The Interpersonal Orientations of Disclosure

Why a piece on self-disclosure in a book devoted to group processes? For those who accept the current liberal definition of the term self-disclosure no explanation is necessary. By this definition it is the act of revealing personal information to others, so self-disclosure is inherently social in nature and a part of the traffic among group members. But for those who are purists or simply less familiar with the thrust of the literature the question is a real one. Self-disclosure would obviously appear to refer to the act of reporting one’s self-conception. Viewed from this perspective it is primarily a phenomenon for personality theory, not group dynamics.