Mark Knapp, communication studies author, studied interpersonal relationships to better determine how they develop. His work is oftentimes referred to as the relationship escalation model

Question

List and explain his five points of progression for relationships.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

They are:
1. Initiation: The initiation into a relationship can occur in just a few seconds. This is the point at which individuals present their "public selves" by using common pleasantries and everyday greetings such as "Hi, how are you?" It is this stage in the relationship where people initially observe the traits or characteristics of another person, while they are also being judged.
2. Experimenting/Exploration: This stage can be thought of as the information-gathering stage of a relationship. While individuals still have not spent a lot of time together, it is at this point that they gather enough information, through casual conversation, to determine if either party desires to continue the relationship.
3. Intensification: As individuals spend more time together, their formal interactions give way to less formal and more spontaneous conversation. The level of self-disclosure increases as might the level of physical contact. It is during this stage that the parameters of the relationship are set and individuals begin to state their levels of commitment.
4. Integrating: This is when the two individuals become a "couple" and are identified as a couple among their friends and family. Each shares their relational identity.
5. Bonding/Intimacy: During this stage, the couple reaches a shared level of interdependence. Knapp notes that it is during this relationship stage that some type of formal, official announcement is made of the couple's commitment to one another (such as an engagement or marriage).