Self-Disclosure

I found the concept self-disclosure from this week's chapter to be interesting and helpful because through self-disclosure which reveals information about ourselves that others may not be able to find out on their own, is an imperative way for us to learn more about ourselves. As the text mentions, as we disclose information about ourselves such as our goals, our hopes, dreams, our fears, we gain a whole new perspective and insight based on how others react and respond to us. There is a model in the text on page 57 which is called The Johari Window which shows a a square(window) with four smaller squares within them. There is the open area which is known to others and known to self. There is the blind area which is known to others but unknown to self. There is the hidden area which is unknown to others and known to self, and there is the unknown area which is unknown to others and also unknown to self. This window helps shows how we portray and convey ourselves to others which can help those around us to understand what we are like, or it can blind them and even our self because what may be unknown to others, can me known to ourselves. However, if we are either afraid to show others other sides of us because we are afraid to disclose information about ourselves that can either hinder others from getting to know the real us or sometimes it is best for us to disclose minimal information about ourselves depending on who we will be disclosing the information to and what the information is about.