Secret transmission: A relative intimacy hypothesis

The transmission of another's secret is likened to self-disclosure, and fur ther predictions are set forth based on a relative intimacy hypothesis. Thi s hypothesis maintains that individuals will be more likely to transmit pri vate information gathered from a lower-level intimate to a higher-level int imate (upward transmission) rather than from a higher-level intimate to a l ower-level intimate (downward transmission). This pattern of behavior also is predicted to be normatively enforced. Results of three studies support t hese assertions. Participants were more likely to communicate upward rather than downward in both imagined (Study 1) and actual(Study 2) instances of secret transmission. In addition individuals in Study 3 evaluated a secret relayer more negatively when he or she passed the secret from a higher-leve l intimate to a lower-level intimate.