Social penetration theory

• Who developed social penetration theory?

  Altman and Taylor
• Self-disclosure is limited at the start- it is a gradual process of revealing you inner self to someone else
• Revealing personal information is a sign of trust, the partner then had to reciprocate and reveal personal information
• Penetration leads to development:

  As romantic partners increasingly disclose more information, they 'penetrate' more deeply into each other's lives. Thus, they gain a greater understanding of each other
• Both breadth and depth of self-disclosure are key according to the social penetration theory
• Breadth is narrow at the start of a relationship because if too much information is revealed this may be off-putting and one partner may decide to quit the relationship
• As a relationship develops more layers are gradually revealed (more depth). We are likely to reveal more intimate information including painful memories, secrets, etc