Social penetration theory - Essay Example

Their talk involves cliche like it has been long since we talked when they actually have little to say, life has been good it is always like that and you have grown so beautiful used at times to evade the actual topics that are personally involving. The conversations do not involve personal matters on a deeper level. Most comments during the orientation stage could be insincere or with very little sincerity or concern. The exploratory stage is where people give their opinion on light matters that are yet not deep.

At this point only casual friendships develop out of social activity and conversations revolve around politics and the weather celebrities and public figures. Conversations may involve talk like I think the senator is doing a good job with his new project. Affective stage involves a lot of personal critical opinion. Persons start to express themselves and their emotion, what they like and what they do not like. They start to use the first person in statements for example, I am really not into bowling, and that man angers me or I like that girl.

Relationships at this point may involve kissing and intimate touching and open statements of affection like I love you. At the stable stage, persons not only express themselves they also learn to read the other persons emotions and know what to do to please them and what to avoid doing to avoid displeasing them. At this stage personal matters are shared mutually and the people in the relationship know each other to a reasonable point (Atman, & Taylor 118). Depenetration is a radical stage where friendships may break apart.

Here there is exploration in depth of the advantages of the relationship in the long run and its disadvantages. People making such decisions at this point make informed decisions. It is important that relationships be allowed to develop through the stages at their pace without being hurried to allow for the parties involved to freely share their information and develop a good platform of communication that is honest. Social disclosure allows for information to be shared at the sharing party’s free will.

The information shared could involve activities one has been involved in or hopes to get involved in, the things they like and do not like. People share information depending on the level of trust they have developed in their counterparts and choose the information to share with them. They also consider the repercussions of sharing certain information even with their close friends(Atman, & Taylor 113). People share their personal information to reduce the impact of emotional or mental stress it has on them, to seek an opinion from a second party on major decisions or to gain moral support from close friends.

Others expect to gain the confidence of their partners so much that those parties will involve them in their own experiences. Other times the disclosure may lead to the self-disclosing party being viewed differently in a better or taint reputation. The self-disclosure process is therefore a risk by itself. It may involve very deep rooted emotions and beliefs, secrets and scarring moments of one’s past life. Relations grow with the parties’ ability to communicate. In most relationships people will try not to be a burden and even compromise their own situations to avoid conflict.

There is an unspoken expectation by parties to gain confidence and trust from their partners. The relationships do not grow constantly and linearly all the same,