Social Penetration Theory in How I Met Your Mother
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SOCIAL PENETRATION THEORY IN HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Javier Ogaz Submitted in partial fulfillment of COMM 451 Communication Theory Robert R. Mendenhall 10 April 2015 SOCIAL PENETRATION THEORY IN HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Social penetration theory is one of the most common and key communication theories in the field of communication and it can be used to understand why people intentionally share personal information with others. A great example of how this theory plays out with people of different backgrounds and personalities is CBS' hit comedy "How I Met Your Mother." The show began in 2005 and aired its last episode in 2014. To summarize the show, the main character (Ted Mosby) is telling his kids the story of how he met their mother in the year 2030. Throughout the progression of the show, Ted tells his kids of all the wacky and crazy adventures he had with his friends Marshall Eriksen, Lily Aldrin, Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky. In my opinion, this show was successful because of the character development and I believe social penetration theory explains to us why many fans of the show felt a "closeness" and a type of connection to each of the characters. "Social psychologists Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor proposed a social penetration process that explains how relational closeness develops."1 They suggested that "people are like onions" in the sense that there is a multilayered structure of personality. Altman & Taylor say that the outer layers are what the world sees, which are characteristics such as gender, age, occupation, and hobbies. The inner layers are what people don't see and are typically more vulnerable. This includes things such as goals, religious beliefs, fears, and self concept. Social penetration theory explains "the process of developing deeper intimacy with another person through mutual selfdisclosure and other forms of vulnerability."2 In other words, it gives us insight into why people grow close with one another and how this closeness is achieved. The definition given for social penetration theory states that there must be selfdisclosure and other forms of vulnerability.3 Selfdisclosure is "the voluntary sharing of personal history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets,etc., with another person." Selfdisclosure is one of the forms one can be vulnerable, but what are the other forms of vulnerability? There isn't exactly a sure way to tell. One can be vulnerable in many ways, but one aspect of life that leads to vulnerability comes to mind and that is dating. Dating can make a person vulnerable in many ways. In order to grow close to the person, you eventually tell them your likes, dislikes, goals, dreams, and deep dark secrets. Telling another person your precious personal information leaves you vulnerable to anything they might do. You just have to trust that they will never use that information against you. This is how trust forms, not just in dating, but in any relationship. Dating and relationships, be it friendly or 1 Griffin, Emory A. "Social Penetration Theory of Irwin Altman & Dalmas Taylor." A First Look at Communication Theory. 6th ed. (Boston: McGrawHill, 2006), 114 2 Ibid, 114. 3 Ibid, 114. amorous, is what the show How I Met Your Mother is mostly about, thus making it a perfect example of social penetration theory. Now that we have a small introduction to social penetration theory, I want to expand on How I Met Your Mother and give an overview of it. The show is about hopeless romantic Ted Mosby's infinite quest to find the love of his life. The show begins with Ted meeting up with his friend Barney at Maclaren's pub, their usual hangout spot. He is hanging out with Barney and thinking about his life because his two friends, Marshall and Lily, were getting engaged. He looks across the room only to see find himself at who he thinks may be his potential wife. Later in the episode he says "Because that, kids, is the true story of how I met your Aunt Robin."4 Through a way of twists and turns, Ted and Robin become friends, with a few periods of romanticism and awkward breakups in between. Eventually, Ted moves on from wanting to date Robin and continues the How I Met Your Mother storyline by dating many other women. Ted and his friends are all different and diverse but also very similar. Ted Mosby is an architect who is a hopeless romantic and a little illogical when it comes to love. This is demonstrated in the pilot episode when he tells Robin he thinks he's in love with her on their first date. He is also a guy with a good sense of humor, but also very much emotional baggage such as getting left at the altar in later seasons. He also shares a love for Star Wars with his best friends Marshall and Barney. Moving on from Ted's character, I'd like to touch up on his friends beginning with Marshall. He and Ted met when they were college roommates. In college, it is easy to either become best friends with your roommate or worst enemies. Marshall and Ted clearly become 4 Feature, IMDb. "Is Robin the Mother?" IMDb. (Accessed April 2, 2015) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/faq best friends. Marshall is in a sense a "gentle giant" being the tallest of the group and also the most polite. He attributes his politeness to growing up in Minnesota. In the beginning of the series, he starts out as a law student and throughout the series progresses to becoming a lawyer and eventually it is revealed in the show that he becomes New York State Supreme Court Judge. His goofiness is demonstrated by his usual jokes, puns, and a very peculiar standup comedy bit about fish and their names. His spouse, Lily Aldrin, is by comparison very different than he is. Lily is the feisty, short, shopaholic and loud one of the group. Unlike Marshall, she grew up in New York City. Therefore she carries all the stereotypical characteristics of a New Yorker. However she does have a sweet side since she is a kindergarten teacher. The show portrays her as the "ultimate companion" since she is for the most part very laid back and goes along with Marshall's wacky plans sometimes. Lily and Marshall are sweetheart couple of the show. Aside from the fact that she broke up with Marshall for about a year, they have virtually been together since freshman year of college. They are an excellent example of what social penetration theory attempts to explain. Lily and Marshall have been together for so long that they know everything about each other. It is almost as if they are one person, and at one point in the show it's noted that they even share a toothbrush. In a marriage, it is necessary to open up and share everything with each other. Well, maybe not a toothbrush, but many experts and married couples will agree that communication is key. Not just in marriage, but in every relationship. Without words, conflicts cannot be resolved. However there can't be a relationship without trust. Referring back to the "multilayered onion" depiction, one can't gain the trust of a person by penetrating the outermost layer. In order to really know what that person is like, what they hope for in life, and that which they most fear, one must penetrate deeper to the innermost layers of this onion. Once the inner layers of the onion are reached, the process of gaining closeness and trust begins. Next up in the batch of main characters we have Barney. Barney grew up without his father and clearly has psychological issues because of it. He is a good looking, young man who is very successful as well as a huge womanizer. The show gives us the understanding that he obscenely rich and constantly uses his money to buy suits or to come up with an elaborate plan or scheme in order to have a one night stand with women. However, nobody really knows what Barney does for a living as he replies "Pfft! Please." everytime he is asked what he does for a living. Despite his rich, playboy getup, we are made to understand that Barney does indeed have a heart. He eventually falls for a few girls, ultimately marrying Robin. Barney is also a pathological liar. When confronted about this he replies "A lie is just a great story someone ruined with the truth,"5 and "People like being lied to. They just don't like finding out they've been lied to."6 Despite being a liar, Barney vows to never lie to Robin on the day of their wedding. The honesty eventually has them ending in divorce as they are both unhappy. The last of the main characters is Robin. She is a very career oriented, hardworking and insightful person. Because she is career oriented, she has a bit of commitment issues. She is an anchor for the local cable news channel, Metro News 1. She is constantly trying to get her friends to watch the show she's on, but it rarely works since she's on very early in the morning. 5 Feature, Goodreads. "Quote by Barney Stinson". Goodreads. (Accessed April 2, 2015) http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/540931alieisjustagreatstorythatsomeoneruined 6 Feature, TVFanatic. "People like being lied to. They just don't like finding out they…" TVFanatic. April 13, 2010.