Johari Window Definition

The Johari Window is a visual framework you can use to understand more 1. Open Area (Quadrant 1)
about your conscious and unconscious biases. Doing this can improve
your self-awareness and your understanding of others. But it can also be The Open Area represents the things that you know about yourself and that
used as a personal development tool, and to build better workplace others know about you. This includes your behavior, knowledge, skills,
relationships. attitudes, and "public" history.

The name "Johari" is a combination of the names of psychologists Joseph The ideal Johari Window (see figure 2, below) has a large Open Area. This is
Luft and Harry Ingham, who created the model in 1955. because, in general, the more that people know about themselves and one
another, the more productive, cooperative and trusting they'll be when
What are the Three Main Goals of the Johari Window? working together.

The Johari Window can help you and your team in three main ways: Figure 2: An Ideal Johari Window

1. By building trust with others through sharing information about

yourself.

2. Improving your own self-awareness by discovering what other

people think about you, your strengths, and your weaknesses - and
comparing this feedback to the perception you have yourself.

3. Improving communication and team interpersonal relationships.

What Are the Four Quadrants of the Johari Window?

2. Blind Area (Quadrant 2)
The Johari Window may look complicated (see figure 1, below), but it is
actually easy to use and understand. It has four panes, called "quadrants." The Blind Area represents things about yourself that you aren't aware of, but
Each quadrant contains information about your self-awareness and how that others know about you. For example, you might not realize that you're a
others see you. great listener until someone points it out to you. It can also reveal deeper
issues, such as feelings of incompetence or anger that you haven't faced up
Figure 1: The Johari Window to, but that others sense in you.

A small Blind Area indicates that you're aware of how your behavior affects
other people, whereas a large Blind Area suggests that you may be naive or
even in denial about it. A large Blind Area could also mean that your
colleagues are keeping what they know about you to themselves.

No one works at their best when they're "in the dark," so it's important to
reduce the size of your Blind Area. You can do this by following the tips and
strategies in our article, Developing Self-Awareness.
3. Hidden Area (Quadrant 3) • What are the Four Quadrants of the Johari Window?

The Hidden Area represents things that you know about yourself, but that The four quadrants of the Johari Window include:
you keep hidden from other people.
1. Open Area – things that you and others know about you.
You don't need to share all of your private thoughts and feelings with work
colleagues. Naturally, you wouldn't want to reveal anything that would make 2. Blind Area – things that you know about yourself, but others do.
you feel embarrassed or vulnerable. Withholding information is perfectly
3. Hidden Area – things you know about yourself, but others don't.
reasonable if it has no bearing on your work.
4. Unknown Area – things that neither you nor others know about
However, hiding information about yourself that is related to your work or
yourself.
your performance could lead to co-workers having less trust in you. So, if
your Johari Window has a large Hidden Area, you could try to be more open • Can the Size of the Different Quadrants Change?
with them. Our article, Self-Disclosure, can help you to do this.
Yes! The size of each quadrant can change over time. For example, if you
4. Unknown Area (Quadrant 4) receive feedback about yourself, the size of the blind area may decrease
because you've learned things about yourself you previously may have not
The Unknown Area represents things that are unknown to you and by others.
been aware of. Similarly, if you reveal more about yourself to others, the size
For example, you may have some dazzling untapped abilities that neither
of the Hidden Area may decrease because you have become more
you nor anyone else knows about.
comfortable sharing things with those around you.
A large Unknown Area may just be a sign of youth or inexperience, but it can
also mean that you need to work hard on discovering and releasing new • What Is the Johari Window used for?
information about yourself. The Johari Window can benefit us, personally, because it enables us to
become more aware of our own strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors. It
Note: The quadrants can change size over time – and, because they can also help to improve communication within or between teams, as well as
are interdependent, changing the size of one quadrant will also inclusion and equality. Teams can use it to help colleagues understand more
change the size of the others. For example, telling your team about about one another and use this information to communicate and collaborate
an aspect of your life that you'd always kept hidden would decrease more effectively together.
your Hidden Area and increase your Open Area.
• What Are the Limitations of the Johari Window?
Frequently Asked Questions About the Johari Window
The main criticism of the Johari Window is that it invites people to share
• What Is the Johari Window? quite personal information, which not everyone may be comfortable doing.
The model relies on people being open and authentic, but most people,
The Johari Window is a model that helps people to better understand particularly in the workplace, will act and behave in a certain way to fit in.
themselves and other people. It was created by psychologists Joseph Luft Another criticism is that it oversimplifies human behavior by splitting it into
and Harrington Ingham in 1955 while they were researching group only four categories. Despite this, the model is still viewed as a popular tool
dynamics. Today, it is often used by organizations to develop people's soft for understanding interpersonal relationships and improving self-awareness.
skills, such as collaboration, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
 • How to Use the Johari Window 3. Open Up and Ask For Feedback – to minimize your Hidden and
Unknown areas, you need to reveal more about yourself. Self-disclosure is a
Your ultimate goal in using the Johari Window is to enlarge your Open give-and-take process of sharing information with other people. The more
Area. Here's how to do it. that you share your thoughts, feelings and opinions, the more your Open
Area expands vertically and shrinks your Hidden Area, and the more people
1. Identify Your Personal Characteristics – look at the list of
will likely trust you.
characteristics in Figure 3, below. Then, choose the words that you think
best describe you. To reduce the size of your Blind or Unknown areas, you need to improve
your self-awareness by seeking and accepting feedback.
Figure 3: The 55 Adjectives of the Johari Window
This can be daunting, but finding out new things about yourself can also be
empowering, and fun! When people provide feedback about you, and you
are receptive to it, your Open Area expands horizontally and your Blind Area
gets smaller.

