Openers: Individuals who elicit intimate self-disclosure.

Abstract

An Opener Scale that measures the tendency to "open up" or elicit intimate disclosure from others is introduced. In a face-to-face dyadic interaction between strangers in a laboratory study, women who scored either high or low on the Opener Scale were paired with other women who scored either high or low on a self-disclosure index. Low disclosers revealed more to high openers than to low openers. However, high disclosers were equally intimate with both types of partner. In a field study, acquaintances and friends were more willing to disclose to high openers than to low openers. Implications of the results for future research on self-disclosure are discussed.

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