The Johari Window is a psychological model and communication tool developed by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955. It's designed to help individuals better understand their relationships with themselves and others by visualizing self-awareness and interpersonal communication.
The Johari Window consists of a four-quadrant grid, and each quadrant represents a different aspect of information or knowledge about an individual:
1. **Open Area (Known to Self and Known to Others):** This quadrant represents information, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that are known to both the individual and others. It represents the aspects of a person's personality or life that are open, shared, and readily communicated. Effective communication and self-disclosure contribute to the expansion of this area.
2. **Blind Area (Unknown to Self but Known to Others):** In this quadrant, you'll find information, feelings, or behaviors that others can see or perceive in an individual, but that the individual themselves is unaware of. This can include blind spots, hidden habits, or behaviors that others notice but the person in question does not.
3. **Hidden Area (Known to Self but Unknown to Others):** The hidden area represents information, feelings, or aspects of a person's life that they keep private or concealed. It includes things that the individual knows about themselves but chooses not to disclose to others. These may be personal secrets or emotions that are not shared openly.
4. **Unknown Area (Unknown to Self and Unknown to Others):** This quadrant represents the unconscious or subconscious aspects of an individual's personality, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are not known to either the individual or others. These aspects may include repressed memories, unresolved issues, or hidden potential.
The goal of the Johari Window is to expand the Open Area while reducing the Blind, Hidden, and Unknown Areas through improved self-awareness and effective communication. This can lead to better interpersonal relationships, increased trust, and personal growth as individuals gain insight into themselves and others.
The Johari Window is often used in self-help, team-building, and therapy settings to promote self-awareness, enhance communication, and improve relationships by encouraging individuals to share and receive feedback in a constructive and non-judgmental manner.
Feedback and Self-Discovery: The Johari Window encourages individuals to seek feedback from others about their blind spots and hidden areas. By doing so, people can gain valuable insights into aspects of themselves that they may not have been aware of, leading to personal growth and self-improvement.
Feedback and Self-Discovery: The Johari Window encourages individuals to seek feedback from others about their blind spots and hidden areas. By doing so, people can gain valuable insights into aspects of themselves that they may not have been aware of, leading to personal growth.
2. • The Johari window is a psychological tool
and a technique that helps people better
understand their relationship with
themselves and others.
• It was created by psychologists Joseph Luft
(1916–2014) and Harrington Ingham (1916–
1995) in 1955, and is used primarily in self-
help groups and corporate settings as
a heuristic exercise.
• Luft and Ingham named their model "Johari"
using a combination of their first names.
3. It’s a simple and useful tool for
understanding and training:
• self-awareness
• personal development
• improving communications
• interpersonal relationships
• group dynamics
• team development; and
• inter group relationships
4. 2 factors at work within the
Johari window.
1.What you know about yourself.
2.What other people know about
you.
7. The four quadrants
1. Open Area/Arena
- the information in this pane
about the behavior, feelings,
emotions about the person is
known to that person itself as
well as the other members in
this group.
8. • Anything you know about
yourself and are willing to share
is part of your open
area. Individuals can build trust
between themselves by
disclosing information to others
and learning about others from
the information they in turn
disclose about themselves.
9. • So, the open area through this
group can be increased horizontally
such that the blindspot area is
reduced and vertically it is
increased so that the hidden and
unknown areas of a person are
reduced when that person reveals
about his feeling to the other
person.
10. 2. Blindspot/Blindself
Is the area in which the
certain information on your
personality is known to others
but that information is not
known to you.
11. • Any aspect that you do not know about
yourself, but others within the group
have become aware of, is in your blind
area. With the help of feedback from
others you can become aware of some
of your positive and negative traits as
perceived by others and overcome
some of the personal issues that may
be inhibiting your personal or group
dynamics within the team.
12. 3. Hidden Area or Hidden Self
• The information that you hide from others.
Here, the information is known to you but
the others are unknown to this
information.
• The reason for this may be the information
might be personal to you so that you are
reluctant to share it with others. This
includes secrets, past experiences,
feelings, etc. Many people keep their
information private and do not share it
with others.
13. • There are also aspects about
yourself that you are aware of
but might not want others to
know, this quadrant is known as
your hidden area.
14. 4. Unknown Areas or
Unknown Self
•the information is unknown
to you as well as the others.
Generally, certain feelings,
talents, information, etc fall
in this area.
15. •The reason for this might
be some traumatic
experience in the past
about a particular event
or experiences which
might be unknown for
your ever.
16. •This leaves just one area
and is the area that is
unknown to you or
anyone else – the
unknown area.
17. Take note that …..
the balance between the four quadrants
can change. You might want to tell
someone an aspect of your life that you
had previously kept hidden.
For example, maybe you are not
comfortable contributing ideas in large
groups. This would decrease your open
area and increase your hidden area.
Editor's Notes
Heuristik (/hyooristik)- enabling someone to discover or learn something for themselves.