If the size of your Unknown Area is a problem, look for ways to break out of
your comfort zone. Taking on new challenges, testing your limits, and being
open to new experiences can help you – and your colleagues – to learn
more about your skills and abilities.

Also, ask one or more of your colleagues to choose the adjectives that they Tips:
feel best describe you.
• You can use the Johari Window to help individual team members,
Then, draw a Johari Window diagram, and fill in the quadrants as follows: or the team as a whole. Just substitute them for yourself, and
involve their colleagues in the process.
• Open Area: write the adjectives that both you and your colleagues
chose. • The results that you get from this exercise will differ depending on
who else you involve. For example, if you work with multiple teams,
• Hidden Area: write the adjectives that only you chose. one group might see you as dynamic, but the other might think
you're distant.
• Blind Area: write the adjectives that only your colleagues chose.
• Feedback and disclosure can only flourish, and enable people to
• Unknown Area: write the adjectives that were not chosen by any of
expand their Open Areas, in an environment with high levels of trust
you, but that you are prompted to consider as your self-awareness
and a culture of honest, constructive communication. Some
increases.
individuals, organizations and cultures have an open and accepting
2. Define Your Goal – look at your completed Johari Window, and think approach to feedback, but others don't. If you're using the Johari
about how you can increase your Open Area and reduce the other Window as a group activity, make sure that people give feedback
quadrants. For example, if you tend to be secretive, you may want to reduce constructively and sensitively.
the size of your Hidden Area. Or, if you're surprised by what your colleagues
think about you, you might want to minimize your Blind Area. • It's also important to make sure that no one feels pressured to
share confidential information, or to disclose anything that makes
 them feel uncomfortable. Bear in mind that it may be wiser to
facilitate feedback and disclosure on a safe, one-on-one basis,
rather than in a group setting.

Key Points

• Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham developed the Johari Window in

1955. It's a simple but powerful visual tool for developing self-
awareness, and for building trust and better workplace
relationships.

• The Johari Window is divided into four key quadrants: the Open
Area (things you and others know about yourself), the Blind Area
(things that others know about you, but you are unaware of), the
Hidden Area (things you know about yourself, but others don't), and
the Unknown Area (things that unknown to you and to others).

• The Johari Window allows you to build a visual picture of your

personality.

• You can also use it to develop greater self-awareness and team

awareness of different people's characteristics, preferences, and
abilities, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This can
improve team rapport, loyalty, and understanding.

• You can create your own Johari Window by following these three
steps: First, identify your personal characteristics, then define your
goal, and finally, open up and ask for feedback from others.

• The more you share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions, the more
your Open Area expands vertically and shrinks your Hidden Area,
and the more likely people will understand, accept and trust you.
 Self-concept tends to be more malleable when we're younger and still going
through self-discovery and identity formation. As we age and learn who we
are and what's important to us, these self-perceptions become much more
detailed and organized.

At its most basic, self-concept is a collection of beliefs one holds about

oneself and the responses of others. It embodies the answer to the question:
"Who am I?" If you want to find your self-concept, list things that describe
you as an individual. What are your traits? What do you like? How do you
feel about yourself?

