Communication Privacy Management Theory
A practical theory introduced by Sandra Petronio to explain the everyday issues
of a person
Explains how people believe they own their private information and have the
rights to control it
With that belief, they then process negotiating whether to disclose or not that
information
ASSUMPTIONS
It is rooted in assumptions about how individuals think and communicate as well
as assumptions about the nature of human beings
Adheres to aspects of both rules and system approaches, meaning it follows a
certain rule which is made by an individual
CPM theory makes 3 assumptions about human nature congruent with rules and
systems
Humans are choice makers
People make choices about what to tell and what not to tell to other people
Humans are rule makers and rule followers
People make rules about what to tell and what to withhold from others based on
a mental calculus grounded in criteria such as culture, gender, and context
among other things.
Humans’ choices and rules are based on a consideration of others as well as the
self
These criteria include considerations about other people involved as well as the
self
In addition, CPM theory is a dialectic theory. Dialectic theory means that all relationships
(friendship, romantic relationship, family relationship) are interwoven with multiple
contradictions.
Relational life is characterized by change
This means that our interactions with other people changes through time
because of the criteria that we develop or build as we go along with our life.
Contradiction is the fundamental fact of relational life
Contradiction is vital for relational life
Dynamic interplay between unified oppositions.
Contradiction is formed whenever two tendencies or forces are
interdependent/united yet mutually negate one another. Meaning if we disclose
everything, we won't have a concept of privacy. On the other hand, if all
information were private, the idea of disclosure wouldn’t make sense.
SUPPOSITIONS
CPM Theory is concerned with explaining an individual’s negotiation processes
regarding keeping or disclosing private information.
the process of communicating private information to other people becomes
private disclosures. It is the process of communicating private information to
another
CPM focuses on private disclosures rather than self-disclosures
It is focused on that way because it puts more emphasis on the personal content
of the disclosure. It gives more emphasis on the privacy
CPM does not consider disclosures are only about the self. It is a communicative
process, it does not restrict the process only to the self but rather extends it to
embrace multiple levels of disclosure including self and group.
CPM theory offers a privacy management system that identifies ways privacy
boundaries are coordinated between and among individuals
To accomplish those goals, CPM theory proposed five basic suppositions: private
information, private boundaries, control and ownership, rule-based management system,
and management dialectics.
Private information
Information that matters deeply to an individual
Those information are what makes up a person
It is what gives them a conception about themselves
It is a message which a person either keeps to themselves or disclose it to other
people
Private boundaries
Distinguishing an information if it is private or public
Boundary metaphor is used to make the point that there is a line between being
public and being private.
On one side, an individual keep the private information for themselves, on the
other side an individual reveal some private information to other people who they
feel comfortable to share with.
When a private information is shared with another person, it is called collective
boundary
When the private information remains to an individual and is not disclosed, it is
called personal boundary
Boundaries have variations as well. Relatively permeable (easy to cross) and
relatively impregnable (rigid and difficult to cross)
As we grow older, our boundaries change. Boundaries increases as a child
grows into adolescence and adulthood because they develop a sense of privacy.
But as an individual gets older, their boundaries shrink. (Elders being dependent
on caregivers with their daily routines which causes their boundary to lessen)
Control and ownership
The idea that an individual feel they own a private information to themselves.
As owners of this information, people believe that they are in a position where
they should control who else would be allowed to gain access to it.
Rule-based Management System
This system is used for understanding the decisions an individual makes about
private information.
An individual can manage their decisions through the 3 processes of rule-based
management system: privacy rule characteristics, boundary coordination,
and boundary turbulence
Management dialects
Focuses between present tensions for revealing private information and
concealing it.
Tensions of boundaries that people encounter due to opposites and
contradictions
Example: a student, who have loads of work to do, suddenly bumps into
someone he knows that went away years ago. They engage into a conversation
of catching up through the years of not having the chance to talk to one another.
The tension present in this scenario is that the student enjoys the company of an
old friend yet he needs to do the school works and disclosing is taking away time
to work on it.
Rule-based Management System
Has 3 privacy rule management processes: privacy rule characteristics,
boundary coordination, and boundary turbulence
Privacy Rule Characteristics
This process describes the nature of privacy rules
2 main features: attributes and development
Rule attribute
How an individual obtain privacy rules and understand the properties of those
rules
People learn rules through socialization processes or by negotiation with others
to create new rules
Example: a person’s disclosure in family gatherings versus on an event at work.
With the CPM theory, it depicts that an individual will set up rules that are fitted
on both events for managing privacy that are learned over time
Rule development
Describes how rules come to be decided.
Guided by people’s decision criteria for revealing or concealing private
information
For developing privacy rules, CPM states that 5 decision criteria are used:
cultural, gendered, motivational, contextual, risk-benefit ratio
Cultural criteria depend on the norms for privacy and openness in a given
culture.
An individual’s expectations for privacy are guided by the values they learn in
their culture.
Example: An American asking for help to a Filipino because he knows that he
cannot turn down his help due to the Filipino culture that we cannot turn down
offers because we do not want to offend someone.
Gendered criteria are the differences present between men and women upon
drawing privacy boundaries.
Example: women are more open to socialize and disclose their private
information than men.
Motivational criteria involves how people make decisions about disclosing
private information based on their motivations.
Example: when someone has disclosed or shared a great deal of information
about themselves, you feel a sense of reciprocity to also share some information
about you which is the motivation.
Contextual criteria pertains to the experiences an individual has encountered
which affects their decision-making.
Two elements: social environment and physical setting
Social environment involves the special circumstances that might start a
disclosure or a decision to disclose.
Example: a groupmate of yours have not been responding to your chats and
have not done any contributions to your work. Because of his incompetence, you
felt irritated which prompted you to rant to your close friend about your
groupmate’s incompetence.
Physical setting has to do with the actual location.
Example: a person feels uncomfortable disclosing in a crowded room because
someone might hear or intervene in their conversation. She feels much more
comfortable being in a quiet place.
Risk-benefit ratio criteria means people evaluate the risks related to the
benefits of disclosing or keeping it to themselves.
Example: your friend has a body odor. You contemplate on whether you would
tell your friend so that she could solve that or not tell her because you don’t want
her to feel bad.
Boundary Coordination
Describes how people manage their private information by the boundaries they
have set.
Boundaries should be coordinated through the rules a person have set to have a
smooth transaction of communication and have a viable outcome in relationships
When a private information is shared, co-owners should coordinate with the
original owner’s boundaries of privacy and disclosure based on boundary
permeability, boundary linkage, and boundary ownership
Boundary permeability refers to how much information is able to pass through
a boundary.
When access to private information is closed, boundaries are thick boundaries.
When access is open, boundaries are thin boundaries
Boundary linkage is the connections forming boundary alliances between
people
Example: relationship between a doctor and a patient. The doctor form linkages
with their patient in such a way to give out private information simultaneously
within their boundaries
Boundary ownership is the rights and responsibilities a person has to control
the spread of their private information to other people.
For this to work, rules should be clearly given.
Example: conducting a surprise party. All those who are involved in planning the
surprise should agree on how the information would be spread without ruining
the surprise.
Boundary Turbulence
This exists when the rules of boundary coordination of a person are unclear or
are mot coordinated.
The conflict about boundary expectations and regulation where a person
expected an appropriate response when they share their private information but
rather gets violated or rejected instead.
