Johari’s
window is a concept used in psychology to explain knowledge in
interpersonal relationships. It's named after its inventors, Joseph Luft
and Harry Ingham. Often portrayed as a diagram in a two-by-two square
shape - but here, of course, illustrated with a photo! - it depicts the
four possible combinations of what is known and unknown to self and
other. Let’s take a look at how Johari’s window applies to situations
in which you share your photograph with others. We’ll start with the
upper left window pane.
1. Known to Self / Known to Other
Let’s
say when other people see your photo, they offer comments about it.
Maybe they say something about its subject matter, its visual qualities,
the techniques used to create it, or an idea being expressed. If you
nod your head in agreement, because you’re aware of these things and
probably intended them, then this is the first pane of Johari’s window:
things about the image that are known to self and other. Psychologists
call this the "open" quadrant.
Most
of the time this will be a satisfying experience. You created the photo
with a specific purpose in mind and people acknowledge it. That’s what
sharing photographs is all about: successful communication. The more you
share photos with others, the bigger this quadrant gets.
2. Known to Self / Unknown to Other
If we
slide over to the pane on the top right, we run into a situation that
usually isn’t so rewarding. People aren’t aware of the idea you’re
trying to express in the image. They don’t notice the techniques you
used. They just don’t get it and you perhaps end up feeling
unappreciated, frustrated, and misunderstood – especially if you were
attempting to express some personal thought or feeling in the image.
What
then? Well, you might conclude that your image did not succeed in its
attempt to communicate, so you go back to the drawing board and try
again. Or you explain the photo. As they say in interpersonal
psychology, you might even “self-disclose” to help people understand the
personal thought or feeling that you were trying to convey. If that
works and they now get it, you successfully managed to slide back over
to the first pane.
Sometimes
people actually may be aware of your purpose and efforts in creating
the photo, but they just don’t say anything about it. In that case a
little bit of inquiry on your part will help you realize that you’re
really in a Pane #1 situation – although it sure would be nice for
people to acknowledge what they understand without your having to probe
to find out. In other situations people may not realize something about
the image and you deliberately don't tell them. Maybe there's something
personal about the photo that you would rather not disclose, or maybe it
involves one of your photography secrets. That's why psychologists
sometimes call this the "hidden" quadrant.
3. Unknown to Self / Known to Other
Let’s
move on to the lower left pane. This is where things start to get
interesting - in this "blind" quadrant. People detect aspects of your
photo that you hadn’t noticed yourself, sometimes even when you had put a
lot of thought and effort into creating the image! If the person points
out a flaw, that might be a bit upsetting, as when you didn’t notice
the utility pole extending out of the subject’s head. It’s a reminder
of how your eye can develop blind spots.
On the
other hand, people may point out something admirable about the image
that you hadn’t considered yourself. Maybe it’s something about the
composition or the idea being expressed. Images can be so subtle and
complex that you can’t notice everything. Sometimes you even overlook
an important feature that made it a good shot!
Lightbulbs
really start popping over your head when psychologically astute people
perceive something about your personality or lifestyle in the photo even
though you had not intended to reveal it. In interpersonal psychology
they would say that the other person’s “feedback” triggered an insight
for you. With that insight you have now moved back to Pane #1, while on
the way feeling an empathic connection with that person.
This
is one of the outcomes of sharing photographs that can be quite
fascinating, although sometimes a bit intimidating too. We don’t always
realize the unconscious forces that shape our photography. If we take
other people's point of view, the situation might be tricky for them as
well. Would you point out something about an image when it's clear that
the photographer doesn't realize it? How do you do that?
4. Unknown to Self / Unknown to Other
The
last pane in Johari’s window, on the bottom right, is the most elusive.
It's the "unknown" quadrant. Is there something important about your
photograph that neither you nor the other person recognize? Perhaps both
of you haven’t taken the time or don’t have the eye to notice something
subtle about the concept, composition, or technique. Or maybe it’s
something about your personality that’s so subtle or hidden that neither
of you can see it.
But
how do you know the difference between a situation where there’s
something important that’s unknown to self and other and a situation
where there’s nothing important to be known?
You
don’t. That's why it's the mysterious "unknown" quadrant. You’ll only
find out by discussing the photo with others, by self-disclosure and
feedback. That process might lead you to Pane #3, where the other person
comes to realize something about the image that you still don’t. It
might lead to Pane #2, where you arrive at an insight into your work
while the other person still does not. If the purpose of photography is
successful communication with others and even within your own psyche,
the process ideally leads once again back to Pane #1, where both of you
gain a new understanding of the image and what it means.
- source: http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/johari.htm
The images in this project match the second cathegory of the chart: Known to Self/ Unknown to Other. When the viewers looks at the image, all he/she sees is a photo of a stuffed animal, nothing else. When I look at the image, I see a part of my childhood or an important event in my life. The viewer cannot know that simply because the meaning of the stuffed animal is not the same as it is to me. He can only understand and find out about the story if I choose to explain and describe the event related to the plushie.
