The Johari Window is a simple model of self-awareness created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955. It divides what is known about a person into four quadrants: open (known to you and others), blind (known to others but not you), hidden (known to you but not others) and unknown. It shows how feedback and self-disclosure help people understand themselves and build trust.
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Reading time: about 8 minutes
How we wrote this article: this article was written by Saj Ali. It explains the Johari Window model, how to run the exercise, and what research on self-disclosure and feedback adds, and every research claim links to its source.
The Johari Window in brief
- Who created it. Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, 1955, at the University of California, Los Angeles. ‘Johari’ combines Joe and Harry.
- The four quadrants. Open, blind, hidden and unknown.
- The aim. Grow the open area by asking for feedback and sharing more of yourself.
- Where it is used. Relationships, coaching, team building, leadership and classrooms.
- Try it. Pick five words from the list that describe you and ask three people to do the same.
Contents
- What the Johari Window Is
- The Four Quadrants
- How to Do the Johari Window Exercise
- The 56 Johari Adjectives
- How to Grow Your Open Area
- Using the Johari Window in Relationships
- Using It in Teams and Leadership
- Tips for a Good Experience
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key Takeaways
- Explore More on Self Help Supermarket
- Sources
What the Johari Window Is
The Johari Window is a four-box grid that maps how well you know yourself and how well others know you. Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham introduced it in 1955 at a group development workshop at the University of California, Los Angeles. The name blends their first names, Joe and Harry. Luft expanded on the idea in his books Group Processes and Of Human Interaction.
It became popular because it makes something abstract, self-awareness, easy to see. Every relationship and team has things that are openly shared, things people notice about us that we miss, things we keep private, and things nobody has discovered yet.
The model is closely tied to emotional intelligence, which starts with self-awareness, and to good communication in relationships.
The Four Quadrants
| Known to self | Not known to self | |
|---|---|---|
| Known to others | 1. Open area (arena) – what you and others both see | 2. Blind area (blind spot) – what others see that you do not |
| Not known to others | 3. Hidden area (façade) – what you know but keep private | 4. Unknown area – what nobody knows yet |
1. Open area
Your visible traits, skills, opinions and feelings that you share openly. A larger open area tends to make communication easier because there is less guesswork.
2. Blind area
Things other people notice that you do not, such as interrupting when excited, looking stern when concentrating, or a talent you undervalue. Feedback shrinks this area.
3. Hidden area
Things you know but keep to yourself, such as fears, past experiences, hopes or opinions. Some privacy is healthy. Sharing more, at the right pace and with the right people, builds closeness.
4. Unknown area
Abilities, reactions and feelings nobody has discovered yet, sometimes revealed by new challenges, travel, therapy or creative work.
How to Do the Johari Window Exercise
The classic exercise uses a list of 56 positive adjectives.
- Choose your words. Pick five or six adjectives from the list below that you think describe you.
- Ask others. Ask three to six people who know you (friends, colleagues, a partner) to pick five or six words that describe you, without seeing your choices.
- Map the results. Words both you and others chose go in the open area. Words only others chose go in the blind area. Words only you chose go in the hidden area. Words nobody chose sit in the unknown area.
- Reflect. What surprised you? Which blind-area strengths could you use more? What hidden qualities might you share?
- Talk about it. Thank people, and ask one or two follow-up questions about the words they picked.
Online tools can collect the answers anonymously if people find it easier to be honest that way.
The 56 Johari Adjectives
able, accepting, adaptable, bold, brave, calm, caring, cheerful, clever, complex, confident, dependable, dignified, empathetic, energetic, extroverted, friendly, giving, happy, helpful, idealistic, independent, ingenious, intelligent, introverted, kind, knowledgeable, logical, loving, mature, modest, nervous, observant, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, reflective, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-assertive, self-conscious, sensible, sentimental, shy, silly, spontaneous, sympathetic, tense, trustworthy, warm, wise, witty.
Some versions swap a few words, and many facilitators add their own lists for teams or couples. The aim is a shared, neutral vocabulary.
How to Grow Your Open Area
Two moves enlarge the open area.
Ask for feedback (shrinks the blind area). Make it easy and specific: “What is one thing I do in meetings that helps, and one thing I could change?” Listen, say thank you, and resist the urge to explain. Workplace coaching, which often builds in structured feedback, has been linked to improvements in learning and performance in a large meta-analysis (Jones, Woods and Guillaume, 2016).
