What is your experience with self-disclosure?
After studying Lessons 4.1 and 4.2, spend time completing the following reflective writing assignment. Use these questions as a jumping-off point for your thoughts on disclosing your “self” to others.
Choose two of the three to write on:
- Have you ever said too much on a first date? At a job interview? To a professor, family member, or friend? Have you ever posted something on Facebook only to return later to remove it? If you answered yes to any of the questions, describe the experience, then explain what you learned in this chapter that might now lead you to do something different.
- Have you experienced negative results due to self-disclosure? If so, what could have been altered in the decisions of what, where, when, or how to disclose that may have improved the situation?
- Under what circumstances is it OK to share information that someone has disclosed to you? Under what circumstances is it not OK to share the information? Why? Why not?
Remember, reflective writing enables you to explore and think deeply about what you are learning. You’ll want to refer back to portions of the text which have influenced you, but you do not simply want to restate what the text (or videos) have said. You are attempting to dig deeper…. wonder…. and reflect on what you have realized about self-disclosure. Develop (at minimum) 15 to 20 sentences for this assignment.
Ultimately, you want to make this assignment your own. Make your exploration substantial. Self-disclosure is in many ways the essence of interpersonal communication. Spend some time with this.
