Self-disclosure

• what is meant by self-disclosure?

  when a person shares intimate personal information about themselves to another person
• what does it mean when a person discloses more about themselves in a relationship?

  • more disclosure leads to more feelings of intimacy
  • people who disclose a lot of info are preferred compared to those who disclose themselves to a lesser extent
  • people reveal more personal info to people they like (Collins and Miller)
• describe research on self-disclosure

  • There's self-disclosure given and self-disclosure received
  • Sprecher et al- the level of self-disclosure received in a romantic relationship is a better predictor of liking and loving than the level of self-disclosure given
  • Sprecher also found self-disclosure is positively related to stability- in a study of 50 dating couples, the amount of overall disclosure in a relationship was predictive of whether the couples stayed together longer than 4 year
• why is the relationship between self disclosure and relationship satisfaction not straightforward?

  self-disclosure takes on many different forms eg- disclosing taste in music vs disclosing inner fears
• what predicts relationship satisfaction?

  not self-disclosure but the type of self-disclosure
• What disclosure types did Sprecher find to have a great influence on relationship satisfaction?

  disclosure about personal disappointments and accomplishments, and previous sexual relationships, compared to more neutral disclosure types
• state and describe the norms of self-disclosure

  • people should only engage in a moderately personal level of disclosure in the early stages of a relationship- discloser shouldn't be too indiscriminate but not too impersonal so that the listener struggles to know more about the discloser
  • norm of reciprocity- people expect to return the services they provide like money, favours, etc
• Describe the procedure by Sprecher et al into reciprocal self-disclosure

  Were interested in whether reciprocal self disclosure was more important in determine attraction than one sided self disclosure/listening

  • 156 undergrads
  • 2 person dyads
  • 2/3 dyads female-female, 1/3 male-female
  • Each dyad engaged in self disclosure task over Skype
  • Reciprocal condition (took turns asking and disclosing) non reciprocal one (one asked questions, the other disclosed, then the two switched roles for second interaction)
  • Researchers assessed liking, perceived similarity, closeness and enjoyment
• Describe the findings by Sprecher et al into reciprocal self disclosure

  • People in reciprocal self disclosure conditions reported more liking, closeness, perceived similarity and enjoyment of the interaction than the non reciprocal dyads after the first interaction
  • Difference remained after pps in non reciprocal dyads switched disclosure roles during the second interaction
  • Shows turn-taking self disclosure reciprocity is more likely to lead to positive interpersonal outcomes than extended reciprocity
• Evaluation of self-disclosure?

  • ☺️ research support- meta analysis, Collins and miller -people who engage in intimate disclosures, not indiscriminately are more liked than people who disclose at lower levels. Relationship between disclosure and liking is stronger if recipient believes disclosures are only shared with them
  • ☺️study by Sprecher et al- reciprocal disclosure- supports the norm of reciprocity
  • ☹️ cultural diffs- West- people engage more in self disclosure than non westerners- Chen- Americans disclose more than Chinese/Japanese (beta bias, imposed etic)
  • ☹️ more disclosure over the internet- boom + bust- anonymity allows people to disclose more info about themselves earlier- boom, but relationship becomes harder to maintain- bust (Cooper and Sportolari)