An experiment was conducted in which perceptions of an individual responding to an initial disclosure were examined. Observer subjects (N=315) read a brief description of a first encounter between two women. During the meeting one of the women made either an intimate or a non-intimate disclosure (low vs. high initial intimacy). The other woman responded in one of five ways: with an intimate disclosure (high-return-disclosure), a non-intimate disclosure (low-return-disclosure), acknowledgement and sympathy (concern), concern-plus-high-return-disclosure, or concern-plus-low-return-disclosure. Regardless of initial intimacy, the most favorable impressions of the respondent were formed in the "concern" condition. When the respondent made a disclosure of her own, the interaction predicted by the normative hypothesis was replicated. Results indicate there is a possibility that a disclosure reciprocity norm may not apply to conversations. (Author)