liking appeared to be associated with self-disclosure (seen via positive correlations and large effect sizes)

• The effect was particularly strong in self-report studies (questionnaires) 

• Intimacy was also linked to liking:

  • people will disclose more to those to whom they already feel close and the very act of disclosing increases liking

Conclusion:

• Self-disclosure plays an important role in the maintenance of relationships

Evaluation of self-disclosure & relationships

Strengths

• Research into self-disclosure has good application

  • It could be used to inform relationship counselling

• The mechanisms of self-disclosure apply to many different types of relationships

  • E.g., friendships, work relationships, family

    • This means that there is good external validity to the idea that self-disclosure is a key factor in establishing and maintaining relationships

Limitations

• There is a lack of ecological validity with self-disclosure research such as the above study:

  • A meta-analysis is a ‘cold’ and detached statistical measure which cannot reveal why and how self-disclosure takes place, only that it does

• Self-disclosure is a difficult variable to measure, as it is highly subjective and prone to change

Link to concepts

Measurement

• The above study uses a meta-analysis which involves triangulation of method and data

  • This means that the findings from one study can be viewed in the light of the findings from other studies

  • Using triangulation in this way increases the internal validity and the reliability of the findings, as one finding checks the other findings (truth and consistency)

• Meta-analyses use secondary data which offers fewer opportunities to confound the results at source, as the researcher analyses the findings of existing studies

  • Secondary data, however, is less secure than primary data

  • The researchers are at the mercy of the original researchers’ procedures, over which they have no control, potentially affecting the reliability of the findings

Bias

• Self-disclosure in relationships may not align with the values of collectivist cultures, as such cultures emphasise the group over the individual

• Collectivist cultures may not feel comfortable with the idea that one 'peels away' layers of the self to reveal the most personal and intimate information to their partner

  • Engaging in such behaviour may actually damage the relationship

  • More emic research should be conducted in this field so that no universal conclusions (culture bias) are made about the role of self-disclosure in relationships