Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 6: Revealing and Hiding Ourselves: Self-Disclosure and Privacy
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Someone wearing a religious necklace could be disclosing something about
his or her religious beliefs. Someone posting pictures of their significant other is
disclosing relationship information. However, according to the text, most self–
disclosure is ______.
A. unintentional
B. mediated
C. multifaceted
D. verbal
2. ______ occurs when a person tells her partner something private, and her
partner responds by sharing something private too.
A. Dyadic effect
B. Conflict management
C. Veracity
D. Emotional support
3. When are people more apt to self-disclose?
A. in face-to-face situations
B. after a few drinks
C. when they are happy
D. in mediated contexts
4. Altman and Taylor’s social penetration theory is often modeled using which
food?
A. peach
B. garlic
C. sandwich
D. onion
5. Altman and Taylor’s social penetration theory includes six dimensions of self–
disclosure. ______ refers to how honest or truthful the disclosure is.
A. Frequency
B. Breadth
C. Veracity
D. Depth
6. The valence of self-disclosure refers to ______.
A. how intimate the self-disclosure is
B. how often people self-disclose
C. the range of topics people can talk about
D. how positive or negative the self-disclosure is
7. The frequency of self-disclosure refers to ______.
A. how often people self-disclose
B. how positive or negative the self-disclosure is
C. how truthful the disclosure is
D. how long people disclose to one another
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
8. If someone’s disclosure is high in breadth, depth, and duration, but is low in
frequency, this is indicative of which phenomenon?
A. the honeymoon bias
B. the stranger on the plane phenomenon
C. the egocentric bias
D. the coworker disclosure phenomenon
9. As relationships develop and become closer, ______.
A. breadth and depth increase together, and valence becomes increasingly
positive
B. breadth increases before depth, and valence starts out positive but later
becomes mixed
C. depth increases before breadth, and valence becomes increasingly positive
D. breadth and depth increase together, and valence starts out positive but later
becomes mixed
10. Rhona would like to tell her best friend that she cheated on her SATs to get
into college, but she’s worried that if she does, her friend won’t think she is
intelligent and won’t like or trust her anymore. Which of the following best
indicates the fear that Rhona is experiencing?
A. fear of exposure or rejection
B. fear of retaliation or angry responses
C. fear of loss of control
D. fear of losing one’s individuality
11. Which of the following statements best describes the liking-disclosure
hypothesis?
A. People disclose more when they like someone.
B. People tend to like those who disclose to them.
C. It is a “turn off” when people disclose too much too early.
D. Liking is most likely to occur when disclosure is reciprocated.
12. The dyadic effect for self-disclosure is strongest ______.
A. in the initial stages of relationship development
B. in long-term committed relationships
C. in family relationships
D. when people dislike each other
13. The theory by Petronio that explains how people negotiate their need for
privacy is called ______.
A. structural avoidance theory
B. communication privacy management theory
C. collaborative boundary negotiation theory
D. obsessive relational intrusion theory
14. Boundary structures are based on privacy ownership, privacy control, and
privacy ______.
A. management
B. openness
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. permeability
D. turbulence
15. Marianne and her two daughters work together to keep a family secret from
ever being known to anyone but the three of them. The process of working
together relates to the concept of ______.
A. boundary turbulence
B. cooperation
C. ownership
D. hyperaccessibility
16. Petronio and Harriman reported that students were likely to react in a
confrontational manner toward a parent who had violated their privacy if ______.
A. their parent called them to “talk about it”
B. they caught the parent in the act of snooping through their things
C. they thought the parent was fishing for information
D. a sibling told them their parent had been in their room
17. Diba and her mother have had several discussions about her curfew. They
cannot come to an agreement. When Diba is at home during college breaks, she
and her mother don’t talk about it anymore because they feel it is a waste of time.
This is an example of ______.
A. communication inefficacy
B. futility of discussion
C. partner unresponsiveness
D. identity management
18. The authors of the textbook note that people often do not publicize privacy
needs directly because communicating privacy needs in intimate relationships
can be difficult. What is the reason for this difficulty?
A. Privacy needs can only be communicated verbally, not nonverbally.
B. Privacy needs signal a desire for time away from one’s partner.
C. Intimate partners tend to guess at privacy needs before one communicates
them.
D. Strict schedules of autonomy and connection are difficult to keep.
19. The breadth of self-disclosure refers to ______.
A. how intimate the self-disclosure is
B. how often people self-disclose
C. the range of topics people can talk about
D. how positive or negative the self-disclosure is
20. Self-disclosure in a relationship ______.
A. is rarely a mix of positives and negatives
B. should be positive
C. is usually reciprocal
D. often halts the development of closeness
21. What is the result of intrafamily secrets?
A. They alleviate stress in relationships.
B. They encourage concealment of relational problems.
C. They increase the breadth of communication.
D. They prevent too much information from being divulged.
22. When someone posts information of a personal nature on a publicly
accessible site, it is ______.
A. self-disclosure
B. personalistic disclosure
C. self-indulgent
D. nondirected self-disclosure
23. In a long-distance relationship, disclosure is ______.
A. often delayed
B. usually rare or nonexistent
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. mainly done on Skype
D. often more negative than in face–to-face situations
24. Anna and Jeremy saved their money to buy their parents a very special gift
for their anniversary. They are not telling anybody else in their family about it.
They want it to be a big surprise! They are keeping a/an ______ secret.
A. whole-family
B. intrafamily
C. individual
D. interfamily
25. The single biggest motivator leading to avoidance of a particular issue with a
partner is ______.
A. relationship maintenance
B. relational privacy
C. relationship protection
D. relationship escalation
True/False
1. People feel obligated to respond to nondirected self-disclosure.
2. People are most likely to respond to blog if it contains personal self-disclosure.
3. People rarely engage in topic avoidance or secret keeping when they believe
that talking about a particular topic would be futile.
4. Personality often guides disclosure decisions.
5. Women tend to disclose somewhat more than men, particularly on intimate
topics.
6. Successful boundary management seldom requires cooperation between
people.
7. People rarely develop penalties for group or dyad members who violate the
boundary structure.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
8. Boundary turbulence occurs when new events force renewed boundary
management in close relationships.
9. Secret keeping involves intentional efforts to keep information away from
others.
10. Topic avoidance is rare in close relationship.
Essay
1. Altman and Taylor developed the social penetration theory. According to their
theory, self-disclosure has six dimensions and three layers. Discuss how the
dimensions and layers function in their model. Explain how self-disclosure
influences a relationship.
2. How do individual secrets differ from whole-family secrets? What are some of
the consequences of each?
3. Secret keeping can have positive and negative consequences. Explain three
negative effects secret keeping can have on relationships?
4. Most of the time, self-disclosure helps us move our relationship to a more
intimate level. However, the process of self-disclosure is a risky one. Discuss
three of the risks associated with self-disclosure.
5. Discuss five types of parental privacy violations. What are some common
reactions to such violations?
6. There are six general topics that are commonly avoided in close relationships.
Select three of them and discuss how avoiding the topic contributes to or harms
the relationship.