Throughout the course of our life we encounter many people and communicate with many. Some of these relationships can have lasting impacts and some can just be temporary. There are levels and stages to how we develop relationships and to the extent of how we maintain them. One theory that introduces use to this idea is the "Social Penetration Theory". The Social Penetration Theory is a theory developed to explain the difference in communication in relation to the depth of interpersonal relationships. .
This theory was developed in 1973, by psychologists Irwin Altman, and Dalmas Taylor. Their theory states, Relationships begin to deepen through self-disclosure. For example, in the beginning people establish relationships by disclosing simple or harmless facts through small talk. This could be like introducing yourself to a coworker on your new job, or starting a conversation with someone at a business meeting. Over time when you feel more acquainted with someone and your relationship grows, you then begin to disclose less information. This process was first described by Altman and Taylor as peeling back onions possessing breadth and depth. Breadth being the different aspects in a person's life such as work, school, family etc., and depth being the details about each. The outer layers would detail physical appearance and the inner layer would detail the most intimate details of the person's life. It is described as each time someone self discloses, a layer peels back.
There are 5 stages to self-disclosure. The first 2 are generally develop in the beginning of a relationship. In the orientation stage, this generally is referred to as the small talk, when you introduce yourself to someone and speak just to keep conversation going. In that stage you do not disclose any sort of personal information. The second stage would be the exploratory affective stage, in this stage communicators reveal more about their selves such as opinions and interest like sports and politics.
