Identity and Patterns of
Communication
Based on Dimensions of Ethical DecisionMaking; K. Mills-Stewart & A. Witter-Merithew,
2006
Ethics of Interpreting
Seattle Central Community College
Brenda Aron 2010
Human Nature & Personality
Physiological: Basic survival requirements
of warmth, shelter and food
 Security: Protection from danger of threat
 Social: Relations with others, expressed
as friendship, comradeship or love
 Self-Respect: Sense of personal worth,
respect and autonomy
 Self-Actualization: Sense of achieving your
full potential
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Patterns of Communication:
Another way we can gain self-awareness
is by examining our patterns of
communication.
 Communication also plays a vital role in
the success of our relations with others.
 Effective and productive interactions are
facilitated by good interpersonal
communication.

The Johari Window
J. Luft & H. Ingham 1969, 1984
The Johari Window is a very popular and
easily understood model of communication
that is essentially an informationprocessing model.
 It can be used to illustrate the relationship
between self and others in terms of
awareness.
 There are four patterns of communication
in the Johari Window.

The Arena
I. The Arena refers to the information that
you and others both share.
 For example, a person’s hair or eye
color and occupation all fall under the
open arena.
 The more you know about yourself and
the more you reveal to others, the larger
your open arena. Communication is
open with minimal defensiveness.
The Blind Spot
II. The Blind Spot refers to the window showing
things other people know about you, but which
you do not know about yourself. It is sometimes
called the “food in the tooth” window.
 Also, included here may be such things as
physical mannerisms and certain personality
traits.
 For example, this could relate to a person
who gets angry quite easily but who sees
herself as a calm individual.
The Façade or Hidden Area
III. The Façade or Hidden Area contains things you
are aware of and have not disclosed to others. It
is information that you want to keep hidden; this
is the “skeleton in the closet” window.
 It has to do with your personal, private, self, and
includes your opinions, attitudes and biases.
 How much you keep hidden depends on how
close you are to another person; you usually
reveal more about yourself to people you trust.
 Included in the façade window may be such
things as previous bad experiences. (Cont’d)
The Façade or Hidden Area
A variation of the façade is the false
façade which are things you think are
hidden from others, but which really are
not.
 For example, you may dislike another
person, yet try to be nice; however, she
sees through your false façade and
detects the underlying hostility.

The Area of the Unknown
IV. The Area of the Unknown relates to
things neither you nor others are aware ofthings, which are usually hidden in the
unconscious.
 Yet, we know the unconscious exists
because we occasionally act out certain
behaviors and have trouble tracking back
the reasons for them.

Patterns of Communication and
The Johari Window


Change
Self-disclosure:
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A way of gaining information about another person
A way to learn about how another person thinks and
feels.
Norn of reciprocity
Mutual disclosure
A good feeling
On the next slide is a model of the Johari
Window.
The Johari Window
Known to Self
Not Known to Self
Known to
Others
I
Open or Public
Arena
II
Blind Spot
Not
Known
to Others
III
Façade or
Hidden Area
IV
Unknown
Risks to Self-Disclosure
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A person may not respond favorably to the information.
Self-disclosure does not automatically lead to favorable
impressions.
Someone disclose information about you that you did not
intend to have disclosed.
Gain power in the relationship because of the
information they have about you.
One sided self-disclosure
Use information in inappropriate ways
Too early in the relationship may damage it
Try an online quiz: You can check your answers after.
http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/interpersonal/indis
closurequiz.html
Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What do you think non-deaf people who work
with interpreters want interpreters to disclose
as part of the process of forming trust?
What about Deaf consumers?
What type of information would be
inappropriate for an interpreter to disclose as
part of the relationship building with non-deaf
customers and Deaf consumers?
What is the application of this learning to your
work as a future interpreter?
How can you use this new learning to think
about personal and professional boundaries?