Kurt Lewin As A Good Theory

The Social Penetration Theory explains why as relationships develop, communication moves from less intimate levels to more intimate, more personal levelsI can apply this theory to my professional as well as personal

Duke University Children's Hospital was facing a financial crisis in 1996 that required turnaround and transformation in order for the hospital to survive (Spector, 2013). On top of the financial crisis, caused by decreased Medicaid allowances and an increase in capitated reimbursement patients, patient and staff satisfaction had reached an all-time low (Spector, 2013). The hospital's chief medical director, Jon Meliones, understood that the hospital could only do so much to control their financial outcomes and a united front would be needed to bring about effective and impactful change (Spector, 2013).

The Social Penetration Theory can be compared to an onion. The comparison stems from the idea that an onion has many layers, just like a human’s personality. There is an outside layer that is visible to everyone, but underneath that there are several layers that get deeper and deeper. All of us have met people for the first time, and have formed our first

Rudolf Laban is a movement theorist, a choreographer and a dancer, who is also considered a pioneer of modern dance. Through constructed theories and knowledge, Rudolf Laban has influenced the culture of movement drastically, developing and shaping techniques which are still used today. In the beginning, Laban movement was primarily used for dancers and dance choreography to discover new ways to move. In the 80s and 90s, it had begun being used to help actors and to improve performances.

Moreover, the basis of a relationships lies on the principle that it is a shared give and take between two people. Yet, what happens in a society that has slowly eradicated a person’s ability to question their surroundings and communication has been dumbed down to surface level discussions?

Television psychologists and pop culture self-help gurus tell us that marriage is hard work; marriage is compromise; marriage is a choice between being right, and being happy. All of these statements are true. What these experts don’t tell us, however, is that marriage is also about putting on blinders, or looking on the bright side, or one of a hundred other trite phrases to explain the art of self-deception. In marriage, there are times when we may find it necessary to look the other way from our spouse’s faults or indiscretions, in the interest of self-preservation. For if we examine these problems too closely, our darkest, most secret fears may come true. Therefore, it can seem easier to focus on the positive. In her poem “Surprise,” Jane Kenyon uses denial, selective perception, and fear of betrayal to illustrate the self-deception that can occur in marriage.

A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.

Social Penetration theory attempts to explain the differences in communication in relation to the depth of interpersonal relationships. “Irwin Altman and Dallas Taylor, the theory states that relationships begin and deepen through self-disclosure. In the beginning, people establish

While reading chapter two, the section of Relational Deterioration in the text spoke to me. Recently, I dealt with a situation in my life that was similar to this topic. The part that reached out to me the most was when the text stated, “…. researchers found a correlation between social network use, marital dissatisfaction, and divorce” (48). However, I know my spouse is not in any engagement with another women and having an affair, just much of his time is spent on the phone at home.

One of the leading therapeutic theories that I agree with is the fact that greater individuation in the marriage and the increased

Theory is a journey to uncover the past and improve the future. By uncovering and analyzing a discipline’s theoretical journey, insight and self-awareness are gained. According to Meleis (2012), “Theories are reservoirs in which related knowledge is articulated and organized into meaningful wholes” (p.33). By implementing and analyzing theories, empowerment and guidance for the future is obtained.

In recent years, social penetration theory has been the focus of many online studies,and has been applied to, or adapted, in the context of online relationship studies, such as sexual self-disclosure, online friendships, and online social networks. (Tang & Wang, 2012) The social penetration theory as Joseph DeVito writes in The Interpersonal Communication Book is a theory not of why relationships develop but of what happens when they do develop (DeVito, 2016, p. 237). While there are a few concepts that are encompassed in the definition of social penetration theory, there are two prominent parts and they are, breadth and depth. The breadth of a relationship refers to the amount of topics you and your partner talk about, and depth refers to the degree to which you penetrate the inner personality—the core—of the other individual (DeVito, 2016). In simpler terms, “how do you let people in,” and “how much and how in depth do you go into a topic?” Let it be known, however, that there is such thing as a withdrawal between the amount of breadth and depth communicated between individuals in a relationship. Such a concept is known as depenetration. While there will be a fairly low amount of attention paid to this concept, it’s important to understand that this contrast of social penetration exists.

Two big pieces of this social penetration theory puzzle are depth and breadth of self-disclosure. The depth of self-disclosure is how deep someone can penetrate the layers of the onion or how deep your self-disclosure goes. The more intimate someone is in the relationship the more depth of self-disclosure that relationship will have. Where-as the breadth of self-disclosure is the range of topics in which disclosure takes place within a relationship. Younger people tend to have more breadth where-as the older generation tends to take part

not be repeated again. Both practical and theoretical theory have to wok hand in hand to

Relationships are like onions, they take time to open up and you have to peel layer by layer to get to the center. Life happens, people come and go and the relationships that are made happen over time. A relationship is built over prolonged exposure to someone and they do not happen over night. When you first meet a person most judge, they look at a person’s appearance, their behavior, and their overall attitude. But as time goes on and you get to know someone on a more personal level you learn whom he or she really is. This idea is called the social penetration theory. Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor established the social penetration theory in 1973. They created this theory to have a better understanding of intimate relationships between two people. The social penetration theory is important to the communication process because it looks at how relationships develop and how over time relationships evolve from where they stared by self-disclosure. With the social penetration theory as the main focus and with the support from communication studies, this paper is assessing the formation of new relationships.