➢ Rogers' Three Parts of Self-Concept

Humanist psychologist Carl Rogers believed that self-concept is made up of

three different parts:

What Is Self-Concept?
• Ideal self: The ideal self is the person you want to be. This person
has the attributes or qualities you are either working toward or want
Self-concept is the image we have of ourselves. It is influenced by many to possess. It's who you envision yourself to be if you were exactly
forces, including our interaction with important people in our lives. It is how as you wanted.
we perceive our behaviors, abilities, and unique characteristics. 1 For
example, beliefs such as "I am a good friend" or "I am a kind person" are • Self-image: Self-image refers to how you see yourself at this
part of an overall self-concept. moment in time. Attributes like physical characteristics, personality
traits, and social roles all play a role in your self-image.
Other examples of self-concept include:
• Self-esteem: How much you like, accept, and value yourself all
• How you view your personality traits, such as whether you are an contribute to your self-concept. Self-esteem can be affected by a
extrovert or introvert number of factors—including how others see you, how you think
you compare to others, and your role in society.3
• How you see your roles in life, such as whether you feel that being
a parent, sibling, friend, and partner are important parts of your • Incongruence and Congruence
identity
Self-concept is not always aligned with reality. When it is aligned, your
• The hobbies or passions that are important to your sense of self-concept is said to be congruent. If there is a mismatch between how
identity, such as being a sports enthusiast or belonging to a certain you see yourself (your self-image) and who you wish you were (your ideal
political party self), your self-concept is incongruent. This incongruence can negatively
affect self-esteem.4
• How you feel about your interactions with the world, such as
whether you feel that you are contributing to society Rogers believed that incongruence has its earliest roots in childhood.
When parents place conditions on their affection for their children (only
Our self-perception is important because it affects our motivations, attitudes, expressing love if children "earn it" through certain behaviors and living up to
and behaviors. It also affects how we feel about the person we think we are, the parents' expectations), children begin to distort the memories of
including whether we are competent or have self-worth.2 experiences that leave them feeling unworthy of their parents' love.4
 Unconditional love, on the other hand, helps to foster congruence. • Other Self-Concept Theories
Children who experience such love—also referred to as family love—feel no
need to continually distort their memories in order to believe that other As with many topics within psychology, a number of other theorists have
people will love and accept them as they are. proposed different ways of thinking about self-concept.

• How Self-Concept Develops ➢ Social Identity

Self-concept develops, in part, through our interaction with others. In Social psychologist Henri Tajfel developed social identity theory, which
addition to family members and close friends, other people in our lives can states that self-concept is composed of two key parts:11
contribute to our self-identity.
• Personal identity: The traits and other characteristics that make
For instance, one study found that the more a teacher believes in a you unique.
high-performing student's abilities, the higher that student's self-
concept.5 (Interestingly, no such association was found with lower- • Social identity: Who you are based on your membership in social
performing students.) groups, such as sports teams, religions, political parties, or social
class
Self-concept can also be developed through the stories we hear. As an
example, one study found that female readers who were "deeply This theory states that our social identity influences our self-concept,
transported" into a story about a leading character with a traditional gender thus affecting our emotions and behaviors. If we're playing sports, for
role had a more feminist self-concept than those who weren't as moved by instance, and our team loses a game, we might feel sad for the team
the story.6 (emotion) or act out against the winning team (behavior).12

The media plays a role in self-concept development as well—both mass ➢ Multiple Dimensions
media and social media. When these media promote certain ideals, we're
Psychologist Bruce A. Bracken had a slightly different theory and
more likely to make those ideals our own. And the more often these ideals
believed that self-concept was multidimensional, consisting of six
are presented, the more they affect our self-identity and self-perception.7
independent traits:13
• Can Self-Concept Be Changed?
• Academic: Success or failure in school
Self-concept is not static, meaning that it can change. Our
environment plays a role in this process. Places that hold a lot of meaning to • Affect: Awareness of emotional states
us actively contribute to our future self-concept through both the way we
relate these environments to ourselves and how society relates to them. 8
• Competence: Ability to meet basic needs

Self-concept can also change based on the people with whom we • Family: How well you work in your family unit
interact. This is particularly true with regard to individuals in our lives who are
in leadership roles. They can impact the collective self (the self in social
• Physical: How you feel about your looks, health, physical condition,
and overall appearance
groups) and the relational self (the self in relationships). 9

In some cases, a medical diagnosis can change self-concept by helping • Social: Ability to interact with others
people understand why they feel the way they do—such as someone
In 1992, Bracken developed the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale, a
receiving an autism diagnosis later in life, finally providing clarity as to why
comprehensive assessment that evaluates each of these six elements of
they feel different.
self-concept in children and adolescents.
 • When is the development of self-concept finished? THE SELF, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE

