Social Penetration Theory

A real life example of Social Penetration Theory, specifically the Comparison Level of
Alternatives, that I have seen is the interaction between Marshall and the men he works with on an episode of CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother.” In the episode Marshall goes to work for a new firm and initially hates working there, especially the way that the other guys there interact. They are very loud and boisterous. Marshall wants to quit his job but he needs the money in order to pay for his upcoming wedding so he is forced to become friends with these guys. The Comparison Level of Alternatives fits in this situation because he has no other options. If he doesn’t get along with the people he works with then they will probably fire him, so he becomes friends with them, and eventually begins to act like them because he is left with no other options.
Social Penetration Theory also states that as a relationship grows the breadth and depth of information that we are willing to disclose increases. This happened to Marshall in the episode. At the beginning he didn’t tell the guys anything but once he got to know them he began to share much deeper and broader information and eventually developed a relationship with them through self disclosure.