Self-Disclosure

Book excerpt: Decisions about self-disclosure-whether to reveal one's thoughts, feel ings, or past experiences to another person, or the level of intimacy of such disclosure-are part of the everyday life of most persons. The nature of the decisions that a person makes will have an impact on his or her life. They will determine the kinds of relationships the person has with others; how others perceive him or her; and the degree of self knowledge and awareness that the person possesses. The study of self-disclosure has interested specialists from many disciplines, including personality and social psychologists, clinical and counseling psychologists, and communications researchers. Our book brings together the work of experts from these various disciplines with the hope that knowledge about work being done on self-disclosure in related disciplines will be increased. A strong emphasis in each of the chapters is theory development and the integration of ideas about self-disclosure. The book's chapters explore three major areas, including the interrelationship of self-disclosure and personality as well as the role of self-disclosure in the development, maintenance, and deterioration of personal relationships, and the con tribution of self-disclosure to psychotherapy, marital therapy, and counseling.