Self-concept development is never finished. Though one's self-identity is WHAT IS THE SELF?
thought to be primarily formed in childhood, your experiences as an adult
can also change how you feel about yourself. If your self-esteem increases • The self, in contemporary literature and evencommon sense, is
later in life, for instance, it can improve your self-concept. commonly defined by thefollowing characteristics: “separate, self-
contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and private”
• How does self-concept affect communication? (Stevens1996) (Stevens1996)
• The self has always unique and has its own identity. One cannot be
Our self-concept can affect the method by which we communicate. If another person. Even twins are distinct from each other.
you feel you are a good writer, for instance, you may prefer to communicate • The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into any
in writing versus speaking with others. circumstances it finds itself in.
It can also affect the way we communicate. If your social group
communicates a certain way, you would likely choose to communicate that
way as well.14 Studies on teens have connected high self-concept clarity with THE SELF AND CULTURE
more open communication with parents.15
• Remaining the same person and turning chameleon by adapting to
• What is the difference between self-concept and self-esteem? one’s context seems paradoxical.
• According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces: personne and
Self-concept refers to a broad description of ourselves ("I am a good moi.
writer") while self-esteem includes any judgments or opinions we have of • Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is, is body, and his basic
ourselves ("I feel proud to be a good writer"). Put another way, self-concept identity, his biological givenness. It is the person’s basic identity.
answers the question: Who am I? Self-esteem answers the question: How • Personne, on the other hand, is composed of the social concepts of
do I feel about who I am? what it means to be who he is. It has much to do with what it means
to live in a particular institution, a particular family, a particular
• Why is a well-developed self-concept beneficial? religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave given
Our self-concept impacts how we respond to life, so a well-developed expectations and influences from others.
self-concept helps us respond in ways that are more positive and beneficial
for us. One of the ways it does this is by enabling us to recognize our worth. THE SELF AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL WORLD
A well-developed self-concept also helps keep us from internalizing negative
feedback from others. • So how do people actively produce their social worlds? How do
children growing up become social beings? How can a boy turn out
• How does culture influence self-concept? to just to be terribly different when given up for adoption? More than
his givenness (personality, tendencies, and his givenness
Different cultures have different beliefs. They have different ideas of how
(personality, tendencies, and propensities, among others), one is
dependent or independent one should be, different religious beliefs, and
believed to be in active participation in the shaping of the self.
differing views of socioeconomic development.
• Most often, we think the human persons are just passive actors in
All of these cultural norms influence self-concept by providing the the whole process of the shaping of the selves.
structure of what is expected within that society and how one sees oneself in • That men and women are born with particularities that they can no
relation to others. longer change. Recent studies, however, indicated that men and
women in their growth and development engage actively in the
 shaping of the self. The unending terrain of shaping of the self. The powers at play in the society. Among these, the most prominent is
unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by the family.
language. “Language as both a publicly shared and privately utilized • While every child is born with certain givenness, disposition coming
symbol system is the site where the individual and the social make from his parents’ genes and general condition of life, the impact of
and remake each other” (Schwartz et al 1993). one’s family is still deemed as a given in understanding the self. The
kind of family that we are born in, there sources available to us
MEAD AND VYGOTSKY (human, spiritual, economic), and the kind of development that we
will have will certainly affect us as we go through life. As a matter of
• For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is
evolutionary fact, human persons are one of those beings whose
with the use language acquisition and interaction with others.
importance of family cannot be denied.
The way that we process information is normally a form of an internal
dialogue in our head. Those who deliberate about moral dilemmas • Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood
undergo this internal dialog. “Should I do this or that?” “But if I do this, by being in a family. It is what a family initiates a person to become
it will be like this.” “Don’t I want the other option?” And so cognitive that serves as the basis for this person’s progress. Babies internalize
and emotional development of a child is always mimicry of how it is ways and styles that they observe from their family. By imitating, for
done in the social world, in the external reality where he is in. example, the language of its primary agents of rearing its family,
babies learn the language. The same is true for ways of behaving.
• Both Mead and Vygotsky treat the human mind as something that is
Notice how kids reared in a respectful environment becomes
made, constituted through language as experienced in the external
respectful as well and the converse if it’s raised in a converse family.
world and as encountered in dialogs with others. A young child
internalizes values, norms, practices, and social beliefs and more • Without a family, biologically and sociologically, a person may not
through exposure to these child internalizes values, norms, even survive or become a human person.
practices, and social beliefs and more through exposure to these GENDER AND THE SELF
dialogs that will eventually become part of his individual world. For
Mead, this takes place as a child assumes the “other” through • Another important aspect of the self is gender. Gender is one of those
language and role-play. Can you notice how little children are fond of loci of the self that is subjectto alteration, change, and development.
playing role-play with their toys? How they make scripts and dialogs We have seen in the past years how people fought hard for the right
for their toys as they play with them? to express, validate, and assert their expression. From the point of
• According to Mead, it is through this that child delineates the “I” from view of the social sciences and the self, it is important to give one the
the rest. Vygotsky, for his part, a child internalizes real-life dialogs leeway to find, express, and live his identity.
that he has had with others, with his family, his primary caregiver, or • The gendered self is then shaped within a particular context of time
his playmates. They apply this to their mental and practical problems and space. The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an
along with the social and cultural fusions brought about by the said individual fits in a particular environment. This is dangerous and
dialogs. Can you notice hoe children eventually become what they detrimental in the goal of truly finding one’s self, self-determination,
watch? How children can easily adapt ways of cartoon characters and growth of the self. Gender has to be personally discovered and
they are exposed for? asserted and not dictated by culture and the society.
SELF IN FAMILIES

