Decisions about self-disclosure-whether to reveal one's thoughts, feel-
ings, or past experiences to another person, or the level of intimacy of
such disclosure-are part of the everyday life of most persons. The
nature of the decisions that a person makes will have an impact on his
or her life. They will determine the kinds of relationships the person
has with others; how others perceive him or her; and the degree of self-
knowledge and awareness that the person possesses. The study of
self-disclosure has interested specialists from many disciplines,
including personality and social psychologists, clinical and counseling
psychologists, and communications researchers. Our book brings together
the work of experts from these various disciplines with the hope that
knowledge about work being done on self-disclosure in related
disciplines will be increased. A strong emphasis in each of the chapters
is theory development and the integration of ideas about
self-disclosure. The book's chapters explore three major areas,
including the interrelationship of self-disclosure and personality as
well as the role of self-disclosure in the development, maintenance, and
deterioration of personal relationships, and the con- tribution of
self-disclosure to psychotherapy, marital therapy, and counseling.