Dalmas Taylor

Dalmas A. Taylor was an American psychologist who, with Irwin Altman, developed social penetration theory in 1973 following a shared research assistantship at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Published in the book Social Penetration: The Development of Interpersonal Relationships, the theory holds that close relationships develop gradually through a reciprocal exchange of self-disclosure, moving from superficial to more intimate layers much like the layers of an onion. Taylor earned a master of science degree from Howard University and completed his doctoral training at the University of Delaware. Later in his career he shifted his research toward group behavior, the psychological roots of racism, and the inclusion of ethnic minorities in higher education, and he went on to hold academic administrative positions, including at the University of Maryland from 1970 to 1986. He died in January 1998 at the age of 64.