The Impact of Regulatory Goals on the Disclosure of Self-presentational Vulnerabilities

Individuals often disclose their self-presentational vulnerabilities, including the use of counterfeit products or weight-loss medications. Yet, despite the commonality of such vulnerable self-disclosure, little is known about who discloses, why they do so, and when they choose to reveal or conceal these vulnerabilities. Addressing that gap, we examine how regulatory focus and relationship closeness jointly shape the disclosure of self-presentational vulnerabilities. Across eight studies, we find that prevention-focused (vs. promotion-focused) individuals are more willing to disclose self-presentational vulnerabilities to close others, but not to distant others. We further find that this effect occurs because prevention-focused (vs. promotion-focused) individuals more strongly believe that disclosing such vulnerable information to close others can strengthen their interpersonal relationships.