Three important factors determine whether an interaction will be intimate. First, the content of the person`s disclosure. For example, the disclosure of personal desires, fantasies, fears, and emotions is more important for the development of intimacy than the disclosure of facts. Indeed, the disclosure of emotions gives the partner the opportunity to confirm and show that he cares, supports and accepts the person. The second is the partner`s reaction to disclosure. If the partner is responsive, feelings of closeness are increased and subsequent communication is facilitated. If a partner does not respond, he or she indicates a lack of interest in other conversations and intimacy is reduced. Third, the individual`s interpretation and reaction to the partner`s behavior. If the person perceives the partner as supportive and understanding, the conversation is likely to become more intimate, as the person is likely to disclose it again or ask the partner to disclose it. If the person perceives the partner as non-supportive or intrusive, the conversation is unlikely to become intimate. So if the disclosure is high, the partner is responsive, and the person perceives the partner as caring, the conversation will likely become more intimate over time.
Some people are better able to reveal themselves than others. Because self-revelation can be threatening. Self-revelation can make you vulnerable to rejection, manipulation, and betrayal. Some people are so preoccupied with these dangers of self-revelation that they find it difficult to open up and reveal intimate details about themselves, even in appropriate contexts. They worry about the impression they make on others and easily perceive rejection in the intentions of others. As a result, these people often feel lonely and isolated from others and tend to have less close and satisfying relationships with others. In summary, understanding the nature of the goals that cause individuals to disclose their hidden stigmatized identity can be an important first step in understanding when disclosure can be beneficial. While previous theories and research have generally emphasized the importance of the trusted response in determining the results of disclosure (Kelly and McKillop, 1996; Lepore et al., 2000; Major & Gramzow, 1999; Rodriguez and Kelly, 2006) highlights our view on the impact of disclosers` objectives on several aspects of the disclosure process, including the ability to generate positive trust responses.
As discussed later, the focus on the goals that revelators bring to disclosure situations may have practical benefits for researchers and practitioners who prepare people living with secret stigmatized identities for disclosure. In addition, goals can influence the type of language individuals use to convey information about their identity (Douglas and Sutton, 2003). Since individuals whose outreach approach objectives focus on the possibility of social support and intimacy rather than social rejection and conflict, they may choose to communicate information about their identity using positively assessed language or direct (versus indirect) communication strategies (Global, Fletcher, Simpson, & Sibley, 2009), and they may use phrases, which emphasize the closeness of the relationship (p.B “we,” “we,” vs. “I,” or “you”; for a review, see Heyman, 2001). Although people with avoidance goals are able to mask their worries and use positively evaluated language, they are unlikely to be able to control their non-verbal cues such as eye contact and posture (DePaulo and Friedman, 1998; Ekman and Friesen, 1974). As evidence suggests in the field of group relationships, even when individuals are able to override their thoughts and feelings to communicate a positive message, confidants are still able to recognize their “true” thoughts and feelings through non-verbal cues (Dovidio, Kawakami, & Gaertner, 2002). This control helps users take more risks with their online self-disclosures. These people are also beginning to connect their life on the Internet to their life off the Internet and engage in an exchange between presence and control. In this exchange, Internet users begin their relationships with relatively high control and gradually exchange them for physical proximity as their comfort and knowledge of the other person increases. This seems to be the Internet version of social penetration theory, where individuals have a mutual exchange of self-revelations.
As the relationship develops in personal communication, individuals` disclosures gradually become more insightful and cover a wide range of topics. This Internet equivalent includes partners who exchange control of the conversation for physical proximity. Steps during which this happens could include the transition from online messaging to phone calls and, eventually, face-to-face communication. [32] Social media can also help those who are alone. Many social networking sites offer access to profiles, photos, and the ability to comment and inform others, which helps people feel less alone. It also helps them acquire social capital such as emotional satisfaction and access to information. These websites can facilitate disclosure because they facilitate access to others who can provide social assistance to someone by disclosing personal information. Social support is extremely important in disclosure, as it allows the developer to feel validated and supported. Social support is also positively linked to well-being. [38] This social support and building close relationships online has also been shown to reduce loneliness over time. [39] The DMP framework focused on understanding the impact of the disclosure process on individuals with a variety of hidden stigmatized identities.
While the basic functioning of this process is supposed to be universal across all types of identities, we also recognize that the type of identity disclosed can also influence this process. In contemporary viewpoints, most agree with the inevitability of self-revelation in therapy. Humanistic theorists want to trigger personal growth in clients and believe that a strong relationship with a therapist is a good facilitator for this, as long as the therapist`s disclosures are authentic. Seeing that weakness and struggle are common in all people, even therapists, is helpful for clients in humanistic therapy. In order for existential psychologists to help clients, they try to reveal their own coping methods to serve as sources of inspiration to find their own answers to life`s questions. For therapists who value feminism, it is important to disclose their personal feelings so that their clients have complete freedom to choose the right therapist and eliminate power struggles in the therapeutic environment. The ever-popular cognitive-behavioral approach also encourages disclosure in therapy, allowing clients to normalize their own thoughts with those of another, challenge their thoughts, and reinforce positive expectations and behaviors. [23] Individuals with approach-based disclosure objectives may be better able to communicate about their identity in a way that elicits positive reactions from their confidants. These skills are undoubtedly crucial for the social support mechanism, although they may not be as beneficial for the other two mechanisms that are not directly affected by the trust response. As noted earlier, individuals with approach-based disclosure objectives may be better able to elicit positive trust responses than those with avoidance-oriented disclosure objectives. Since goals shape perceptual processes, developers who have approach-oriented goals are also more likely to pay attention to positive indications that the confidant has reacted positively.
Self-revelation can sometimes go well – it can lead to closer relationships and a better shared understanding with the people you come into contact with every day. But sometimes these personal revelations don`t go quite as planned. Have you ever said a little too much during a job interview? Or posted something too personal on Facebook? However, traditional gender roles are changing and men are becoming more expressive in the context of their close romantic relationships, seeing disclosure as an important part of the relationship. Therefore, today`s couples show patterns of complete and equal self-revelation, which has led to relationships that promote mutual respect and trust. Relationships that involve a high level of self-revelation have proven to be more intimate and satisfying for both partners. While disclosure researchers have largely failed to study these questions, researchers studying motivation and self-regulation have gathered a significant amount of evidence suggesting that goals fundamentally shape behavior and its outcomes. Their research shows that behaviour is regulated by two distinct motivational systems that represent approaches and dimensions of avoidance – one that focuses either on pursuing a rewarding or desired end state or on avoiding a punitive or undesirable end state (for exams, see Elliot, 1999; Gable and Berkman, 2008; Higgins, 1998). . . .