JournaleseA B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T U VXYZWJarea. Th e blind area contains information about
yourself that is not known to you but which is
known to others, such as any irritating manner-
isms you might have. Th e hidden area contains
things you know about yourself but wish to keep
hidden from others, such as your lack of confi -
dence in certain situations. You normally take
action to protect this area from the scrutiny of
others. Th e unknown area contains information
that neither you nor others are fully conscious of
but which might still be infl uencing your behav-
iour – unconscious fears, for example.
The model can be used to analyse many
aspects of interpersonal behaviour. Through
interpersonal communication we can come to
understand ourselves better, increasing the size
of the free area and decreasing the size of the
other three. For example, self-disclosure can
reduce the hidden area and increase the free
area, and thus enhance communication with
others.
Feedback from others has the potential to
reduce the blind area – although possibly at
some cost to self-esteem – and further increase
the free area. Th e degree to which we may be
willing to make such changes to the relative size
of the areas will of course vary with the situation
and relationship. Generally speaking the greater
the free area in any given situation, the easier the
interaction.
Journalese A manner of writing that employs
ready-made phrases and formulas and which(referring to the Yugoslav leader Slobadan
Milosevic), the paper trumpeted ‘Our boys
batter Serb butcher in Nato bomb blitz’. And at
the foot of the page, ‘We go in: See pages 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7 and 8’. Again from the Sun during the
allied invasion of Iraq, 2003: ‘How Major Dunc’s
Rats Raised Hell’, and ‘Harriers KO Nest of
Vipers’ (24 March 2003). In contrast, the Sun’s
rival, the Daily Mirror, took a critical rather than
a jingoistic stance: ‘Th is War’s NOT Working’
(1 April 2003). See topic guide under media:
values & ideology.
★Johari Window The term Johari Window
is derived from the first names of those who
devised the model in 1955, Joseph Luft and
Harrington Ingram, who were working together
in the US on the analysis and development of
self-awareness. Effective interaction depends
largely on the degree and growth of understand-
ing between the individuals concerned. Luft’s
theory of the Johari Window, expounded in his
work entitled Of Human Interaction (National
Press Books, 1969), is a useful way in which to
look at such factors of interpersonal commu-
nication as self-disclosure and feedback
and the way these may influence our self-
concept. Th e model, shown below, represents
a way of analysing the self.
Th e free area represents the public self: infor-
mation about yourself that is known to you and
to others, such as your gender or race. Th ere is
a free and open exchange of information in this
The Johari Window