Of Revelations and Iron Hands: Unexpected Effects of Sensitive Disclosures

In this paper, we investigate the effect of sensitive disclosures on the impressions one will form of others who made similar disclosures. Using both observational and experimental data, we find that, paradoxically, people who disclose a questionable behavior judge others who did the same more harshly as compared to those who did not disclose. This has important consequences especially for users of new technologies of information sharing. Disclosures of sensitive information have become increasingly common in social media. In the face of such common disclosures, some have argued that social norms about privacy and acceptable boundaries of revelation of private information are changing.1 Yet, public disclosures are often the starting point people use to form an impression about others, as it occurs when employers pre-screen job applicants by checking out their online media profiles (Brown & Vaughn, 2011). Would changing social norms about what is appropriate to disclose affect how people react to similar disclosures made by others?