Social Penetration Theory 
Does Anybody Think It Smells In Here?
A Discussion by: Melanie Hackett
When was the last time that you sat inside a crowded room; yet, felt all alone? Does this sound familiar and does it happen often? Do not fret; the uncertainities you are experiencing are explained by the Social Penetration Theory. Revert to the scene with a crowded room and your loneliness, when you converse with somebody don't you begin to feel better? When you reveal personal information about yourself, and the other person reciprocates your actions, you open up, relax, and begin to feel more comfortable. Irwin Altman and Dalmus Taylor describe people's personalities to that of an onion. For a summary depicting Altman and Taylor's Social Penetration Theory follow me. The more you talk about yourself allows other people to advance closer to your "inner core."
"So what," you may think, "are you trying to tell me that I stink like an onion?" My answer to that question is NO!!! I tell you this information because I agree with Altman and Taylors' thoughts in respect to the Social Penetration Theory. I have encountered a few situations in which I felt uncomfortable and out of place. Looking around, I felt overwhelmed and nervous. I did not know anybody. Suddenly, the man next to me dropped his beer on me and from there we proceed to talk. Even though I was drenched, I pursued the conversation even further. I gently probed personal questions while, at the same time, answering the same questions along with him. I tell you this information because I think that if you openly speak about yourself, you will find that you have a lot in common with other people.
Relating back to the onion, with every piece of information you self-disclose, you remove an outer peel of your "onion". Social Penetration Theory is classified as a scientific theory. When I think of a scientific theory, I think of something that can be tested in some fashion. You can test the Social Penetration Theory numerous ways, including surveys. For more information concerning empirical research Click here to go to Sarah Hankner's research report on the subject of research methods and validity criteria. Communication theorists attempt to find similarities amongst unique individuals. The reason this theory is labeled as a scientific approach is because universally, all individuals react in a somewhat similar manner. According to EM Griffin in A First Look At Communication Theory a good scientific theory must include several aspects. I will travel through the points and evaluate whether I feel that the Social Penetration Theory can truthfully call itself a theory.
The first point of reference is "explanation of data". I feel that the Social Penetration follows this aspect. This theory explains the behavior of self-disclosure and the level of closeness that coincides with the amount of self-disclosure. This particular theory does an excellent job of explaining the process as well as the result. Altman and Taylor ran numerous studies entailing different people and different levels of self-disclosure.
A second standard to finding out how good a theory is involves "prediction of future events". The Social Penetration Theory does this. The prediction was that the more personal information a person offers about themself, the closer they will become. The prediction has been proven correct. Thus far, the Social Penetration Theory Theory is holding up!
The third requirement is "relative simplicity". This is one of the simplest theories that I have come across so far. I can explain it in my own words, and easily understood it the first time that I was introduced to it. Throughout my college career, I have noticed that everything seems harder than it really is. Sometimes when people try to oversimplify things they just cause more confusion; yet, with the Social Penetration Theory there is no need for that--it is already simple enough.
The fourth standard is "hypotheses that can be tested". The original wonder was if self-disclosure had an impact on the closeness between two people. This was their hypothesis and it can easily be tested in numerous ways. For instance, you could run experiments, surveys, or, have people fill out secret questionnaires. In my opinion, the best plausible way is to run experiments. This provides the most accurate results when dealing with a group of people.
Finally, the fifth and final standard when testing a theory is its "practical utility". How useful is this? Well, I think that this is extremely useful because everybody needs to talk to another being to release energy, or just to chat friendly. As humans we need to express ourselves and one way is to converse with another person.
Well, there you have it The Social Penetration Theory held up against Griffin's tough criteria in respect to the goodness of a theory. I am sure that you will agree with me that this theory is extremely easy to understand because it just makes sense. I encourage you to go speak with a person, whom you do or do not know, and just talk. Create a meaningful relationship or deepen one that already exists.
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To read about a theory related to Social Penetration click here and see fascinating pages about Uncertainty Reduction Theory.