factors affecting attraction: self disclosure

• self disclosure 


  the reciprocal exchange of information between a couple, occurs gradually as trust and familiarity develops which increases mutual attraction
• what did altman and Taylor developed in 1973 


  social penetration theory
• what's social penetration theory


  explains how relationships develop. Revealing more sensitive information allows them to ‘penetrate’ more deeply into each other, gaining greater understanding of each other. 
• elements of self disclosure

  breadth and depth
• what's breadth ?


  the range of topics a couple can discuss of
• what's depth?


  the personal significance of the topics
• Initially self-disclosure is shallow and superficial like the outer layers of an onion, where low risk information is shared. Over time breadth and depth increase. When relationships deteriorates, self-disclosure decreases and couple withdraw from each other
• What did Reis and shaver 1988 argued?


  self-disclosure is key for successful romantic relationships. Increases intimancy and deepens connection
• Reis and Shaver 


  1988
• social petration theory


  altman and taylor 1973
• factors of self-disclosure

  gender - females are more likely to self-disclose

  content - the type of information

  appropiateness - how appropiate is information to share in a situation

  attributions - reason of disclosure is important
• evaluation

  Sprecher and Hendrick 2004 - correlation between self-disclosure and satisfaction in relationship

  Sprecher et al. 2013 reciprocal self-disclosure lets to more satisfaction in relationship

  Haas and Stadfford 1998 - self-disclosure strengthened bond

  Tang et al. 2013 american higher disclose of sexual thoughts than Chinese, both had similar satisfaction
• sprecher and hendrick 2004


  strong correlations between self-disclosure and relationship satisfaction in heterosexual couples.
• sprecher et al. 2013 


  reciprocal self-disclosure lead to closer, more satisfying relationships. 
• Haas and Stadfford 1998 


  57% of homosexual couples use self-disclosure to strengthen their bond
• Tang et al. 2013


  americans higher self-disclosure of sexual thoughts than chinese couples, both had similar satisfaction in relationships
• correlational studies


  does not provide a direct cause of relationship satisfaction