Blackwell Reference Online

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The process by which individuals reveal their innermost feelings and experiences to interaction partners is termed self-disclosure. Research on self-disclosure began in earnest in the 1960s, following the seminal writings of Jourard (1968) . He proposed that self-revelation was the key to mental health and satisfying relationships , a contention that has been supported by subsequent research. In early studies, self-disclosure was operationalized primarily in terms of revelation of normatively private information. More recent definitions are broader, so that the most intimate disclosures are thought to concern personal emotions and self-perceptions (e.g., feelings, fears, desires, and needs). According to some accounts, feelings about relationships may be particularly self-revealing. Self-disclosure is a central part of the acquaintance process. A common metaphor invokes the peeling of an onion: People become acquainted by divulging successively more personal material, one layer at a time, until they have revealed their innermost selves to each other. As disclosure approaches the core self , intimacy deepens. Typically, but not always, this process is mutual, with partners reciprocating levels of disclosure ( see intimacy ). Much research has examined contextual, relational, and individual difference variables that affect self-disclosure tendencies. Studies of norms that govern ... log in or subscribe to read full text