Social Penetration Theory Interpersonal Communication

The Social Penetration Theory is an explanation by two communication theorists, Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. This theory attempts to explain how relational closeness develops. Since we all have hundreds of different relationships, with thousands of different people during our lifetime, it is an important theory to study and understand.

Interpersonal communication is described as two or more people exchanging information through verbal and non-verbal messages. “God gave us the gift of communication so we could get close to others” (Griffin, 1987, p. 10). There are various theories on interpersonal communication two of which will be discussed in this paper, Symbolic Interactionism and Social Penetration. One theory is based on verbal and non-verbal communication and the other is based on how communication can help each of us develop deeper relationships. We practice both theories on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not. This paper will look how each theory is used in our daily lives, how each theory helps us to gain better understanding of our relationships, and how each theory ties into our biblical worldview.

Interpersonal communication is a form of communication that takes place between two people who have an established relationship. There are many different levels of interpersonal communication and theories of interpersonal communication. One of the theories that is used to explain changes in social behavior is the social exchange theory. The social exchange theory proposes that social behavior is the result of an exchange process between two people. The basic concept of the exchange theory is that it emphasizes the cost between the interactions of people and their social environment. Exchange theory attempts to explain human behavior under the content of a balanced-equal ratio within the distribution of giving and receiving. "At the heart

Based on the Social penetration model, the breadth only goes so far between the two, during the session. They both can't seem to disclose any of their actual feeling, and make it seem like it's hard to do so. The depth doesn't go far either, especially from Amy when she does not disclose everything to her husband. The benefit disclosure between the two, is the catharsis, because they both got things out in the open. The risk, is the loss of influence, which apply's mostly to Amy. Amy and Jake, both seem to not

Films Media Group (2007). Lockdown: Tent City [Video file]. Retrieved from Films on Demand website: http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=7967&xtid=40796

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

Throughout the sports world there are many different players that have signature gesture that they are know for, but what people sometimes look past is that some of these famous gestures are actually their way to profess their faith. Some of the most famous gestures that are the athletes way to profess their faith and show the world what they believe in are gesture such as Tim Tebow’s thinking man pose or Stephen Curry’s point after making a basket. These are all very well recognized athletes that profess their faith on a very highly view stage where millions of people can see. To young kids who are looking from the outside at these famous and well know athletes profess their faith throughout it all and not to let the fact that people on

It is difficult to say when the idea of social theory came around because it is difficult to document such an event; it is not as simple as other firsts in the world. The earliest, one can say, is around the time of the Western philosophy came around with Plato and Herodotus among others and maybe even Confucius. The ideal behind social theory is that it is the framework used to study and interpret social phenomena throughout the world. However, there is a lot more to social theory, it also tries to relate to historical debates over generally accepted methodologies, and often they critique the ideological teachings and tradition beliefs. Social theories can also encompass political science, sociology, and even economics, and does not

The Social Penetration Theory, adapted by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor, is based on the idea that people are layered like onions, (Griffin 133). These layers are made up by different things that hide an individual’s true self. One’s true self can include his or her hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, aspirations and other things that one thinks about. For individuals to become close, they must get past all of the facades and disclose their true selves to one another. In the movie The Breakfast Club, each of the main characters exemplifies this theory. At the beginning of the movie, characters Claire, John, Andrew, Allison, and Brian are each individuals who separate themselves from one

Through Social Penetration theory, Taylor and I started out as strangers which lated turned in becoming my best friend. Taylor and I’s relationship developed through the depth and breadth of self-disclosure. The four observations of breadth and depth are peripheral, self-disclosure, penetration and depenetration. The first observation is peripheral items are exchanged sooner and more frequently than private information. As Taylor and I first started to to develop our friendship, we played it safe by making small talk. Taylor

Social Penetration Theory was one of the first steps in moving our relationship forward. It allowed us to move from normalized communication to a more intimate form of communication. Essentially taking our relationship from friend level and moving it to a mutual level of intimacy for each other. Social Penetration Theory was conceptualized by Irwan Altman and Dalmas Taylor and illustrates a theory as to the pattern of relationship development. According to Altman and Taylor, intimacy involves more than physical intimacy; other dimensions of intimacy include intellectual and emotional, and the extent to which a couple shares activities.

Out of the three possible theories, the social penetration theory is the theory that interested me the most

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

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.

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