Self-disclosure in dyads as a function of distance and the subject-experimenter relationship.

Abstract

In a factorial design, 72 subjects answered questions of low, moderate, and high intimacy value at one of three distances from an experimenter who either adopted a neutral manner, induced liking, or disclosed about himself. Argyle and Dean's "distance-equilibrium" hypothesis was supported. When answering questions of low and moderate intimacy value, subjects placed in close proximity to the experimenter spent significantly less time in self-disclosure than did subjects placed further away. Jourard and Friedman's assertion that subjects who liked the experimenter would disclose more when distance was reduced was called into question, while their finding that subjects disclosed more following experimenter self-disclosure was replicated. However, subjects exposed to the positive affect induction, who reported increased liking for the experimenter, disclosed no more than subjects in the neutral condition, and the effect of distance was independent of the relationship effect. The results suggest that modeling, rather than liking or "distance, " accounts for Jourard and Friedman 's finding.