The relative impacts of disclosure and secrecy: the role of (perceived) target response

Afifi, Walid A.; Afifi, Tamara D.

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.08.015

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…This would be confession, which can make things better (Slepian & Bastian, 2017), but other times it can make matters worse (Kelly & McKillop, 1996). For example, a revealed secret could hurt another’s impression; the information could hurt feelings or damage the relationship, and the fact of having had a secret could erode trust in the relationship, and so the decision to confess must be made with care (Afifi & Afifi, 2020; Kelly, 1999).…”

Section: J Revealmentioning

confidence: 99%

A process model of having and keeping secrets.

Slepian¹

2022

Psychological Review

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Secrecy is a common and consequential human experience, and yet the literature lacks an integrative theoretical model that captures this broad experience. Whereas initial research focused on concealment (an action a person may take to keep a secret), recent literature documents the broader experience of having a secret. For instance, even if a secret is not being concealed in the moment, one's mind can still wander to thoughts of the secret with consequences for well-being. Integrating several disparate literatures, the present work introduces a new model of secrecy. Rather than define secrecy as an action (active concealment), the model defines secrecy as an intention to keep information unknown by one or more others. Like any other intention, secrecy increases sensitivity to internal or external cues related to the intention. Critically, secret-relevant thoughts are cued in one of two broad contexts: (a) during a social interaction that calls for concealment, and (b) the situations outside of those social interactions, where concealment is not required. Having a secret come to mind in these two very different situations evokes a set of distinct processes and outcomes. Concealment (enacting one's secrecy intention) predicts monitoring, expressive inhibition, and alteration, which consumes regulatory resources and may result in lower interaction quality. Mind-wandering to the secret (when concealment is not required) involves passively thinking about the content of the secret. Engagement with these thoughts may lead to repetitive thinking and rumination, reflection on how one feels about the secret, efforts to cope, or specific plans for how to handle the secret. The model brings together a number of literatures with implications for secrecy, identity concealment, relationships, mind-wandering, coping, health and well-being.

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Section: J Revealmentioning

confidence: 99%

A process model of having and keeping secrets.

Slepian¹

2022

Psychological Review

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“…Culture, the shared but taken-for-granted, values, routines, and practices within a community (Sewell, 1999), is believed to shape communication behaviors through influencing interpersonal cognitions and language patterns (W.A. Afifi & Afifi, 2020; Hui & Triandis, 1986; Triandis et al, 1988; Zhao et al, 2012). People in different cultures have different conceptualizations and expressions of intimacy, leading to varying patterns of self-disclosure (G.M.…”

Section: Potential Moderatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-disclosure in social media and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis

Chu

Sun

Jiang

2022

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Self-disclosure in social media and psychological well-being have been theorized to mutually influence each other. The vibrant research on this issue, however, presents mixed results, calling for a synthesis of the empirical evidence. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis with 38 empirical studies to systematically examine the nature of the relationship between social media self-disclosure and psychological well-being. We adopted a multidimensional perspective of self-disclosure to scrutinize how the quantity (amount and depth) and quality (intent, valence, and honesty) dimensions of self-disclosure were associated with psychological well-being. The results indicated that valence and honesty of self-disclosure were moderately and positively associated with psychological well-being, but the quantity of self-disclosure was not significantly associated with psychological well-being. Participants’ gender, age, and cultural context of the studies significantly moderated the associations between some dimensions of self-disclosure and psychological well-being. Based on the meta-analysis results, we reassessed theoretical claims on self-disclosure in social media and suggested directions for future research.

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“…Discussion: Toward an understanding of the complex pathways between tactical concealment and relational wellbeing Contrary to discourses of concealment as being detrimental to wellness (e.g. Afifi and Afifi, 2020;Larson et al, 2015) or shameful (Askins and Blazek, 2017;Elraz, 2018;Smith and Ulus, 2020), our findings lead to our first contribution; tactical concealment can be used to enact relational forms of wellbeing in academic life. Our findings contribute to the emerging evidence and theorization of relational forms of wellbeing by highlighting that relational wellbeing, along with its roots and impact, can be relatively hidden.…”

Section: Late Career Concealmentsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Hiding in plain sight: Exploring the complex pathways between tactical concealment and relational wellbeing

et al. 2023

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We argue that the current environment in higher education is one of the primary drivers for the widespread adoption of concealment tactics with the aim of enhancing wellbeing. To explore the relationship between concealment and wellbeing, we draw upon Scott’s conceptualization of “hidden transcripts” and Keyes’s five dimensions of social wellbeing. Using a collaborative ethnographic approach, we examine a 2-year period of individual and collective inquiry by an eclectic multidisciplinary, international group of academics. Our empirical and theoretical contributions expose a complex and, at times, seemingly contradictory relationship between tactical concealments and relational wellbeing, with variously generative and destructive pathways between them. Our research offers a lens through which we can critically explore and extend our understanding of alternative pathways to wellbeing in organizational life.

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The relative impacts of disclosure and secrecy: the role of (perceived) target response

Cited by 22 publications

References 41 publications

A process model of having and keeping secrets.

A process model of having and keeping secrets.

Self-disclosure in social media and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis

Hiding in plain sight: Exploring the complex pathways between tactical concealment and relational wellbeing

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