Synonyms
Definition
Self-disclosure is a process of communication through which one person reveals information about himself or herself to another (Sprecher et al. 2013). It includes everything an individual chooses to tell the other person about himself or herself. Specifically, the information disclosed can be descriptive or evaluative and can vary, for example, from thoughts, feelings, and goals to failures and dislikes (Ignatius and Kokkonen 2007).
Introduction
The process of self-disclosure, when people share personal information about themselves to another, aids the development and sustainment of social relationships (Sprecher et al. 2013). That is, people who have higher levels of self-disclosure, thus share more intimate details, are in general more liked by the people they interact with (Collins and Miller 1994). However, this process is not a one-way street; one of the most important factors in the process of self-disclosure is reciprocation; both in initial...
References
Collins, N. L., & Miller, L. C. (1994). Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 457.
Desjarlais, M., Gilmour, J., Sinclair, J., Howell, K. B., & West, A. (2015). Predictors and social consequences of online interactive self-disclosure: A literature review from 2002 to 2014. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(12), 718–725.
Ignatius, E., & Kokkonen, M. (2007). Factors contributing to verbal self-disclosure. Nordic Psychology, 59(4), 362–391. doi:10.1027/1901-2276.59.4.362.
Sprecher, S., Treger, S., Wondra, J. D., Hilaire, N., & Wallpe, K. (2013). Taking turns: Reciprocal self-disclosure promotes liking in initial interactions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 860–866. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.017.
Taddei, S., & Contena, B. (2013). Privacy, trust and control: Which relationships with online self-disclosure? Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 821–826.
Tolstedt, B. E., & Stokes, J. P. (1984). Self-disclosure, intimacy, and the depenetration process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(1), 84.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
van Golde, C. (2017). Self-Disclosure. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1502-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1502-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences