The Importance Of Self-Disclosure In Interpersonal Communication

“We have a deep desire to be known and to know others” (Donahue, 2015). According to Alder and Proctor (2016) from “Looking out Looking In” described self-disclosure as the process of deliberately revealing information about oneself and would not be normally known by others (p58). The main concept is if you don’t disclose enough to a person it can affect them and others as well. Main points I will be talking about are concepts and how it applied to relationships. Self -disclosure is connected to interpersonal communication by depending how much you disclose to someone it can create a stronger bond or break it.

Self-Disclosure Concepts http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-communication-studies/index.html :

“Social penetration

Jourard (in The Transparent Self) defines self-disclosure as making ourselves "transparent" to others through our communication--i.e., when we tell others things about ourselves which help them to see our uniqueness as a human being (Para.7). Culpert distinguishes between self-description vs. self-disclosure. Self-description involves communication that levels "public layers" whereas self-disclosure involves communication that reveals more private, sensitive, and confidential information (Para.

It was not until recently I’ve heard the true face of my grandmother. There were some things that I never knew about her until years later after she has passed. I learned it is threw the self-penetration theory we can understand how a relationship can develop. My grandmother would only reveal layers of herself because she had trust issues that was regarding to her past and she would only reveal her true self around the ones she loved. For instance, my mother Tanya, her youngest daughter told me that she had a troubled history with my biological grandfather and her mother. Another example was my grandmother was dyslexic, and it wasn’t ‘till then that I found out my mother was also dyslexic. It was a huge surprise to find that out, and then I start to realize the signs when I was younger to indicate that she did had a disability. There are many stories about my grandmother that I have heard, and some where I think was made up. For example, that she was in a biker gang when she when she was younger, and they were famous back in their day whom are still known today by people today. As for the name of the “gang” that is something that is only disclosed to my family and I. My grandma was very secretive, and there are things that only her children know, so who knows what other secrets she took to the grave (she knew of the risks of revealing a part of herself).