Share more of yourself (shrinks the hidden area). Self-disclosure builds closeness. A meta-analysis found that people tend to like others who disclose to them, and tend to disclose more to people they like (Collins and Miller, 1994). The famous “36 questions” study showed that gradually deepening self-disclosure between strangers increased feelings of closeness (Aron et al., 1997).
| Research finding | Link to the Johari Window |
|---|---|
| Self-disclosure and liking reinforce each other (Collins and Miller, 1994) | Sharing from the hidden area builds rapport |
| Gradual mutual disclosure builds closeness (Aron et al., 1997) | Pace matters; open up step by step |
| Coaching with feedback supports learning and performance (Jones et al., 2016) | Feedback reduces the blind area |
Using the Johari Window in Relationships
Couples can use the model as a warm, low-pressure conversation starter.
- Pick words for each other. Each partner chooses five adjectives for themselves and five for the other, then compares. Focus on what feels good to hear.
- Share one hidden thing a week. A childhood memory, a current worry or a dream. Go at a pace that feels safe for both of you.
- Ask about blind spots kindly. “Is there something I do when I’m stressed that you’d like me to know about?”
- Explore the unknown together. New experiences, from travel to classes, reveal new sides of both of you.
This links well with the 5 Love Languages, which add a shared vocabulary for how each of you gives and receives care, and with mindfulness in relationships.
Using It in Teams and Leadership
Teams use the Johari Window in onboarding, away days and leadership programmes. New teams have small open areas, which is why early conversations can feel cautious. Sharing working styles, strengths and preferences quickly enlarges the shared space.
Leaders can model the process by asking for feedback publicly and sharing appropriate information about their own priorities and challenges. Pair it with the GROW coaching model for one-to-ones, and with Six Thinking Hats for team decisions.
Tips for a Good Experience
- Choose people who know you reasonably well and who you trust.
- Keep the adjective list positive, as in the original, so the exercise feels safe.
- Respect privacy. The hidden area is yours, and it is fine to keep some things there.
- Treat surprises as information, not judgement.
- Repeat the exercise once a year to see how your window changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created the Johari Window?
Psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, in 1955 at the University of California, Los Angeles. The name combines Joe and Harry.
What are the four quadrants of the Johari Window?
Open (known to you and others), blind (known to others, not you), hidden (known to you, not others) and unknown (known to nobody).
How do you do the Johari Window exercise?
Choose five or six adjectives from a list of 56 that describe you, ask several people to do the same about you, then map the overlaps into the four quadrants.
What is the aim of the Johari Window?
To enlarge the open area by asking for feedback and sharing more of yourself, which supports trust and communication.
How many adjectives are in the Johari Window?
The classic version uses 56 positive adjectives.
Can couples use the Johari Window?
Yes. Partners can choose words for themselves and each other, then talk about what they discover.
Is the Johari Window used at work?
Yes. It is common in team building, leadership training and coaching.
What is the blind spot in the Johari Window?
Things other people see in you that you do not see yourself. Feedback helps reveal them.
Key Takeaways
- The Johari Window was created by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955.
- It has four quadrants: open, blind, hidden and unknown.
- Feedback shrinks the blind area; self-disclosure shrinks the hidden area.
- The classic exercise uses 56 positive adjectives chosen by you and others.
- Research links self-disclosure with liking and closeness.
- It works well for couples, teams, leaders and personal growth.
Explore More on Self Help Supermarket
Use these pages alongside this one:
- Emotional Intelligence – self-awareness and empathy
- Improving Communication in Relationships – practical tools for couples
- The 5 Love Languages – a shared vocabulary for care
- The GROW Model – a coaching structure for conversations
- Six Thinking Hats – better group thinking
- Relationships – every relationships guide
- Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions – how culture shapes the way we see each other
- Emotional Intelligence Quiz – check your self-awareness and empathy
- Personality Types on YouTube – channels explaining personality models
- Browse all self-help techniques – compare every method on Self Help Supermarket.
Sources
- 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: University of California, Los Angeles.
- Luft, J. (1969). Of Human Interaction. Palo Alto, CA: National Press Books.
- Collins, N. L., and Miller, L. C. (1994). Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 457–475. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.457
- Aron, A., et al. (1997). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(4), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297234003
- Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., and Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12119
Self Help Supermarket guides are for general information and are not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.
