Bullock
1
Robyn Bullock
Comm 1050
Professor Nobis
April 20, 2013
Social Penetration Theory
of Irwin Altman & Dalmas Taylor
Social Penetration Theory developed by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor, in
1973, is still a widely used communication theory today. It is also used in other fields of
study such as psychology to explain the interaction between people. The social
penetration theory has also been used as a starting point to develop other theories in the
field of communication.
The social penetration theory is an objective theory (A First Look At
Communication, page 25) and is often referred to as the Onion Theory. It shows the
“multilayered structure of personality.” The theory explains that as you go from stranger
to a close relationship you show deeper layers of your personality and disclose more
personal information, just as an onion has multiply layers. The disclosure creates a
wedge of information into your personality that deepens as the relationship deepens. This
is done through depth and breadth of self-disclosure. The depth of penetration is “the
degree of disclosure in a specific area of an individual’s life.” The breadth of penetration
is “the range of areas in an individual’s life over which disclosure takes place.” Another
key point to the theory is that people regulate closeness on the basis of rewards and costs.
Two other theorist John Thibaut and Harold Kelley, known for their social
exchange theory, believe that “people try to predict the outcome of an interaction before
it takes place.” Thereby judging the reward minus the cost of disclosure. They also feel
the satisfaction and stability comparison levels play a part of whether a person will feel
free to self-disclose.
Communication theorist, Sandra Petronio, believes that “close relationships are
much more complex than Altman and Taylor first thought.” Her answer to the simplicity
of the social penetration theory is her communication privacy management theory. She
believes that there are five rules that guide how much we are willing to share. They are
Bullock
2
culture, gender, motives, context and risk-benefit ratio. The depth of disclosure also is
determined by boundaries and privacy rules.
Irwin Altman continued to explore his own social penetration theory. With the
assistance of Professors Anne Vinsel and Barbara B. Brown he co-authored an article that
was included in the 1982 textbook Adv Experiment Social Psychology. The article titled
“Dialectic Conceptions in Social Psychology: An Application to Social Penetration and
Privacy Regulation” explored how dialectics related to the social penetration theory and
expounded upon it. Altman’s continued research “adopted a social unit perspective
whereby one attempts to understand patterns, profiles and combinations of behaviors.”
(Altman 1976 and 1977) It was also stated, “Altman’s work on privacy regulation was
partially motivated by the need to escape from certain restrictive assumptions that have
been made in social penetration theory.” This article also reviewed the dynamics of
families, groups, teams, couples and individuals and how they change the “social unit
orientation…many combinations of behaviors that differ among individuals or that differ
even for the same person on various occasions.” By continuing his work in the areas of
communication and psychology Irwin Altman showed that a theory is an ever evolving
and changing work. Theories need to develop and grow as times change and societies
perceptions of the world change.
The business world also has looked to Altman & Taylor’s social penetration
theory in reviewing business ethics. An article in a 2000 issue of the Journal of Business
Ethics (published in the Netherlands) explored “the structure of individual ethical
reasoning and the process through which personal ethical standards erode or decline.”
The article was how the business world is looking at business ethics, but as of the time of
publication of this article, theories on business ethical standards were lacking. The
authors looked to the communication theory of Altman & Taylor to show incite as to why
there is a problem. They used the theory to “examine the nature and structure of an
individuals ethical and moral framework.” and to also explore and “portray the
degenerations of the personal ethical code.” This work was created also to show the
future of ethical business theories. The co-authors of this article, Dr. Donald Baack, Dr.
Christine Fogliasso, and Dr. James Harris are all professors at Pittsburgh State
University. Each has been widely published in business journals. This article shows that
Bullock
3
not only is the social penetration theory applicable in the field of communication it has
real world benefits in other areas of study such as business.
Dr. Wayne E. Hensley wrote a theory comparison paper for Social Behavior and
Personality using the looking-glass-self and social penetration. He showed how
integrating Cooley’s looking-glass-self with Altman & Taylor’s social penetration can
show how depth of a relationship can change the image accuracy. He feels that
“strangers provide little objective data for us.” Yet he also states, “The most distorted
image is likely that of the stranger. Next, but for a completely different reason, is the
distortion of the intimate.” Showing that the accuracy and completeness that we see in
our looking-glass-self reflection depends on the depth of social penetration. The greatest
accuracy and completeness of image is that of a friend. Dr. Hensley is an Associate
Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Virginia Tech. He is a highly regarded
author in the study of communication theories.
In a recent academic journal article “Self-Disclosure Among Bloggers: ReExamination of Social Penetration Theory” by Jih-Hsin Tang and Cheng-Chung Wang
explored the theory as it pertains to online communication, specifically bloggers. They
used the “wedge model” of Altman and Taylor to see how it describes online
relationships. In their study they surveyed 1,027 Taiwanese bloggers and found that they
“self-disclosed nine topics (attitude, body, money, work, feelings, personal, interest,
experiences, and unclassified.)” They also asked about how much they reveal to “three
target audiences (online audience, best friend, and parents.)” They found that the
bloggers shared with their friends the most in depth and width. They also found the
female shared more then their male counterparts. The bloggers under the age of 20
discussed a “wider range of topics; however, there was no significant difference in the
depth of their disclosure.” This peer review was published CyberPsychology, Behavior
& Social Networking a leading journal, for the last 15 years, in the area of social
networking. Both Tang and Wang hold PhDs and are involved in academic research.
Jih-Hsin Tang is an Assistant Professor and National Taipei College of Business and
Cheng-Chung Wang is an Assistant Research Fellow and Academia Sinica.
Critics of the social penetration theory charge that the theory may be too
simplistic in its approach to how self-disclosure is a gauge of relational closeness. Other
Bullock
4
critics find the reward-cost analysis does not explain the difference in social penetration.
The final criticism is that the “theory doesn’t speak about the transition for me to we.”
Yet with those critiques there is still wide spread use of the theory today. The above
articles all used the social penetration theory as a starting point for their research and
findings. Each used multiple resources and references to verify their work.
The social penetration theory is still an important work today. Although the basic
theory has its critics it is used in the field of communication, psychology and business. In
a psychology class, I attended, we discussed Altman and Taylor’s onion model. Showing
how this theory has crossed to other areas. When it was first presented as a theory in
1973 the field of social media had not yet immerged. The social penetration theory has
been used to explore this new area of communication. YouTube has many videos people
have created to demonstrate the theory. Other theorist and Irwin Altman himself have
continued to explore and add to the theory. This is important in the every changing and
advancing world arena. The social penetration theory has passed the test of time and is
still very valuable in explaining human interactions today.
Bullock
5
Works Cited
Altman, Irwin, Vinsel, Anne, and Barbara B. Brown. "Dialectic Conceptions in Social
Psychology: An Application to Social Penetration and Privacy Regulation."
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. By Leonard Berkowitz. New York:
Academic., March, 22, 1982. 109-27. Print.
Baack, Donald, Christine Fogliasso, and James Harris. "The Personal Impact of Ethical
Decisions: A Social Penetration Theory." Journal of Business Ethics (2000): 3949. Kluwer Academic Publishing. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
Griffin, Emory A. "Chapter 9: Social Penetration Theory." A First Look at
Communication Theory. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. 113-24.
Print.
Hensley, Wayne E. "A Theory of the Valenced Other: The Intersection of the LookingGlass-Self and Social Penetration." Social Behavior and Personality 24.3 (1996):
293-308. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Tang, Jih-Hsin, and Cheng-Chung Wang. "Self-Disclosure Among Bloggers: ReExamination of Social Penetration Theory." CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social
Networking 15.5 (2012): 245-59. May 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.