Five Stages of Interpersonal Relationships Essay example

What I thought was a new beginning for her and another chance at happiness, had actually turned out to be a complete disaster. It turned out that she had been involved with him all along. Rather than being honest with us, she lied continuously. We expressed to her that if he brought her happiness then we had no say so. We had no other option but to be happy for her. However, she still insisted that she’d cut all ties with him.

Fairy tales tell us that once upon a time a girl met a boy; they fell in love, and lived happily ever after. Reality is not that simple. Long-term relationships force couples to get to know each other, involve themselves in each others’ worlds, fight through the hard times, and eventually develop deeper connections as noted through distinctive stages of Knapp’s relationship model. Although I have dated the same person for over two years, our communication through relationship stages makes it seem as though I am now dating a different person than the one I met years ago. Following dissolution and subsequent repair, I realize the most exhilarating of roller coaster rides develop through sets of ups and downs, much like the

The whole reason for a therapeutic relationship is to facilitate a successful patient outcome. Each person is unique and has different needs.

After this conversation, I felt a little bit happier because I got to talk to a friend that I haven’t spoken to in such a long time. I felt that it improved my

The first stages are contact where individuals exchange basic information and decide if the relationship is worth pursuing. In the movie the audience can see this stage when Gary starts conversation with Brooke in the game of baseball. He offers to Brooke a hot dog, but she does not accept it. Gary insists offering the bread and she does not interest in Gary. After the game, Gary invites her to a bar, but Brooke refuses one more time to him. Gary insists saying that maybe a conversation can change their lives, and then Brooke accepts the invitation. At this moment, the audience can appreciate the second stage of relationships: involvement. They will spend more time together allowing an intensification of the relationship, knowing, and learning of each other. The third stage is intimacy. It is when two people accept each other and confirm their roles. The interpersonal commitment is demonstrated in the movie when several Gary and Brooke’s pictures are played showing them kissing and holding their hands. In addition, they show their social bonding which is more in public when the Brooke’s family comes to eat at home. The principal characters show to others that they are a partner and the family can see that. The next stage

It is often said that all good things come to an end. Relationships come and go, and some mean more than others. In fact, there was even a relationship model developed by a communication researcher by the name of Mark Knapp. In his model, he goes through what seems to be presented as a smooth step transition from each stage in which a relationship eventually evolves into. As I studied this up then down ladder model, I began to realize that I ought to build up some strong calf muscles, because my relationship sure has climbed up and down a few flights of stairs. Mark Knapp believes that relationships go through multiple stages, the uphill stages being initiation, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, bonding, then relational maintenance. On the flip side, Knapp believes the descending stages to be differentiating, circumscribing, avoiding, and eventually, termination.

Interpersonal communication is the most important kind of communication. It happens when two individuals are in a close proximity to each other, and they are able to provide immediate feedback to one another. IPC (interpersonal communication) is the way we express our thoughts, feelings, and ideas to the people around us. Interpersonal communication is something you need to do well as it affects many aspects of your life.

After this first point of contact, the couple enters the next interpersonal stage of 'involvement,' as they get to know one another. Despite their differences, they become convinced that they have a future together and view their differences as potential positives rather than negatives. The couple moves in together and begins to establish greater intimacy. Unfortunately, it is at this juncture that the relationship begins to fall apart, as they try to establish a more private form of 'intimacy,' even though they are publically a couple.

I will be analyzing our relationship using Mark Knapp’s model of relationship development, the transactional model of

Sally new how other one feels about relationship’s and what they both went through in there.

Just as self concept seemed a vicious circle, where this affects that and that effects this; relational development is the same. Relational development can alter our lives and our communication, while communication issues can alter our relational development and our lives. The relational perspective is a pragmatic one and focuses on the continuance of communication processes through relationships. (Rogers, 2004.) Relationships go through a series of stages. The initial and first encounter to a relationship is called the initiating stage. While in this stage, two people attempt to create favorably impressionable first impressions. In this stage you will look for cues about the other person’s personality, attitude, beliefs, and values so that you can progress the relationship. If the relationship continues and impressions are favorable than the two people move to the second stage, also known as the experimenting stage. In this stage people reveal themselves further but not completely since the stage is still a precarious one. If a common ground and understanding of each other is obtained then the relationship moves to the next stage, the intensifying stage. In this stage shared experiences becomes common and self disclosure is open. The next stage is the integrating stage, this is where the individuals usually become a couple. They have shared interests and attitudes, and sometimes talk or act alike. The other individual becomes like your other half. If things go awry than relationships often shift to the circumscribing stage. This is when couples start to self disclose less and less to the other person. Then comes the stagnating stage. At this point there is no communication and no activity between the two people. Sometimes there is an

Knapp’s Relational Model is the holy grail when it comes to interpersonal relationships, whether they be new or old. The model defines different stages of a relationship and at which one’s the relationship is coming together or falling apart. Furthermore, many things in life can bring two people together, it can be a positive experience in life or a negative one. My best friend Kenna and I met in eighth grade, we both loved the band One Direction, from there we were inseparable. Now we can know what each of us are thinking using nonverbal communication, which happens a lot in our relationship, the interpersonal attraction towards one another also had an effect on if maybe we were meant to be friends or not.

I interviewed John and Cindy about their marriage and the challenges they’ve faced together as a married couple. I am encouraged by their relationship and have decided to use their relationship as a model for my second interview. John and Cindy have been married for almost 5 years. In addition to this union, there is McKenna, Cindy’s son. They are a blended family, of course, and are part of the more modern structure of families in our society.

This literature review will first define romantic relationships and explore what exactly happens in the development of these relationships. From the research found, individual’s age or sex did not necessarily affect the differences in communication. Some research claimed that communication itself defined a romantic relationship; while other researchers said that a couple having the conversation of, “what are we?” was enough to define the relationship. Sometimes it was mutuality in a relationship that helped define it. Mutuality in relationships was often increased with positivity and compliments between partners (Doohan and Manusov 2004).

Communication is the process of gathering meaning from the world around us and using verbal and non-verbal messages to share this meaning with others. (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2005) More specifically, interpersonal communication can be defined as; “a distinctive, transactual form of human communication involving mutual influence, usually for the purpose of managing relation ships.” (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2005, p. 6) Interpersonal communication is extremely complex and encompasses many different themes and issues that affect many aspects of our daily lives. These