Have you ever been asked to explain yourself and discover it is difficult? Or maybe you have had a disagreement with someone else about who you are? You think that you are A, but someone else says that you are B. One psychological theory named Johari Window can assist you solve these problems through knowing yourself.
About Johari Window Theory
Johari Window Theory is a psychological theory that was initiated by two American psychologists named Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955. Later, this model was published by the journal “The Western Training Laboratory in Group Development” from the University of California Los Angeles until it was widely used by academics in the field of Psychology.
Also, Johari Window Theory is called the theory of self-awareness about behaviors and thoughts that exist within oneself and within others (Osmanoğlu, 2019). This theory teaches us to understand ourselves not only from a personal perspective but also involves the views of others.
Thus, besides being good for oneself, applying the ideas in this theory can also assist a group in understanding its members with each other so as to create a harmonious group (Chandge, 2018).
This psychological theory states that within a person there are four parts called window panels or quadrants. Each quadrant describes information about feelings, behavior, views, intentions, and motivations about a person (Chandge, 2018). Through these four quadrants we are able to find out other parts of ourselves (Garagna, 2003).
Four Quadrants of the Self
According to Chandge (2018), the four quadrants in Johari Window have different areas and roles. The horizontal axis depicts individual knowledge, while the vertical axis depicts group knowledge. In more detail, it can be explained as below:
-
- Quadrant 1 (Open self) is an open area that shows behaviors in which a person is aware of and willing to share with others. In other words, this quadrant shows behaviors that we and other people know.
- Quadrant 2 (Blind self) is a blind area that shows the traits and behaviors that a person has but does not recognize, but is known by others. Sometimes a problem or weakness can only be seen by others.
- Quadrant 3 (Hidden self) is a hidden area which shows the behavior that a person has, which he/she recognizes but is not willing to share with other people so that other people do not know.
- Quadrant 4 (Unknown self) is an area of mystery which shows the behaviors, traits, motivations, and intentions that a person has, however, is not known to either himself or others. This could be the hidden potential of a person that is not yet known.
Getting to Know Yourself with Johari Window
So, from the four quadrants above, how do we increase awareness of ourselves? The trick is to expand the area of open self or quadrant 1 by making other people know and we also know. We are able to start by asking ourselves the question “What kind of person do I think I am? What do other people see about me?”.
We are able to write honestly about the questions above in order to better understand ourselves. Aside from that, we are also able to minimize quadrant 2 (Blind self) area because in this area we do not recognize ourselves. Instead, other people know better. Certainly, this needs to be corrected because it shows that we do not know ourselves.
So, how can we minimize the area of blind self? We can start by asking other people. This method teaches us to know ourselves not alone. Everyone can be said to have their own blind spots. Our blind spots are more easily realized by other people than by ourselves.
We are able to find out this blind spot area by asking several close friends the question “What kind of person do you think I am?”. The answers mentioned by our close friends that are not in the list of open self, could be an area of blind spot which we have not realized.
However, not all opinions of other people should be accepted because not all opinions of other people about us are true. We are able to filter which opinions are relevant and we are also able to discard those that are not. That way we can still live by our own beliefs.
Then, what about quadrants 3 and 4? In quadrant 3 (Hidden self), let them stay in balance. Indeed, there are several things in ourselves which are enough for us to know, other people do not need to know. Quadrant 4 (Unknown self) that can be said to be a locked area, we do not need to change it anymore because neither ourselves nor other people understand this area.
Several of these areas may appear when there are certain moments or things we have not tried before that we can do. Thus, to find them, we are able to use the principle of start or try first.
Benefits of Knowing Yourself
There are lots of benefits that we get from knowing ourselves. According to Osmanoglu (2019) the benefits of knowing yourself include increasing subjective well-being along with increasing positive relationships with other people. Aside from that, by better understanding our own strengths and weaknesses, we are able to become a more confident person, increase resilience, have a high level of self-regulation, become more mature, and be able to cope with stress or pressure in life.
Besides playing a role in yourself, knowing yourself through Johari Window is also widely used by trainers in forming a solid and harmonious team (Chandge, 2018). By using the technique of Johari Window, team members are able to know and understand each other’s personalities so as to increase effectiveness in team communication. Smooth communication becomes one of the keys to the success of a group.
Well, that is a way to get to know and discover yourself through the theory of Johari Window. We are able to apply it in our daily lives to improve our understanding of ourselves. Let us try it!
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
