 |
| Photo courtesy of https://www.behance.net/gallery/25956071/Social-Penetration-Theory-Infographic |
Where would any relationship be without good communication? If you ask me, communication is crucial. When it comes to building relationships, Interpersonal Communication is the type of communication that is best for the process of getting to know another individual. According to many researchers, Interpersonal communication, also known as IPC, is a highly popular area of communication studies to teach to students, as well as making great progress in research. IPC is the study of how people interact, how messages are chosen, and the way certain messages may be perceived when it comes to the relationship between the individuals in a conversation (McDermott,n.d.).
 |
| Photo courtesy of http://www.abeforum.com/showthread.php?25966-Appreciating-my-day/page2850 |
There are several theories that fall under IPC, but the theory that relates to me the most is the Social Penetration Theory. Many people including myself have followed the steps of this theory without even knowing that this was an actual theory. In my opinion, the Social Penetration Theory has the basic steps of getting to know somebody. The Social Penetration Theory basically explains to people the importance of self disclosure in a relationship. It tells individuals that self disclosure can take a relationship from casual to very intimate. The Social Penetration Theory was founded by Irving Altman and Dalmas Taylor and was later published in the early 1970s (McDermott, n.d.). It is also known as “the onion model.” People shed many layers of themselves as they are getting to know each other. The relationship usually starts off slow and as time passes layers start to shed, which can also lead to self disclosure and that is a big part of this theory. This happens to be one of the first theories about how changes in relationships are due to changes in patterns of communication (McDermott, n.d.). Altman and Taylor developed this theory for people to better understand how two individuals become close. They wanted it to be known that self disclosure is the focal point of developing a close relationship, which also explains the progression of relationships that start off non intimate and later end up intimate.
 |
| Photo courtesy of http://www.business2community.com/social-business/can-onion-theory-bring-social-media-lurkers-light-01169972#vc8axIg5RwIUqbyU.97 |
When two individuals first meet and go on a date, they start off slow by getting to know each other. They usually talk about where they are from, where they work, hobbies, and stuff like that. I like to compare a first date to a job interview. You are feeling a person out to see if this individual is right for the job or if they are not qualified at all. You either decide it will end right then and there or give the person another opportunity to prove themselves to you. From that point you start to get to know the person and feel comfortable around him or her. The onion starts to peel off the more you get to know that certain individual. “The theory states , people assess interpersonal rewards and costs, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, gained from interaction with others, and that the advancement of the relationship is heavily dependent on the amount and nature of the rewards and costs” (Tang&Wang,2012). Altman and Taylor believed that in order to properly self disclose, a person has to willingly open up their inner feelings. Relationships start to develop as individuals move away from the superficial layers and start moving closer towards the core layers (McDermott, n.d.). So now that I have explained the basic parts of the Social Penetration Theory and it’s relation to Interpersonal Communication, I am now going to talk about an occupation that I am hoping to have after I receive my degree and relate it to the Social Penetration Theory.
 |
| Photo courtesy of http://michelephoenix.com/2014/09/mks-and-relationships/ |
I believe that the steps used in the Social Penetration Theory can be used in any job to get to know your co-workers and clients/customers better. It is also a great tool to use when working in hospitals as nurses and doctors. It is very good to get to know your patients and to know how to talk to them in a very caring and compassionate way. My main personal goal is to earn my degree in Communication studies and work for a non profit organization. I would absolutely love to work for the Make A Wish Foundation. There are two jobs I would love to have in that particular organization. One would be working directly with the families of the children to help make their wish come true and the other would be working in the Social Medaia/IT department. Either way I would be interacting with co-workers and families of children who deserve to have their wish granted. Getting to know these people also deal with peeling that onion to get to a personal level. That’s why I believe that the Social Penetration Theory fits perfectly with this job. When you first meet someone, you share things about yourself that most already know about you. As time goes by those layers shed as you feel more comfortable sharing more details about yourself with a certain individual. This is how relationships develop. Working at a place like the Make A Wish Foundation, you will not only form relationships with your co-workers but as well as the families you will be assigned too. There are a lot of emotions involved. The families are going through a difficult time and as they share their story you may feel very comfortable sharing some things about yourself to them. The same thing goes with your co-workers. Some stories that these kids are going through may have you and your co-workers bonding in ways to help each other get through some of these sad situations that you are now involved with. There are a lot of ups and downs with this job, so getting to know the people you are involved with will really help your situation.
 |
| Photo courtesy of http://goingcrazywannago.com/2014/04/wwe-make-a-wish-foundation |
When it comes to the Social Penetration Theory, there are actually 4 layers (McDermott, n.d.). The orientation phase is when people first meet and they basically introduce themselves and talk about their jobs and/or hobbies. If I was working at Make A Wish, I would first meet with the families and talk about where I am from and get to know them better. I would talk with the child and make them feel comfortable around me. My main focus in this stage is that the child is able to talk to me and know that I am there for him or her. For example, I would find a common interest with that child. If they liked “Ninja Turtles” then I would tell them how cool I think that is and start naming the characters. This also gives the parents a sigh of relief knowing that I am good at interacting with their child. During this phase, the child may feel a little shy towards you, but that is perfectly normal. Your job is to make them feel like they can talk to you. As the orientation phase starts to fade away and you and the child/family get to know each other, you will move on to the next phase which is called the exploratory phase. In this stage, people are a little more friendly and relaxed (McDermott, n.d.). When it comes to children, they are easy to get to know. If they like you during the orientation phase then they will become friendly with you very quickly, even before that stage is over. So this next stage may be a lot easier when communicating with kids. In the exploratory stage, both individuals now feel a little more comfortable towards each other and start showing their true personalities (McDermott, n.d.). This will take us to the third stage. The affective stage is when there is a very large amount of open communication between individuals. People start to show their true and full personalities. This is where I think the kids may feel more comfortable about talking about their illness. They will explain to you how it makes them feel and what they may do to make themselves feel better. The parents may also feel more comfortable about talking about their childs illness or disability in more detail. The final stage is the stable stage and this is where all of the layers are officially peeled off and the individuals are now comfortable in self disclosing (McDermott, n.d.). At this point you should have a good relationship with the child and family where you can talk about anything. As someone who is coordinating a child's wish, you may now be able to share all your emotions with the family. You may also share personal situations you have gone through in the past that may relate to what they are going through. Being there for each other is a great part of working for this foundation. These steps also can relate to your co-workers as well. As I mentioned before, you may shed a lot of tears after really getting to know these families and the only other people that can relate to you is your co-workers. They have to go through the same type of situation you are so they understand what you are dealing with. Getting to know your co-workers through this theory can help you very much in the long run. You will be able to lean on each other and help support each other through all of the sadness. This is a very tough job due to the high emotions, but to me seeing a child smile after all they are going through makes the job well worth it. The steps taken during the Social Penetration Theory deals with finding trust in a relationship. Trust is exactly what you need when it comes to this wonderful job especially when it comes to building a relationship with the families and your co-workers.
References
McDermott, V. M. (n.d.). Interpersonal Communication Theories. Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. doi:10.4135/9781412959384.n205
Tang, J., & Wang, C. (2012). Self-Disclosure Among Bloggers: Re-Examination of Social Penetration Theory. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(5), 245-250. doi:10.1089/cyber.2011.0403
No comments:
Post a Comment