Social Penetration Theory

Social penetration theory proposes that interpersonal communication moves from relatively shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, more intimate ones as relationships develop, using an onion metaphor to describe how people reveal deeper parts of themselves as a relationship grows; intimacy depends on what people choose to share and how they think a partner will respond. The theory was formulated by psychologists Irwin Altman of the University of Utah and Dalmas Taylor of the University of Delaware in 1973 to understand the development of relationships between individuals, and holds that relationship development progresses through stages of increasing breadth and depth of self-disclosure, shaped by uncertainty reduction, disclosure reciprocity and the assessment of rewards and costs, while also allowing for de-penetration, in which some relationships regress and eventually end. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/