CCA #3 Self- Disclosure, The Thing We Do When We Spew.

In everyday life, one discloses information about themself. Although there are varying degrees of disclosure, the basic characteristics remain the same. That is to say that self-disclosure is influenced by culture. There tends to be a symmetrical exchange of self-disclosure, and finally, self-disclosure almost always occurs in dyads.
To begin, it is evident through talking with someone from a different culture, that levels of disclosure tend to be different. Certain lower context cultures allow people to disclose more about themselves, whereas high context cultures tend to be more closed. “In fact people born and bred in English Canada and the United States are more disclosing of themselves- not just to friends but acquaintances and even strangers” (Alder, Rodman, and Sévigny 235). Additionally, people feel compelled by the law of communication reciprocity. If you think about it, usually you receive personal information from someone, you feel obligated to tell them something personal about yourself. This reciprocity is common and occurs subconsciously. Finally, and most importantly, self-disclosure occurs in dyads. I can attest to this myself. When you are communicating in a dyad, it is relatively easy to self- disclose information because of a feeling of privacy and intimacy with the other person. On the contrary, when a third enters the conversation, the feeling of privacy and intimacy evaporates. Therefore, in order to protect yourself from unpleasant consequences, limiting self-disclosure to one person at a time proves safest. As one can see, examples of self-disclosure characteristics occur on an ongoing basis often subconsciously. Although it may not seem as though a structure governs how we disclose to others, simple characteristics are ubiquitous when self- disclosure occurs.
Adler, Ronald B., Rodman, George., Sevigny, Alexandre. Understanding Human Communication. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2008.