Ch 6. Social Penetration Theory – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Altman & Taylor
answer
Theorist
question
Identifies the process of increasing self-disclosure (breadth) and intimacy (depth) within a relationship
answer
Social Penetration Theory Summary
question
when partners share information
answer
Social Penetration assumed to take place
question
verbal and non verbal disclosure
answer
primary vehicle to share info
question
is the act of revealing about ourselves, on both a conscious and an unconscious level, including one's history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets, etc.
answer
self disclosure
question
Culture Sociological Psychological
answer
3kinds of information or self disclosure
question
disclosure is very general information about shared cultural attributes. -e.g., language, shared values, beliefs, rules, and ideologies
answer
Culture
question
disclosure is general information about a person's social groups and roles.
answer
Sociological
question
disclosure is specific information about individual traits, feelings, attitudes, and personal data.
answer
Psychological
question
(a) Communication involving psychological information is truly interpersonal (b) This level is the most intimate and occurs after a certain amount of experience with the person. (c) Social penetration is the process of relying less on general cultural and sociological information and more on psychological information.
answer
Ect.
question
Penetration involves communicating about topics that are deeper or more personal.
answer
Depth
question
Social penetration involves communicating about a broader range of topics at each level of intimacy
answer
Breadth
question
You reveal information about yourself when the cost-rewards ratio is acceptable/profitable to you. -The greater/more profitable the potential/perceived rewards relative to costs, the more penetration will occur and the greater the rate of the penetration.
answer
summary of cost vs. reward
question
At each level of social penetration (i.e., each layer), the partners must decide, based on the costs and rewards of increasing intimacy, whether to proceed to a deeper level
answer
part of cost reward is the social exchange which says
question
People evaluate their relationships with others (often specific interactions) in terms of the outcomes, the rewards vs. the costs of remaining in the relationship.
answer
Outcome = Benefits - Costs
question
Orientation Exploratory affective exchange Affective exchange stable exchange
answer
4phases of social penetration
question
only very public information is exchanged in this phase (impersonal, cultural, sociological data). -We play it safe with small talk and simple, harmless clichés, following standards of social desirability and norms of appropriateness.
answer
orientation phase or social penetration
question
deeper disclosure takes place. -We now start to reveal ourselves, expressing personal attitudes about moderate topics such as government and education. -This is the stage of casual friendship, and many relationships do not go past this stage.
answer
Exploratory affective exchange phase of social penetration
question
when critical and evaluative feedback takes place; centers on feelings at a deeper level yet. -Now we start to talk about private and personal matters. We may use personal idioms. Criticism and arguments may arise. There may be intimate touching and kissing at this stage.
answer
Affective exchange phase of social penetration
question
is highly imitative and psychological; allows partners to predict each other's actions and responses. -The relationship now reaches a plateau in which personal things are shared and each can predict the emotional reactions of the other person.
answer
Stable exchange phase of social penetration
question
In social penetration theory, relationships are believed to dissolve in the reverse order in which they develop, in a pattern of decreasing intimacy. -Depenetration is a gradual process of layer-by-layer withdrawal.
answer
Etc.,
