Personal self-disclosure as a mixed blessing in teams: Effects through relational and cognitive mechanisms

Although personal self-disclosure has been increasingly encouraged in organizations and teams to enhance authenticity and workplace effectiveness, the nature of its impact in team contexts remains debated. Existing literature predominantly focuses on the relational effects of receiving personal self-disclosure but ignores its cognitive effects and key contextual contingencies that help elucidate when it has positive versus negative consequences. This study provides a more comprehensive theoretical account of the effects of self-disclosure in team contexts by combining social penetration and information processing perspectives into a multilevel theoretical framework. We tested our theoretical model in two team samples. Supporting our hypotheses, we found that personal self-disclosure had complex, countervailing impacts on team members receiving disclosure through relational and cognitive mechanisms. In addition, team self-disclosure norms were found to moderate the effects of receiving personal self-disclosure, buffering the relational and cognitive costs. Our research lays the foundation for future research on personal self-disclosure in teams and offers practical implications for teams and organizations seeking to maximize the utility of personal self-disclosure in the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).