1. The Psychology Between Self and Others: The Mechanism of Misalignment
We talk with people, work with people, and live while interacting with others every day. Yet, these interactions often do not go as expected.
“That wasn’t my intention,” “I don’t know why I was misunderstood,” “I explained it properly, but it didn’t come across”—everyone has experienced this.
So why does this “misalignment” occur? The reason is very simple.
In most cases, the self you see and the self others see are different.
People see themselves from the inside. Feelings, intentions, background, hesitation—inside oneself, all the materials for understanding are present.
However, others can only see the outside of you: facial expressions, tone of voice, actions, and momentary behavior.
This gap between “internal information” and “externally visible information” is the true nature of misalignment.
For example, even if you are “simply thinking carefully,” others may see you as “slow to respond” or “unmotivated.”
Even if you believe you are “speaking carefully,” others may feel that “your explanation is long” or “the point is unclear.”
Even if you are “holding back your opinion out of consideration,” others may perceive you as “hard to read.”
None of these are issues of ability; they are caused by differences in what is visible.
The psychological model that organizes this difference in an easy-to-understand way is the Johari Window.
Going even deeper,
・Personality
・Emotions
・Thinking tendencies
・Behavior patterns
・Values
are objectively clarified by diagnostic assessments such as the 5D Profile Diagnostic, including areas that are difficult to see from the outside.
The Johari Window is a “map for understanding the structure of misalignment.”
Diagnostic assessments are tools that show your current position on that map.
The self and others see different things. Simply understanding this premise makes human relationships remarkably easier to handle.
2. What Is the Johari Window?
The Johari Window is a psychological model that organizes the self you know and the self others know, visualizing communication misalignment in an easy-to-understand way.
This diagram organizes self-awareness along two axes—“known / unknown”—and represents it as four windows.
The “Open Area,” “Blind Area,” “Hidden Area,” and “Unknown Area” shown at the center of the diagram are divided by which parts you understand yourself and which parts others understand.
① Open Area (Public Self)
This is the part that both you and others know.
Because it is mutually shared, misunderstandings are less likely to occur.
② Blind Area (Unaware Self)
This is the part that others know but you yourself are not aware of.
It includes things such as habitual facial expressions or ways of speaking that are hard to notice on your own.
As indicated by the green arrow in the upper right of the diagram, by receiving feedback, the Blind Area shrinks and the Open Area expands.
③ Hidden Area (Private Self)
This is the part that you know but do not share with others.
It includes true feelings, values, and mental tendencies that are intentionally kept hidden.
As shown by the blue arrow in the lower left of the diagram, through self-disclosure, the Hidden Area shrinks and the Open Area expands.
④ Unknown Area (Unknown Self)
This is the part that neither you nor others are aware of.
It includes latent abilities, behaviors that emerge in unexperienced situations, and dormant talents.
Through experience, changes in environment, and learning, this area gradually becomes clearer.
⑤ The Role of Feedback and Self-Disclosure
As indicated by the arrows in the diagram, the key to improving communication lies in “feedback” and “self-disclosure.”
- Feedback: Incorporating others’ perspectives to become aware of aspects of yourself you did not notice
- Self-disclosure: Appropriately sharing your feelings, thoughts, and values with others
Through these, the Open Area expands, and misunderstandings and misalignment decrease.
The Johari Window is a simple yet highly effective model for improving relationships both at work and at home.
※ For the basic definition and background of the Johari Window, you can also refer to Wikipedia “Johari Window”.
※ For feedback, you can also refer to Wikipedia “Feedback”.
※ For self-disclosure, you can also refer to Wikipedia.
3. The Correlation Between the Johari Window and the 5D Profile Diagnostic
Frequently searched keywords such as “Johari Window blind spot” and “Johari Window unknown” relate directly to the limits of self-understanding. The 5D Profile Diagnostic is characterized by its ability to articulate these boundary areas through data.
The Johari Window is a model that organizes how far you and others understand you.
In contrast, the 5D Profile Diagnostic is a Diagnostic Assessment that visualizes
hard-to-see internal dimensions such as personality, emotions, thinking, behavior, and values as data.
These two have a strong correlation.
This is because both aim to clarify “the self you know” and “the self you do not know.”
● The Self You Know × the 5D Profile Diagnostic
The aspects you usually think of as “this is the kind of person I am” correspond to the Open Area (Public Self) in the Johari Window. When you take the 5D Profile Diagnostic, these self-recognized traits are organized as data, allowing you to understand them with clearer language.
This is the area where “vague self-understanding” transforms into “clear self-understanding.”
● The Self You Do Not Know × the 5D Profile Diagnostic
Everyone has habits and tendencies they are not aware of.
These correspond to the Blind Area (Unaware Self) or the Unknown Area (Unknown Self) in the Johari Window.
Through response patterns and trait scores, the 5D Profile Diagnostic brings to light behavioral, emotional, and thinking tendencies that the individual is usually unaware of.
As a result, it is common for people to experience “new discoveries,” such as “I didn’t realize this about myself” or “Now that you mention it, that does sound like me,” when reviewing their diagnostic results.
● The Complementary Relationship Between Feedback and Data
In the Johari Window, feedback reduces blind spots and deepens self-understanding. However, because feedback includes subjectivity, bias inevitably arises.
In contrast, the 5D Profile Diagnostic analyzes internal characteristics using objective data based on psychology and statistics, compensating for subjective bias and enabling more accurate identification of blind and unknown areas.
When subjectivity (feedback) and objectivity (diagnostic data) are combined, all four windows become clearer.
● Encountering the “Unknown Self”
By combining the Johari Window and the 5D Profile Diagnostic, we can gain the following two things simultaneously.
- Reconfirmation of the “self you thought you knew”
- Discovery of “another self” you were not aware of
In other words, the 5D Profile Diagnostic functions as a powerful tool for visualizing the “Blind,” “Hidden,” and “Unknown” areas among the four areas indicated by the Johari Window.
While the Johari Window is a model that organizes differences in perception, the 5D Profile Diagnostic presents the internal factors that create those differences as data. They do not have to be used together, but understanding both significantly increases the resolution of self-understanding.
4. Conclusion
The Johari Window has important strengths, but at the same time, it also has
limits that can never be crossed.
That limit is the “Unknown Area (Unknown Self)” located in the lower right of the diagram.
The Unknown Area cannot be discovered through the Johari Window alone, no matter how much effort is made.
The reason is simple:
it is based on the premise that “neither you nor others are aware of it.”
What is not noticed cannot be uncovered through feedback or self-disclosure.
However, this is where the greatest advantage of the 5D Profile Diagnostic comes into play.
The 5D Profile Diagnostic visualizes areas that cannot be seen on the surface—such as personality, emotions, thinking, behavior, and values—
through analysis based on psychology and statistical data.
As a result, it can reach areas that neither the individual nor others are aware of—in other words, the Unknown Area.
・Traits you are not aware of but could become strengths
・Potential that may be expressed in situations you have not yet experienced
・Hidden aptitudes and suitability or unsuitability for certain roles
These aspects, which would never be visible through ordinary observation or conversation, become clear.
In short, while the Johari Window is strong in “understanding structure,”
the 5D Profile Diagnostic is a model that can analyze the “actual content” at a deep level.
Whether you can approach the Unknown Area.
This is the greatest value that fundamentally distinguishes the 5D Profile Diagnostic from other psychological models.
※ For details on the structure of the 5D Profile Diagnostic and how it analyzes personality, emotions, thinking, behavior, and values, please refer to the 5D Profile Diagnostic overview page.