Chapter 8: Social Penetration Theory

Social Penetration Theory largely deals with self-disclosure, and the levels of information that people are generally willing to expose to different people depending on the relationship they have with them. In fact, one of the main concepts of the theory is that self-disclosure is the deciding factor in how close a person wishes to be to someone else. The idea is that there are many layers to a person's personality, and some are more easily shared, while there are others that a person is only willing to expose to a select few, usually those whom they are very close to. An example of this theory at work in the real world would occur if, when meeting someone for the first time, he or she began to ask you very personal questions about things like your relationships, secrets, religion, or career goals. These are things that people generally keep very closely guarded, and having someone whom you don't feel very close to and probably don't fully trust asking you these questions can make you very defensive and suspicious of them.