Self-Disclosure

In an interaction between the individual with others, whether others will accept or reject, how they want others to know about them will be determined by how individuals in expressing themselves. Disclosure of self (self-disclosure) is the process of presenting themselves embodied in the activities to share feelings and information with others (Wrightsman, 1987).

According to Morton (in Sears, et al., 1989) is an activity of self disclosure and information sharing intimate feelings with others. The information in this self-disclosure is a descriptive or evaluative. Descriptive meaning individuals depicts various facts about yourself that may not be known by listeners like, occupation, address and age. While the evaluative meaning that individuals express their personal opinion or feeling like the type who liked or things that are not liked or hated.

Self-disclosure may include various topics such as information behavior, attitudes, feelings, desires, motivations and ideas that fit and self-contained in that person. The depth and the disclosure of a person depends on the situation and the people who were invited to interact. If the people who interact with the fun and make feel safe and can evoke the spirit of the possibilities for idividu to more open is great. In contrast to certain people who can just shut down because they felt less confident (DeVito, 1992).

In the process of self-disclosure appears to the individuals involved have a tendency to follow the norms of reciprocal (mutual). When someone tells something that is personal, it will tend to give a commensurate response. In general, expect others to treat the same as treating them (Raven & Rubin, 1983).

"Someone who disclose personal information that is more familiar than we do will make us feel threatened and we would prefer to end this kind of relationship. If instead we are expressing ourselves too familiar than others, we will feel stupid and insecure "(Sears, et al., 1988).

Culture also has some influence on one's self disclosure. Each and every nation with their own cultural patterns provide a certain limit the extent to which individuals appropriate and inappropriate to express themselves. Kurt Lewin (in Raven & Rubin, 1983) from the peneitiannya found that Americans seem easier to open than the Germans, but this openness is limited to superficial things and are very reluctant to divulge their personal relating . On the other hand, the Germans at first more difficult to express themselves even to things that are superficial, but if you already have confidence, then they are not reluctant to divulge their deepest personal.