Perceptions of Solicited Versus Unsolicited Self-Disclosure

Jacobson and Anderson\u27s non-empirically-based pilot observations for their 1982 study revealed that subjects tended to give high ratings of social skill to those individuals who self-disclosed only when directly solicited to do so and who tended to avoid unsolicited self-references. The present study hypothesized that Individuals who gave only solicited self-disclosures would receive higher ratings of social skillfulness, social appropriateness, and Interpersonal attraction than Individuals who give only unsolicited self-disclosures. In the present study, classes of male and female students taking general education courses were randomly assigned to listen to one of four audio taped scenarios which consisted of one male and one female actor conversing. In each tape, one actor was giving either solicited or unsolicited self-disclosure to the opposite-sexed non-discloser. After subjects had listened to the audiotape, they rated both the discloser and non-discloser on the three dimensions of social appropriateness, social skillfulness, and interpersonal attractiveness. A three-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to determine the existence of significant relationships within the data. This analysis confirmed the hypothesis that unsolicited self-disclosers would receive lower ratings of social appropriateness and Interpersonal attraction than solicited self-disclosers; however, they did not receive lower ratings of social skillfulness. Also, the present study did not reveal the presence of sex differences