Interpersonal communication is communication that takes place in a face-to-face situation of two or more people, both verbally and non-verbally. The interpersonal communication process only involves two people, such as husband - wife, teacher - student, nurse - patient and so on (Mulyana, 2010). Interpersonal communication can be seen from two sides as the development of impersonal communication and personal or intimate communication. Therefore, the degree of interpersonal communication affects the breadth and depth of information so as to change attitudes.
Good interpersonal communication will result in good feedback as well. Interpersonal communication is needed to regulate the manners of life or relationships between humans. Providing good interpersonal communication will have a major impact on human life (Rejeki, 2008). Good and quality interpersonal communication begins by considering the five general qualities of interpersonal communication, namely, openness, empathy, supportiveness, positiveness, and equality (Mulyana, 2010).
According to Cristanty and Azeharie (2016), good and quality interpersonal communication can be achieved if the closeness between nurses and the elderly is formed. Nurses are those who have an important role in interpersonal communication with the elderly. Role is a behavior that is carried out according to its position in a system. Roles can be influenced by social conditions and roles are forms of behavior that are expected by a person in certain social functions (Kozier Barbara, 1995:21)
Elderly is someone who has reached the age of more than 60 years (Maryam et al, 2008 in Havifi, 2014). Problems that arise in the elderly who have decreased physical and mental conditions, then he will experience a decline in cognitive and psychomotor functions. Therefore, nurses are required to have good communication skills with the elderly who are in nursing homes (Kartinah & Sudaryanto, 2008).
As an initial stage, nurses approach with interpersonal communication which is then through social penetration. According to Cristanty and Azeharie (2016), through social penetration nurses can open layers of the personality of the elderly, which then nurses can get to know the personalities of the elderly, so that they can open up and feel comfortable in the nursing home environment. The Social Penetration Theory proposed by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor covers the study of social psychology and communication. The scope of the field of communication studies in this theory explains a framework of thought that the communication process plays an important role in the development of social relations.
Griffin said, “Interpersonal closeness proceeds in a gradual and orderly fashion from superficial to intimate level of exchange, motivated by current and projected future outcomes. Lasting intimacy requires continual and mutual vulnerability through breadth and depth of self-disclosure”.
According to West & Turner (2007), there are stages in the process of social penetration. There are 4 stages, namely: 1. Orientation Stage, in this stage only a few are shown to others such as name, address, age, and so on. 2. Exchange of affective exploration, this stage is an expansion of the public area of the self and occurs when aspects of an individual's original personality begin to emerge, what was previously private becomes public. 3. Affective exchange, at this stage there is an emphasis on commitment and comfort, which is characterized by close and intimate friendships. 4. Stable exchange, in this stage both parties are in a high level of intimacy. The point is that the behavior between the two sometimes reoccurs, and both parties are able to assess each other and predict the behavior that occurs quite accurately.
The process of social penetration is a give and take experience in which the communicator and the communicators involved try to balance their individual needs with the needs of the relationship. A person's background, personal values, and the environment in which the relationship occurs can affect the process of social penetration (West & Turner, 2007).