• Apart from the anthropological and psychological basis for the

relationship between the self and the social world, the sociological
likewise struggled to understand the real connection between the two
concepts. In doing so, sociologists focus on the institutions and
 LESSON 3: THE SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, Mead argued that the
self is created and developed through human interaction. There are three
SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT reasons why self and identity are social products:
There are various definitions of the self and other similar or 1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
interchangeable concepts in psychology. Simply put, the self in
psychology is the sense of personal identity and of who we are as 2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others to affirm
individuals. William James as one of the earliest psychologists to study and reinforce who we think we are.
the self, he conceptualized the self as having two aspects: the “I” and
“Me”. 3. What we think as important to us may also have been influenced
by what is important in our social or historical context.
• “I” is the thinking, acting and feeling self.
• “Me” is the physical characteristics as well as psychological Social interaction and group affiliation are vital factors in creating our
self-concept especially in the aspect of providing us with or social identity.
capabilities that make who you are.
However, there are times when we are aware of our self-concepts, also called
Carl Rogers used the same terms, self-awareness. Carver and Scheier identified two types of self that we can be
aware of:
• “I” as the one who acts and decides.
• “Me” is what you think or feel about yourself as an object. • The Private Self – your internal standards and private thoughts and
feelings.
Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-concept. • Public Self – your public image commonly geared toward having
a good representation of yourself to others.
• Identity is composed of one’s personal characteristics,
social roles and responsibilities. Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schema:
• Self-concept is basically what comes to your mind when
you are asked about who you are. • Actual Self - who you are at the moment.
• Ideal Self - who you like to be.
Carl Rogers captures this idea in his concept of self-schema or our • Ought Self - who we think we should be.
own organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are. It may
include your interest, work, course, age, name, and physical characteristics, Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the
among others. And as you grow and adapt to the changes around you, they circumstances and our next course of action. It can keep you doing something
also change, but they are not passive receivers, they actively shape and affect dangerous. In other instances, self-awareness can be too much that we are
how you see, think, and feel about things. concerned about being observed and criticized by others, also known as
self-consciousness.
Theories generally see the self and identity as mental constructs.
Current researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area of At other times, we may experience deindividuation or the loss of
the brain associated with processes concerning the self. Sigmund Freud saw individual self-awareness and individual accountability in groups. A lot of
the self, its mental processes and one’s behavior as the results of the people will attune themselves with the emotions of their group and because
interaction between the structures of personality. As in the abovementioned the large crowd also provides some kind of anonymity.
definitions of the self, social interaction always has a part to play in who we
think we are. Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our
self-esteem. Self-esteem is our own positive or negative perception or
evaluation of ourselves. One of the ways in which our social relationships
affects our self-esteem is through social comparison.
 1. Downward Social Comparison – comparing ourselves with
those people who are worse off than us.

2. Upward Social Comparison – comparing ourselves with those

people who are better off than us.

Social comparison entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance

theory which states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs
us. In this case, we react in three ways:

• We distance ourselves from the person or redefine our relationship

with them.
• We may reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill in which you
were out-performed.
• We may also strengthen or resolve to improve that certain aspect of
ourselves.

However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-

esteem, some people become narcissistic. Narcissism is a trait
characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration and self-
centeredness. Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-
esteem and narcissism and there are a lot of test and measurements
for self-esteem but the issue is that the result can be affected by the
desire of the person to portray herself in a positive or advantageous
way.