What is the Johari Window?
The Johari Window is a model for explaining the different ways people approach self-awareness and feedback. It was designed by two Californian psychologists, Jo Luft and Harry Ingham (hence Jo-Hari) and originally published in 1959.
Explain The Model, Please
Originally, Luft and Ingham devised a psychological tool for self-help groups in which the subject and his or her observers were given a list of 56 adjectives. The list included words like "bold", "cheerful", "confident", "sentimental", "sympathetic" and so on. Both the subject and observers then selected 5 or 6 adjectives that fitted their view of the subject. These adjectives were then mapped onto a grid.
The 4 Panes Model Of The Johari Window
The grid on which the adjectives were plotted looks like a square composed of four windows. One way to understand the grid is to imagine yourself as the subject looking in from the left and your observers looking down from the top. You can only both see so far, your line being vertical from top to bottom and their line being horizontal from side to side. Now you have a window with four panes showing the following:
• at the top left, things that are known to you and known to others. In Luft and Ingham's self-help groups, this is where adjectives selected by both you and your observers would go. This is your "open" arena.
• at the top right, things that are known to others but not you. These would be adjectives selected by your observers but not you. This is your "blind spot" area.
• at the bottom left, things that are known to you but not others. These would be adjectives selected by you but not others and is your facade or mask area.
• at the bottom right, things that are not known to others or you, ie things that either remain as potential or well and truly hidden. This is your unknown area.
The Johari Window In Self-Development
The most valuable use of the Johari Window is as a tool in self-development. We can use the knowledge of the four windows as a way of finding out more about how others see us in our blind spot, being more willing to open up our facades, and exploring our unknown areas. We can either do it across all our relationships or in a particular relationship where we want to be more open. The tool can be highly beneficial. People who are in the process of enlarging their open areas for themselves and others are usually regarded as happier, more giving, and with better relationships.
Thanks to ManageTrainLearn
