College essay: Social Penetration Theory

Social Penetration Theory

Of Irwin Altman & Dalmas Taylor

Review

Irwin Altman and Dalmas Tyalor coined Social penetration theory which is a combination and psychological one. The focal aim of this theory is to investigate and explain the differences in communication according to the depth of interpersonal relationship. This means that it clarify how meanings and messages exchange functions in the development of interpersonal relationships. Em defines it as the process of developing deeper intimacy with another person through mutual self-disclosure and other forms of vulnerability, the purposeful process of revealing information about oneself. Social penetrations can apply in different contexts including friendship, social groups, and work relationship.

 According to this theory, the levels of relationships are combined in a hierarchical manner as the given example of the “onion” elucidates; one’s self personality is a multilayer onion, with the outer layer as the least intimate relationship and the inner core as the most intimate relationship. The public image which is the surface of the person we can call it the outer layer. While the hidden self shapes the inner core and it revealed only to significant others over a period through disclosure. Simply we can say that the surface is the public and visible self to others, and the inner one is the private area. Therefore, through the self disclosure we can penetrate the onion’s layers to get to the core. The self-disclosure according to Em is the voluntary sharing of personal history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets, norms, principles etc, with the others. Social penetration theory describes several layers including superficial layers, middle layers, inner layers and core personality. Superficial layers are made up of fairly shallow information such as likes, dislikes in clothing and music. Middle layers consist of political views and social attitudes. Inner ones contain spiritual values, deep fears, hopes, aims and secrets. The inner personality comprises the most secret information about a person.

Moreover, there must be an exchange of information and the most important element in social penetration is breadth to develop relationships. Breadth involves the number of various topics discussed, for example family hobbies, educational background and favorite food or country.. The norm of reciprocity is fundamentally situated within these interactions. This norm of reciprocity suggests that when a person discloses something, the responder is obligated to disclose something at the same level of intimacy to maintain the norm or equity.

Furthermore, these stages of this theory involve orientation, exploratory affective exchange, affective exchange, and stable exchange. The first level is orientation, which is when members of a certain society share only superficial information about themselves, in which people are careful when disclosing information, for example on a first date, people tend to use and show only the public self because they are unlikely to share their greatest fears and darkest secrets. In this stage people reveal some of them at the public level and act in socially desirable and polite ways .The second is exploratory affective exchange, in which people share details behind the superficial information and use less caution when self‐disclosing. The third level of social penetration theory is affective exchange; in this stage people likely reveal some information about the private self. The final stage of this theory is stable exchange, characterized by openness, breadth, and depth. This stage is characterized by honesty and intimacy, and open expression of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

As a conclusion, this theory explain and elucidate the hierarchical stages of the self that we reveal to others, depending on the position of that person in our life, if he or she is a member of my family then revealing the inner self will be the case and if he or she is a normal person or a stranger only the outer layer will be shown to him or her.