JOHARI WINDOW
The Johari Window, named after its creators Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, depicts aspects of interpersonal interaction in an easy to understand graphic way.
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For many of us, ever since we were little children, we have been conditioned by our parents, teachers and 'society' to keep our feelings very private, hidden from the view of others. Some of us learned these lessons so well that we frequently are able to keep many of our feelings from ourselves.

JOHARI WINDOW is a structure that deals with self-inquiry, self-awareness, and the extent to which that information is shared between people.

1. Public Self
The PUBLIC pane of the window contains those things in my life that I know about myself and that you also know about me. Things like my gender, height and approximate weight, or other messages that I intentionally convey to other people like you.

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This is my basic public personality. A very private person such as a hermit might always maintain a narrow PUBLIC pane, and conversely a strong extrovert might quickly share lots and lots with others quickly.

2. Private Self
The PRIVATE pane of the window is my collection of things that I keep to myself. These might include my favorite brand of chocolate or my erotic preferences.

I can choose not to share these parts of myself with others because I may consider these private. . . or I might consider these parts to be secrete because I fear sharing them with another. As I begin to trust, I am no longer afraid, and so may choose to make my feelings more visible to others.
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3. The Blind Self
The BLIND pane of the window is occasionally called the 'bad breath' quadrant. You know this about me, but I don't know it about myself. In the course of our interactions you might choose to tell me things in this quadrant. The advantage of having friends is that my BLIND quadrant shrinks by others telling me about myself.

4. Undiscovered or Unknown Self
The UNKNOWN pane of the window is that which is hidden from me and from you, even though it may affect our relationship. It's potentially the most explosive quadrant when someone doesn't know exactly who they are.

and so . . .

  • the way to decrease "hidden self" and increase "open self" is through
    the process of self disclosure, self revelation or testimonial.
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  • by becoming more trustful and disclosing information about ourselves
    (truthful) we reduce potential conflict and theoretically acquire more peace.
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  • On the other hand, self-disclosure is at risk for the individual and the
    outcome, must therefore, be worth the cost.
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  • the other person in the equation, must give feedback and that person must
    also use it, for the process to work. Feedback is most effective when it's:
    • Solicited rather than Imposed
    • Observational - not Judgemental
    • Timely & Immediate
    • Specific rather than General