Why is self disclosure important

Personality plays a crucial role when it comes to self-disclosure. For example, people are most commonly classified as introvert or extrovert based on their talkative nature. While extroverts do not have difficulty performing self-disclosure, introverted people tend to be more reserved and take a lot of time to open up. They hold back information until they feel comfortable sharing information with other people. They do not find it easy to rely on people to immediately share personal information and take a lot of time compared to extroverts.

Only a very few people are let in the circle of introverts. Thus personality makes a lot of impact on the process of self-disclosure. The mood is the feeling of the person at a particular moment. The mood of a person tends to fluctuate heavily at any given point of time. An upset and bad mood will act as a barrier in the self-disclosure process, while a good mood will facilitate the process of self-disclosure.

Confidence and optimism will be facilitated by a good mood, which will help self-disclosure. In contrast, a bad mood will restrict self-disclosure or, at best, promote superficial self-disclosure.

People who tend to be with other people and are less lonely usually disclose more than lonely people. This is probably because lonely people are more comfortable being with themselves.

Loneliness makes the person habituated to talk less to other people and, in turn, trust others less. This results in lonely people sharing less and less with other people. A person who is used to loneliness, if exposed to people all of a sudden, may suffer from loneliness more than earlier, thereby restricting the flow of information entirely. Lonely people may be termed as introverts to some extent; however, it cannot be generalized. Social comparison is comparing yourself to other people.

Most people have a habit of measuring themselves and comparing themselves to other people. People tend to disclose more if they find that they compare better than other people. They share their skills , knowledge, and other things. Other factors tend to affect the process of self-disclosure. Factors like fear, anger, social situations, number of people present, past of the person, physical or technological factors also affect self-disclosure. For example, a person may have thought of doing a self-disclosure to another person via a phone call.

Still, if the network keeps fluctuating and the call keeps getting interrupted, then the person may abandon self-disclosure.

A self-disclosure may not happen between two people if multiple people are present listening to their conversation. There is a lot of exchange of information between people who tend to utilize the way of self-disclosure. The stage of relationship affects the process of self-disclosure. In addition, a person who reciprocates an intimate self-disclosure is liked more than is a person who reciprocates an intimate disclosure with a superficial one. When a person reciprocates an intimate disclosure with a superficial disclosure, it is a signal that they do not want to get to know the other person and the conversation is not as rewarding.

Typically, however, superficial information is disclosed to strangers and more intimate information is disclosed to close others. Revealing highly personal information to a stranger is perceived as inappropriate. For example, it is improper for somebody you barely know to come up to you and reveal the intimate details of his or her sex life.

Yet in a close relationship, such a revelation could strengthen the relationship and make two people even closer. A person who reveals too much information early on is perceived by others as unbalanced. Self-disclosure fosters love as well as liking. Couples who engage in more extensive and intimate self-disclosure to one another tend to have longer, more satisfying relationships. This is because disclosing personal information about yourself is one way to get your needs met, and having your needs met increases feelings of love and affection, companionship, and a sense of belonging.

Partners believe that their relationship contains a high level of intimacy when they can express their thoughts, opinions, and feelings to their partners, and feel their partners are able to express themselves as well.

This is why many researchers believe that experiencing intimacy through self-disclosure may be the most important factor that determines the health of a relationship.

We expect women to be more expressive than men. When a woman is not expressive, others perceive her as maladjusted. Likewise, men are expected to be inexpressive, and when a man is expressive, he is perceived as unstable. And, in fact, women tend to disclose more than men do in general.

However, although women disclose more to their female friends and to their romantic partners than men do, they do not disclose more to their male friends any more than men do. Furthermore, women tend to elicit self-disclosure from others, even from those who do not usually disclose very much about themselves. One reason for this is that women tend to be responsive listeners, which in turn promotes further disclosure by the speaker.

Because interpersonal communication is the primary means by which we get to know others as unique individuals, it is important to understand the role of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is the process of revealing information about yourself to others that is not readily known by them —you have to disclose it. There are degrees of self-disclosure, ranging from relatively safe revealing your hobbies or musical preferences , to more personal topics illuminating fears, dreams for the future, or fantasies.

Typically, as relationships deepen and trust is established, self-disclosure increases in both breadth and depth. An important aspect of self-disclosure is the rule of reciprocity.

This rule states that self-disclosure between two people works best in a back and forth fashion. When you tell someone something personal, you probably expect them to do the same. When one person reveals more than another, there can be an imbalance in the relationship because the one who self discloses more may feel vulnerable as a result of sharing more personal information.

The window is divided into four quadrants: the arena, the blind spot, the facade, and the unknown Luft. The arena area contains information that is known to us and to others, such as our height, hair color, occupation, or major.

In general, we are comfortable discussing or revealing these topics with most people. Information in the blind spot includes those things that may be apparent to others, yet we are unaware of it in ourselves. The habit of playing with your hair when nervous may be a habit that others have observed but you have not. Previous mistakes or failures, embarrassing moments, or family history are topics we typically hold close and reveal only in the context of safe, long-term relationships.

Finally, the unknown area contains information that neither others, nor we, know about. We cannot know how we will react when a parent dies or just what we will do after graduation until the experience occurs. Knowing about ourselves, especially our blind and unknown areas, enables us to have a healthy, well-rounded self-concept.

As we make choices to self-disclose to others, we are engaging in negotiating relational dialectics. One way we can better understand our personal relationships is by understanding the notion of relational dialectics.