An empty Johari window.

A Johari window is a cognitive psychological tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 in the United States, used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships. It is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise. Image File history File links Johari_Window. ... Image File history File links Johari_Window. ... Cognitive Psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. ... For the Bobby Womack album, see Communication (1972 album). ... In the contexts of sociology and of popular culture, the concept of interpersonal relationships involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. ... Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual or a group betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally, the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological or psychotherapeutic nostrums, often purveyed through the popular genre of the self-help book. ... For other uses, see Heuristic (disambiguation). ...

When performing the exercise, the subject is given a list of 55 adjectives and picks five or six that they feel describe their own personality. Peers of the subject are then given the same list, and each pick five or six adjectives that describe the subject. These adjectives are then mapped onto a grid.

Quadrants

Adjectives selected by both the participant and his or her peers are placed into the Arena quadrant. This quadrant represents traits of the participant of which both they and their peers are aware.

Adjectives selected only by the participant, but not by any of their peers, are placed into the Façade quadrant, representing information about the participant of which their peers are unaware. It is then up to the participant whether or not to disclose this information.

Adjectives that are not selected by the participant but only by their peers are placed into the Blind Spot quadrant. These represent information of which the participant is not aware, but others are, and they can decide whether and how to inform the individual about these "blind spots".

Adjectives which were not selected by either the participant or their peers remain in the Unknown quadrant, representing the participant's behaviors or motives which were not recognized by anyone participating. This may be because they do not apply, or because there is collective ignorance of the existence of said trait.

Nohari variant

A Nohari window is the inversion of the Johari window, and is a collection of negative personality traits instead of positive.

Johari adjectives

A Johari Window consists of 55 adjectives used to describe the participant, in alphabetical order:

Motivational equivalent

The concept of meta-emotions categorized by basic emotions offers the possibility of a meta-emotional window as an motivational counterpart to the meta-cognitive Johari window. Its over and done But the heartache lives on inside And who is the one your clinging to instead of me tonight And where are you now Now that I need you Tears on my pillow Wherever you go Cry me a river that leads to your oceans Youll never...

External links

• Open Windows, Online tools for teamanalysis and group development, based on Johari Window. (In Swedish.)
• The Johari Game, "Know Me" a business-focused board game
• Noogenesis article on the Johari Window Examples of window-altering actions; game theory aspects.
• Online Johari Window tool, by Kevan Davis
• Online Nohari Window tool, also by Kevan Davis
• http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ca/workshop/comm/slides.pdf

References

• The original written publication appears to be: Luft, J. and Ingham, H. (1955) "The Johari window, a graphic model of interpersonal awareness", Proceedings of the western training laboratory in group development. Los Angeles: UCLA
• Einfuhrung in die Gruppendynamik, Joseph Luft, Klett 1972
• The Johari Window and the Dark Side of Organisations, Steward Hase, Alan Davies, Bob Dick, Souther Cross University 1999