Criticism
- The scope of the theory is limited
- Theory not fully supported by data
- Highest reciprocity may occur at middle levels; may be cycles of disclosure and reserve
- Needs take account of gender (males less open)
- Disclosure can increase as relationship deteriorates
- Single comparison (CL) index too simplistic
- In close relationships, self-centeredness lessens
- Onion metaphor: sexual; disclosure is active, usually symmetrical; self is not simply revealed but is constructed
- The original theory did not account for gender differences in vulnerability, but later research concludes that males are less open than females.
Read more about this topic: Social Penetration Theory
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst—the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“The visual is sorely undervalued in modern scholarship. Art history has attained only a fraction of the conceptual sophistication of literary criticism.... Drunk with self-love, criticism has hugely overestimated the centrality of language to western culture. It has failed to see the electrifying sign language of images.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“When you overpay small people you frighten them. They know that their merits or activities entitle them to no such sums as they are receiving. As a result their boss soars out of economic into magic significance. He becomes a source of blessings rather than wages. Criticism is sacrilege, doubt is heresy.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)