Anticipated Reaction of others to Intimate Vs Nonintimate Self-Disclosure

Abstract

22 men and 22 women were presented 8 hypothetical situations in which they disclosed something to a same-sex friend. They rated how good an impression they would create by each statement. In the 8 situations, the topic was positive or negative, intimate or nonintimate, and self-disclosure was high or low. Subjects expected that they would be less well received by high vs low self-disclosure when the topic was intimate. Only on a positive nonintimate topic did they expect to be better received through high self-disclosure.