Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review

Disclosing makes people like you, being liked makes people disclose, and disclosing to someone makes you like them.

Collins, N. L. & Miller, L. C. (1994). Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 457–475.

Type

Journal article

Find it

doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.457

Checked

Against the abstract, 15 September 2026

Why it is on the list

A meta-analysis found all three disclosure–liking effects: intimate disclosers are liked more, people disclose more to people they already like, and people come to like those they have disclosed to. The effects depend on the kind of disclosure and the setting. Week 9 uses this as the engine of escalation, and as the reason receiving a disclosure well is itself a move.