Social Penetration Theory Analysis

From my opinion, the communication discipline should not establish one core communication theory, as I had learn from this course until now, I can conclude that every theory are very important. These theories connect directly and also indirectly to one another. According to Frank Dance(1967), in Em, G. (2012), the University of Denver scholar credited for publishing the first comprehensive book on communication theory, cataloged more than 120 definitions of communication- and that was more than 40 years ago. In addition, Michigan Tech University communication professor Jennifer Slack(2006), in Em Griffin(2012) , said that “there is no single, absolute essence of communication that adequately explains the phenomena we study. Such a definition

Besides exchanging information, communication is a social process in which individuals employ symbols to establish and interpret meaning in their environment. Will you interpret or tell others about yourself to a strangers? Therefore, from here, I can bring out the“Social Penetration Theory”. As we know, we need time to build up a relationship and at the begining to build up a relationship is through communication. Is there any possibility that we can bulid an intimate relationship with a person we just know or met? Normally, the answer is no, a relationship will moves from superficial to more intimate and this process is calls social penetration. Is this theory important to communication? Yes, from this theory, we can know that communication can make our relatipnship with others become more intimate but it will also can make the relationship between each other depenetrate. We can also clearly see the different when we interact and communicate with the people we have intimate relationship and the people with non-intimate relationship from the 4 dimensions of intimacy. There are physical, intellectual, emotional and shared activities. A person which have the intimate relationship, such as our parents. We do not mind they hug us, we feel free to express oue intellectual and emotion to them. We will also share activities with them. Everything about us, we are willing and feel happy to share with them, but this normally will not happen when

How far is the distance? This distances are known as personal space, under “Expectancy Violation Theory”(EVT). EVT also emphasizes on the perception when we interact in a particular situation with others. When we interact and communicate with others, we will have the expectation on others action. Therefore, when the people do not react what we expect, that is call expectation violation. Even you think that you do not have any expectation when you communicate with others, but that is, for example, when you invite your friends to have dinner together, you will expect that he will go, but he reject your invatation. Therefore this is the expectancy violation. This theory is under the nonverbal communication. Actually, this theory has a direct interrelationship with the “Social Penetration Theory” (SPT). Judee Burgoon(1989), in Richard West and Lynn H. Turner (2016), said that how our expectation to others will direct influence the distance between us and the people we communicate. As we know, SPT is about the intimacy, thus the distance also reflect the intimacy between each