Parker 1

Angelica Parker

Professor East

Interpersonal Communications

23 March 2009

Question #1

Imagine putting five students from completely different social groups in one room

together. Differences and quarrels are bound to break out between them as they all try to get to

know one anther. This is exactly what happens in the 1985 movie “The Breakfast Club.” In the

movie, leading characters Andrew, the jock; Brian, the nerd; Bender, the criminal; Claire, the

princess; and Allison, the psycho girl are each stereotyped by the way the dress and socialize.

When they all end up in a weekend detention time, these students encounter their differences but

eventually pour out their hearts to one another. Each student ends up having to weigh the con’s

and pro’s of self-disclosure, and reveal about themselves as they see fit. There are several con’s

and pro’s to self disclosure, as seen in the examples of the students in “The Breakfast Club.”

When deciding the con’s and pro’s to self-disclosure, it is important to first realize the

con’s and the consequences that come with them. The three most common con’s are personal,

relationship, and professional risks that people face. A personal risk is when a person is

disclosing information about their personal life, and faces the possibility of rejection form others.

Unfortunately, not all people agree on certain things, especially controversial topics like morals,

religion, and politics. These controversial topics and other personal topics can sometimes cause

a person’s friends and family members to reject that person. In addition, people also face

relationship risks where the question of total self disclosure is difficult because it can decrease

trust and have negative effects. Sometimes honesty is not the best policy when it comes to any

relationship because the way that other person see’s you could be distorted. Lastly, professional

risks are one of the common con’s in self disclosure. Professional risks are when a person
 Parker 2

exercises caution when discussing controversial topics with their boss, other employee’s,

customers in the work force. Discussing political, religious, and or racial attitudes in the work

force could lead to controversies and potential loss of jobs. The three most common types of

con’s involved with self disclosure are personal, relationship, and professional risks.

In the movie, one of the characters demonstrated examples of a personal risk involved

with self disclosure. Claire, who could be stereotyped as the princess or popular girl, was

embarrassed at first when revealing whether or not she was a virgin. It was clear during this

scene in the movie, that Claire had a fear of possible rejection from her peers if she told them she

was a virgin. Claire delt with this personal risk by discussing it out loud with her peers. She first

started by saying she would not tell them whether she was and then eventually decided to reveal

to them that she was. Claire decided that her personal risk of telling her other peers the truth was

something she could live with. The con to this risk for her was some of her peers laughing and

being in shock, and ultimately revealing to her other peers that she hated the image she had to

keep up. One of the most common types of con’s involved in self disclosure is the personal risk,

as demonstrated by Claire in the movie.

Fortunately, there are pro’s to self disclosure, and they do come with positive benefits for

both the person disclosing information and the listener. The three most common pro’s or benefits

to self disclosure are self-knowledge, communication effectiveness, and psychological health.

Self-knowledge is when the person disclosing whatever information gains a new perspective or

better understanding about himself or herself. This is a benefit for that person because it can

allow them to get a new perspective on something like a difficult decision. Moreover, a person

can also gain a better understanding of how or why they do things they way they do, thus better

preparing themselves for the future.

 Parker 3

Next, communication effectiveness is when self disclosure is received in a good way by

the listener, and a closer relationship between those peopleis developed. This is one of the pro’s

because it allows for a closer more deeper relationship. In romantic relationships,

communication effectiveness allows for an increase in feelings for the other partner. Lastly,

psychological health is definitely one of the pro’s in self disclosure because it means that

physical illness is less likely to occur. Psychological trauma and stress is bound to happen to

everyone, but it is not necessary to keep all of that inside like burden. When people choose to

use self disclosure to tell others about their trauma and stress they are helping with their

psychological health because this helps them heal. Because of telling others, these people are

less likely to become ill and feel depressed because they no longer have to carry that

psychological burden.

An example of communication effectiveness was shown in “The Breakfast Club” when

romantic relationships were developed between fourof the characters. Characters Bender and

Claire developed a romantic relationship after a long day of listening to one another be honest

about different areas of their lives. Bender and Claire both benefited from one of the pro’s of self

disclosure, and now must think about the possible relationship risk involved with total self

disclosure. In addition, characters Brian and stereotypical psycho girl Allison also entered into a

romantic relationship. Brain effectively communicated his feelings toward Allison when he told

her how beautiful he thought she was after she got a makeover from Claire. As a result, Allison

revealed her feelings as well and they began what appeared to be a romantic relationship in the

end of the movie. These characters all demonstrated examples of how communication

effectiveness is one of the pro’s in self disclosure.

In “The Breakfast Club”, five students in high school are put into a situation where they

are all forced to weigh the con’s and pro’s of self disclosure. Three of the most common con’s in
 Parker 4

self disclosure are personal, relationship, and professional risks. In the movie, Claire

demonstrated an example of going through a personal risk in self disclosure. Thankfully, there

are pro’s to self disclosure, and those are self-knowledge, communication effectiveness, and

psychological health. Four of the characters in the movie demonstrated that communication

effectiveness is one of the pro’s because they all benefited from gaining romantic relationships.

Overall, self disclosure is a difficult thing to try to debate in any relationship whether it is with

family, friends, or romantic partners. The characters in “The Breakfast Club” certainly

understand both the con’s and pro’s involved as they all learned they were all alike despite their

stereotypes.