Self-disclosure

Question 1

What does SPT state?

Answer 1

Reciprocal exchange of personal information, both of breadth and increasing depth signals trust and increases intimacy and liking

Question 2

What is self-disclosure

Answer 2

Revealing personal information to another person - creates relationship beyond initial attraction

Question 3

Who came up with SPT

Answer 3

Altman and Taylor - 1973

Question 4

What does SPT involve

Answer 4

• Theory of how relationships develop
• Reciprocal exchange of information
• Basic feature of romantic relationships
• Self-disclosure should be welcomed and reciprocated

Question 5

Breadth

Answer 5

Breadth of disclosure is narrow because many topics are ‘off-limits’
Low risk information

Question 6

Depth

Answer 6

As relationship develops - self-disclosure becomes deeper
Wider range of topics, including things that matter most to us
Eventually reveal intimate, high-risk information

Question 7

What is depentration

Answer 7

Describes how dissatisfied partners self-disclose less as they gradually disengage from the relationship

Question 8

Why is reciprocity important?

Answer 8

Needed for a relationship to develop
Creates empathy and trust, increases feelings of intimacy and deepens the relationship

Question 9

Who came up with reciprocity of self-disclosure?

Answer 9

Ries and Shaver - 1988

Question 10

Eval - research support

Answer 10

• Strength
• SPT
• Sprecher and Hendrick - heterosexual dating couples
• Strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure for both partners
• More satisfied with and committed to their romantic relationship
• Sprecher et al - relationships are closer and more satisfying when partners reciprocate
• Increase validity of theory that reciprocated self-disclosure leads to more satisfying relationships

Question 11

Eval - counterpoint

Answer 11

• Much supporting research is correlation
• Correlation does not equal causation - no valid conclusion to draw
• Alternative explanations just as likely
• Maybe self-disclosure and satisfaction are independent of each other and both are caused by a third variable
• Self-disclosures may not cause satisfaction directly, reducing the validity of SPT of self-disclosure

Question 12

Eval - real-world application

Answer 12

• Strength
• Help improve communication to relationships
• Haas and Stafford - 57% of homosexual men and women said that open and honest self-disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their relationship
• If more self-disclosure - deepening satisfaction and commitment
• Psychological insights can be valuable in helping people who are having problems in relationships

Question 13

Eval - cultural differences

Answer 13

• Limitation - not true for all cultures
• Nu Tang et al - in individualist cultures self-disclosure aided relationships
• In collectivist cultures - lower levels in disclosure - levels of satisfaction no different
• Self-disclosure theory is a limited explanation of romantic relationships - based on findings from US - individualist cultures which are not necessarily generalisable to other cultures

Question 14

Eval - self-disclosure and breakdown

Answer 14

• SPT - romantic relationships become more satisfying as self-disclosure increases
• Theories of relationship breakdown - partners often self-disclose more often and more deeply as their relationship deteriorates
• This does not increase satisfaction and often not enough to save relationship
• Incomplete theory