AO1

• Self-disclosure is the extent to which a person reveals thoughts, feelings and behaviours which they would usually keep private from a potential partner. This increases feelings of intimacy. For example, revealing your likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, interests and attitudes.
• Social penetration theory

  Altman and Taylor identify breadth and depth as important factors of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is limited at the start. They suggest it is a gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else. Revealing personal information is a sign of trust and self-disclosure must be reciprocal where the other partner is revealing personal information as well.
• Social penetration theory

  As romantic partners increasingly disclose more information, they penetrate more deeply into each other's lives. Depenetration describes how dissatisfied partners self-disclose less as they disengage from the relationship.
• Breadth and depth

  Breadth is narrow to begin with because if too much information is revealed this may be off-putting and one partner may decide to quit the relationship. Depth increases as the relationship develops because more layers are gradually revealed and you are more likely to reveal more information including painful memories, secrets etc.
• Reciprocity

  It must be important to emphasise the need for reciprocity for a relationship to develop. Reis and Shaver suggests that in addition to broadening and deepening of self-disclosure, there must be reciprocity. Successful relationships will involve disclosure from one partner which is received sensitively by the other partner. In turn, this leads to further self-disclosure from the other partner.