Can We Talk: The Role Of Self-Disclosure In Relationships

Self-disclosure is an important part of any close relationship. Without sharing our own fears and weaknesses, we can

Chemical Dependency counselors have quite a few ethical dilemmas to deal with. Therapists that are in recovery may confront some even more complex dilemmas, opposed to those who are not. There is a high percentage of addiction counselors that are in recovery. In fact, 55% of 36,000 members of the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors (NAADAC) are recovering alcoholics and 21% are recovering from some other chemical dependency. This brings up two sides to counselors in recovery. "There is something about the personal experience that assists counselors to being especially attentive to the needs of the recovering client." On the other hand, counselors bringing personal

The realizations I have on self disclosure is that, it is one way of letting my self go. Letting another human being know my inner most feelings and my fears. I am a very private person and I tend to not say much about myself unless I know the person very well. I tend to not to like people who disclose a lot of information to me mainly if we do not have a very close relationship, because to me that means I also have to let them in on some of my inner most feelings. I feel like even if they are a lot of advantages to self-

Transparency is so important in any relationship because that it actually the foundation of the relationship

The feeling I had with this is because I thought it was bad to have self-disclosure, really it’s not. My opinion about this was that why do we have self-disclosure about things, when speaking from your feelings is that you express who you are.

Individuals have different levels of disclosure and when combined with another individual’s disclosure level can have positive or negative outcomes. The decision to communicate can also cause uncertainty within relationships. Prior research was conducted to try and measure what exactly causes the uncertainty and negative results to show up in a relationship. Intimacy, security, problematic events, and irritations are all different elements that can be stronger or weaker in the relationship based on the disclosure (Theiss and Solomon 2006).

Openness describes a person’s willingness to discuss his or her relationship with a friend or other relational partner. People who use this relational maintenance strategy are likely to disclose their thoughts and feelings, to ask how their friend feels about the relationship, and to confide in their friend. Although it’s certainly possible to have too much openness in a relationship, an optimal amount will help maintain the relationship and keep it strong.

In 1973 social psychologists Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor formulated a process, the social penetration theory, that aimed to explain how people develop and move through relationships. Their theory predicts that relationships with friends and lovers move in a “gradual and orderly fashion from superficial to intimate levels of exchange as a function of both immediate and forecast outcomes.” (Griffin, 2011, p. 97) Through gradual amounts of mutual self-disclosure people form interpersonal relationships. People don’t tend to disclose personal information automatically they remain protective over the details that may reveal their true self. It takes time to reveal any true life-altering experiences with someone you’ve just met. In order to completely

In groups self disclosure can bring a sense of belonging among participants and it can create a sense of trust. I believe that many people just want be understood, therefore self disclosure is a good way to gain trust and create friendships. In my opinion self disclosure among participants can create a better group dynamic as there will be more cohesion among the group members. I personally noticed this in my group, I find myself knowing each members name and wanting to know more about each person in the group. I also noticed group cohesion during the AA meeting I attended. The group had a positive dynamic as the members listened to each other and self disclosed. Although intimacy can be a positive thing among groups, it can also become a problem as people have different personalities and beliefs about forming friendships. The way self disclosure might intervene in group process could be by forming groups and leaving other members feeling left out. In group discussion I noticed that several of my classmates would roll their eyes when a particular person asked

You are absolutely correct because full disclosure is major key in these types of relationships. In fact my brother is a mechanic and he just went through a similar situation with one of his clients that accused him of damaging some of the belongings that was in the car but he wasn’t even aware of what was in the car because he only did work on the engine. Since he only worked on the engine he wouldn’t be liable for any property other than the car itself.

Honesty is hard to achieve. However individuals want to share and or express their feelings and thoughts while in a relationship without worrying about what impression that they are displaying ( Bethel University, n.d.) . Therefor they are willing to be themselves ( Bethel University, n.d.).

I am a very outgoing person, and seem to self-disclose information to others, on a regular basis. “To develop relationships, we must be willing to self-disclose about our personal lives” (Shelley, p. 1). Self-disclosing information helps strengthen or weaken the duos interpersonal relationship. I regret the day when I self-disclosed information to my new boyfriend.

The first website focuses on self-disclosure and building trust through it. It discusses how Psychologist has known self-disclosure to be a main part of intimate relationships. “Revealing your motives, intentions, goals, values, and emotions, can increase liking and feelings of intimacy.” The website gives information on the evidence found that people who disclose their selves to other are not only able to build trust but can generate a greater cooperation and teamwork level as well. The website also states how self-disclosure done incorrectly, or in the wrong environment can be a bad thing.

Self-disclosure is the voluntary sharing of personal history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets, etc. with another person (Griffin, p. 97). As stated in the introduction Altman and Taylor look at relationships as an “onions.” The different layers are representative of different feelings of a person. When

However, when relationships wane, the amount one is willing to self-disclose diminishes. On the other hand, the communication privacy management theory, or the “establishment of boundaries and borders that [one] decide[s] others may or may not cross” is intrinsically linked to the social penetration theory (p. 179). Privacy describes the limits one places on what they will self-disclose to others. When people decides to self-disclose, they “compute a ‘mental calculus” to gauge the trustworthiness and risks of self-disclosure, and then they choose accordingly (p. 179). However, boundary turbulence can occur when the members of a relationship cannot decide on what information should remain confidential. This tension can dissolve a relationship. If the trust of the self-discloser is violated, then they are less likely to disclose again. If a member of a relationship is not willing to self-disclose, then relationship termination is probable. Where breadth and depth influence the impact and value of a relationship, self-disclosure and privacy needs impact a relationship’s breadth and depth (Gamble & Gamble, 2013).