The Concept of Self-disclosure in Initial Interaction Between Strangers in Japan

Abstract

The study of self-disclosure initiated by Jourard in psychology has developed into a central concept in the field of communication in the United States. Self-disclosure is viewed as an important communication act, and numerous studies have examined the relationship between selfdisclosure and other communication concepts such as

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Upward Compliance-Gaining Strategies: U.S.A. and Japan

“…Lastly, while the purpose of using a six-point scale was to avoid Japanese tendency to rate a mid point (Sugita, 1992), using a six-point scale might not be reliable for these particular question items taken from Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson's (1980) The results indicated that group members who have not developed intimate relationships yet, who are in a shortterm, task-oriented situation, would select safer or relatively friendly compliance-gaining strategies instead of more risky ones. Accordingly, both U.S. and Japanese subjects used more rationalization and ingratiation to gain compliance than exchange of benefits or assertion.…”

“…The original research packet was written in English and translated into Japanese for the Japanese subjects by the researcher. It was assumed that this would make reading of the scenario easier for the Japanese subjects (Sugita, 1992). It also may provide a more accurate and uniformed reading than English, since the ability of Japanese subjects to read English varies (Sugita, 1992…”

International Students' Experiences in Higher Education: A Case Study Examining Uncertainty Reduction Theory in Communication Classrooms

“…An additional concern that may have kept researchers from approaching such a topic is the knowledge that verbal self-disclosure is a Western construct which is not completely transferable to all other cultures. Researchers who have considered selfdisclosure cross-culturally are Sugita (1992), who studied the concept in relation to interaction between strangers in Japan, and Gudykunst and Nishida (1984), who conducted a comparison of subjects from Japan and the U.S. While both studies examined verbal self-disclosure with Japanese subjects, only Sugita acknowledged that there is a nonverbal feature to self-disclosure.…”