II. SEVEN SOCIABLE CONVENTIONS - Self Disclosure

This is a familiar sociable convention. Individuals engage in a kind of mutual interviewing, with each seeking to learn more about the other. A classic example of this convention would be the conversation between two strangers who meet while in transition, as on a bus, train or airplane, and use the time to reveal to each other a great deal about themselves.

In the process of self-disclosure, individuals choose what to say about themselves and what to ask of others. This might mean providing information by which one could be classified – line of work, astrological sign, place of origin, etc. (Members of the sociability project found it a considerable deprivation that, in most sociable situations, they could not mention their interest in studying sociability.) The conversation could develop themes of current concern or emotional engagement. Sometimes it was a matter of providing more detail about a characteristic that was already partly known. Flirtation was another example. However, we found self-disclosure to have the same quality and frequency for same-sex pairs as for cross-sex pairs.

Example: Self disclosure.

After dinner Amelia and Michelle had a brief and intense spell of sharing mutual feminist ideas and worries about the young married women who settle too soon for domesticity.

© 2010 Jeanne Watson Eisenstadt. All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents/Site Map
This site designed and maintained by The Dandelion Group™