The Effects of Bounded Self-Disclosure on In-Group Identification: A Vignette Study

Self-disclosure has been associated with positive group level benefits. Based on a Social Identity Theory of Information-Access Regulation (SITIAR), this study seeks to add to the existing literature on the benefits of self-disclosure in a group context. Self-disclosure is said to be bounded when it has a third party which is withheld from the information. It is theorized that a group will realize greater benefits from a self-disclosure when the bounds of the self-disclosure include the group. Utilizing experimental vignette methodology (EVM), we show that a recipient of self-disclosure realizes a greater degree of individual self-stereotyping when the self-disclosure includes the entire group (N=167). As a result of greater individual self-stereotyping, the recipient’s feeling of in-group identification is increased, which will likely lead to greater group functioning.