Self-disclosure and filter theory

• Self disclosure 


  Revealing personal information about yourself

  allows us to better understand our partner and be understood by our partner

  its a vital factor in a relationship beyond initial attraction
• Social penetration theory 


  Altman and taylor

  involves the reciprocal exchange of information between partners

  when one partner reveals something they are displaying trust so for relationship to go further the other partner must also reveal sensitive information

  as they increasingly disclose more about eachother the partners ‘Penetrate’ more deeply into each others lives and gain a greater understanding of eachother
• Self disclosures 2 elements

  Breadth and depth

  as both increase romantic partners should become more committed to each other

  at the start of relationship - reveal superficial 'on the surface' information = low risk

  breadth of disclosure is narrow - many topics off limits

  as relationship develops, delf-disclosure becomes deeper - intimate and high risk info
• reis and shaver - self disclosure

  for a relationship to develop, as well as increase breadth and depth - needs to be reciprocal

  after revealing something about true self, partner should respond in a rewarding way = empathy, understanding and their own intimate thoughts and feelings

  in a successful relationship there should be a balance of self-disclosure, increasing feelings of intimacy and deepening the relationship
• summary of social penetration theory

  for a successful romantic relationship there should be breadth, depth and reciprocity.
• supporting research for self-disclosure

  Sprecher and Hendrick

  studied heterosexual dating couples - found strong positive correlation between measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure (both partners)

  = men and women who used self-disclosure and believed their partners did = more satisfied and committed with their relationship
• criticism of self-disclosure

  much research done is correlational. it could be that people who are secure in their relationship feel able to disclose more personal items, rather than the disclosure making them more secure. = cause and effect cannot be inferred, so relationship between self-disclosure and relationship security is unclear
• strength of self disclosure

  it has real life applications. it can help people who want to improve communication in their relationships. some partners use self-disclosure deliberately to increase intimacy.

  Hass and Stafford = 57% of gay men and women said that open and honest self disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their relationships
• weakness of self-disclosure

  issues of cultural bias.

  Tand et al = reviewed research literature regarding self-disclosure found that men and women in the USA (individualistic culture) self disclose more sexual thoughts and feelings than men and women in China (collectivist culture)

  but in USA high levels of sexual self disclosure led to satisfaction in relationship's whereas in China ow levels of sexual self disclosure led to satisfaction

  = limited explanation, based on western (individualistic) cultures - not generalizable , theory is beta culturally biased
• the filter theory

  relationships develop through 3 filters , different factors are important at different times

  Kerckhoff and Davis referred to the 'field of availables' as the possible people that we could have a relationship with. they argue we 'filter out' protentional partners for different reasons at different times so the field of availables is narrowed down to a small 'field of desirables'
• first filter - social demographic variables

  • happens without us being aware if it
  • most people tend to mix with others who are similar to them , live in same area, work together etc
  • fairly small selection of people - usually similar in educational and economic background and social class
  • find them more attractive as we have more in common with them
• second filter - similarity of attitudes and values

  • similarity causes attraction and and if a couple shares ideas and beliefs, communication should be easier and relationship may progress.
  • people with different attitudes, values and interests are filtered out
• third filter - complementarity of emotional needs

  • happens once a couple have become established in a relationship, fairly long term
  • its how well the two people fit together as a couple and meet each others needs
  • complementarity is attractive as it gives the two partners the feeling that they form a whole which makes the relationship more likely to be successful
• strength of filter theory

  supporting research - Kerckoff and Davis tested their model, longitudinal study of student couples who had been together for either more or less than 18 months. completed several questionnaires over 7months where they reported attitude similarity and personality traits with partner

  • found that attitude similarity was most important factor up to 18 months and after psychological compatibility and ability to meet each others needs was most important
• weakness of filter theory

  the research findings haven't been replicated - online dating increased rapidly, reduced importance of social demographic variables

  • suggests theory lacks temporal validity
• weakness of filter theory

  problem with cause and effect

  • Anderson, longitudinal study and found that cohbaiting partners became more similar over time = emotional convergence
  • suggests attitude similarity is an effect of initial attraction rather than cause, going against the prediction of the filter theory
• weakness of filter theory

  criticised for being beta gender biased - ignored that men and women may use different filters

  • Buss, 37 culture study , indicates that men filter through physical attributes but females filter through wealth and resources.
  • also criticised for being beta culturally biased, theory only relevant to western societies and ignores cross-cultural differences in how relationships form (arranged marriages)