• practical theory designed to explain the every day issue of whether to tell someone something
• a continual balancing act of risks and rewards

• new, published in 2002
• in 1991, early version was published; focused on rule management system for disclosure
• considered a macrotheory

1. humans are choicemakers
2. humans are rule makers/followers
3. humans' choices and rules are based on consideration for others as well as the self

1. relational life is characterized by change
2. contradiction is the fundamental fact of relational life

• information about things that matter deeply to an individual
• private disclosure, not self-disclosure
• unique in three ways:

1. private disclosure are more personal
2. people disclose through a rule-based system
3. disclosures aren't only about the self

private information ownership

• people believe they own the information about themselves - perception, not always factual

private information control

• people develop boundaries to control their personal information
• private boundaries = lines between private and public info

private information rules

• people share and withhold information based on a system of rules
• rule development: describes how rules come to be decided; culture, gender, motivation, context
• privacy rules attributes:  how people acquire rules and properties of the rules

private information co-ownership and guardianship

• others become co-owners of people's private info based on rules about linkage, permeability, and ownership
• collective boundary:  around private info that includes more than one person
• personal boundary:  private info not disclosed, includes just one person
• boundary coordination:  how we manage private info that is co-owned
• boundary linkage:  the connections forming boundary alliances between people
• boundary ownership:  rights and priveleges of co-owners private info
• boundary permeability:  the extent to which info is able to pass through a boundary
• thick boundary:  closed, allowing litte/no info to pass through
• thin boundary:  open, allowing all info to pass

private information boundary turbulence

• when rules are not followed and mistakes are made = turbulence
• boundary turbulence:  conflicts about boundary expectations and regulation

weaknesses

• logical consistency:  is CPM truly a dialectic theory? some argue it uses a dualistic approach

strenghts

• heuristic
• practical utility