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Social Penetration
Comm Theory - Social Penetration Theory
Term | Definition |
---|---|
social penetration | the process of developing deeper intimacy with another person through mutual self-disclosure and other forms of vulnerability |
personality structure | onion-like layers of beliefs and feelings about self, others, and the world; deeper layers are more vulnerable, protected, and central to self-image |
self-disclosure | the voluntary sharing of personal history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets, etc. with another person; transparency |
depth of penetration | the degree of disclosure in a specific area of an individual's life |
law of reciprocity | a paced and orderly process in which openness in one person leads to openness in the other |
breadth of penetration | the range of areas in an individual's life over which disclosure takes place |
social exchange | relationship behavior and status regulated by both parties' evaluations of perceived rewards and costs of interaction with each other |
outcome | the perceived rewards minus the costs of interpersonal interaction |
minimax principle of human behavior | people seek to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs |
comparison level (CL) | the threshold above which an interpersonal outcome seems attractive; a standard for relational satisfaction. |
comparison level of alternatives (CL-alt) | the best outcome available in other relationships; a standard for relational stability |
ethical egoism | the belief that individuals should live their lives so as to maximize their own pleasure and minimize their own pain. |
dialectical model | the assumption that people want both privacy and intimacy in their social relationships; they experience a tension between disclosure and withdrawal |
territoriality | the tendency to claim a physical location or object as our own |