Factors contributing to verbal self-disclosure

Abstract

The phenomenon of self-disclosure has been actively studied in several sub-discliplines of psychology from the 1970s on, and neighbouring disciplines, such as social and communication sciences, have enriched the psychological understanding of the topic. The psychological literature on self-disclosure, which is viewed, sometimes as a trait-like construct, varying in degree from one person to another, and sometimes as an interpersonal process which occurs when individuals interact with each other, has addressed, in particular, the issues of reciprocity effect, sex differences, self-disclosure in intimate vs. non-intimate relationships, the benefits to be derived from disclosing, and the emotional or anxiety-based motives for disclosure. The present article aims to present a broad and general overview of the self-disclosure literature by integrating empirical discoveries from different areas of science. Self-disclosure is here approached by outlining the characteristics of the discloser and the recipient that promote or prevent self-disclosing, the relationship between the discloser and the recipient, some situational and cultural factors affecting self-disclosure, and the benefits and risks of self-disclosing.