Knapp's Relationship Model Analysis

1.1 Key principles of relationship theories - Stage theories in general describe how we go through distinct stages as we develop. Thus, rather than gradually changing, we typically make sudden shifts to different plateaus of perception and behaviour.

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.

What forms of communication was Knapp’s ideal of Relational Development model were identified. Explain each stage and apply relevant examples.

When Montgomery and Baxter first started researching interpersonal relationships they were surprised by the feedback they discovered from their interviews (Griffin, 2009). They found multiple truths to a lot

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

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

Mark Knapp developed a theoretical model to which identifies the stages of interpersonal relationships which explains how relationships begin and grow, as well as how they deteriorate and end. This model defines ten separate stages of relational development under three different interrelating categories; Coming Together, Relational Maintenance, and Coming Apart. An analysis of a personal relationship through the use of Knapp’s stages of relational development leads to a better understanding of that relationship and our role within it. In this essay I will be analyzing a personal relationship of my own using Knapp’s stages as a guide. However, these stages are subjective to each individual’s unique situation. Therefore, I will only be examining my relationship in the “coming together” stages. Furthermore, it is possible to pass over or amalgamate stages, as these stages are closer to a guide rather than set rules. For this analysis I will be breaking the “coming together” stages into initiating, experimentation and intensifying, integration, and bonding.

The second half of the relational model is called the “coming apart” stages, which consists of: differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and lastly terminating. During the differentiating stage the relationship will start to be more individual, it will start to fade and the bond will be broken. After that comes the circumscribing stage during which the individuals won’t communicate because of the fear of starting an argument. The stage where relationships never improve or continue is called stagnating. After this point the individuals enter the avoiding stage, where the avoid any physical contact

An example of a relationship changing for the better is seen in the friendship between Amy and Theodore. The first time we see them communicate with one another is in an email sent to Theodore from Amy, Amy writes, “Hey Theodore, Lewman is having a bunch of people over this weekend, let’s go together, I miss you I mean not the said mopey you, the old fun you. Let’s get him out, give me a shout back. Love, Amy.”

There has been some recent argument against the current understanding of the place of relationships in psychotherapy. While most theories argue that relationships are important or even essential to good mental health, other theorists claim that the way relationships are conceptualized in these theories is insufficient (Slife & Wiggins, 2009). Most of these theories conceptualize the individuals first, and then talk about the way these individuals relate. Relationships are often understood as two or more independent self-contained individuals interacting (Slife & Wiggins, 2009). An alternative way to look at relationships is offered by relational psychoanalysts and other theorists, though again it should be noted that

Theory explains why as relationships develop, communication moves from less intimate levels to more intimate, more personal levels.

There are several theories used by Psychologists to explain how relationships are formed. This paper will be looking at 3 of them: Needs Satisfaction Theory, Matching Hypothesis and Sociobiological Theory.

Everyone goes through situations in which they form new relationships with people they previously did not know. For example, when a student moves onto a college campus for his or her freshman year, the student will have to go through the process of making new friends and getting to know his or her roommate. The social penetration theory of communication explains how new relationships form and the levels a relationship must go through before it can be described as being friends.

Alan Page Fiske catalyzed the advocacy of the relational model 's theory (RMT) in 1991. The theory states that there are four natural ways of interrelating with other people. The author established the four models in his article structures of social life. Fiske affirms that the models work together in varying combinations and control almost all transactions by human beings (Bolender, 2010, p.60). He further asserts that the models unify ideas on moral judgment, social justice, religious, political ideology, and social conflict. It also informs the reactions to misfortunes and transgression. He explains that they are the foundation of human sociality (Bolender, 2010, p.60). The four models of relations as identified by Fiske include market pricing, equality matching, authority ranking, and communal sharing. The theory suggests the four models as the first cognitive models which represent, comprehends, evaluates, and constructs social relationships (Haslam, 2004, p.3). Therefore, the models do not define the type of relationships that exists between individuals in principle; the models are not empirically independent but are a contingent matter regarding the degree of their association as they operate in a culture (Fiske and Fiske, 2007, p.284). The culture adopted by different communities varies according to the combination of the four models.