Self-Disclosure and Interpersonal Relationships

Page 157

Do you remember Angelica from chapter 2 (p. 45)? You may recall her heavy debt due to her lifestyle (expensive vacations, a new car, a nice apartment, and so on). When she divulges her personal financial mishaps to a friend, she is self-disclosing, revealing very personal information. As you’ve likely experienced in your own life, self-disclosure has a powerful impact on the development of interpersonal relationships (Samter, 2003). The process of choosing what information to disclose to others and when has long fascinated communication scholars. In this section, we look at the ways in which we choose to divulge or withhold personal information and how those decisions affect relationships.