Interpersonal Relationships The first step towards commitment in Knapp’s Relationship Model is initiating. Initiating is when the two people first meet. During this interaction they are likely to be very polite and will exchange very surface information about themselves, engaging in what we call ‘small talk.’ After initiating the couple will move into the second stage, experimenting. Throughout this stage the two will start to learn more about one another, starting to reduce any uncertainty they might have about the other person. Some people may choose to ask very personal questions such as political or religious preferences, while others may stay more surface asking about family and friends, education and careers. Once the couple feels comfortable
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Tom and Summer hit the first stage, initiating, during the elevator scene. Summer begins the initiation by commenting on the music she can hear blasting from his headphones, revealing that she likes the band he was listening to, “The Smiths.” Later in the day, at a co-worker’s engagement celebration, they enter the experimenting stage. They exchange their stories of how they ended up at the company and they both add brief and humorous descriptions of their high school reputations. Tom says he was referred to as perfectly adequate and handsome and Summer reveals she was known as the “anal girl,” for being very neat and organized. At the karaoke bar that night, Summer shares that she does not want a relationship, which allows Tom’s uncertainty of her intentions to …show more content…
Tom has a need to be connected to Summer and constantly pushes her to define their relationship whereas Summer is very autonomous and sees no need for a title, hoping to keep things casual (Connection vs. Autonomy). It is obvious towards the end of the movie that Summer is becoming bored and desires change because she is not pleased with monotony of the relationship. On the contrary, Tom relishes having a routine and does not seem flexible to venture outwards (Predictability vs. Novelty). The most obvious tension seen between Tom and Summer is their conflicting personalities; Tom is very open with Summer and shares very intimate thoughts and details about his life, even at the very beginning stages of their relationship. Summer is much less open about her opinions and feelings and wishes to distance her intimate secrets from Tom’s knowledge (Openness vs.
Tom and Summer hit the first stage, initiating, during the elevator scene. Summer begins the initiation by commenting on the music she can hear blasting from his headphones, revealing that she likes the band he was listening to, “The Smiths.” Later in the day, at a co-worker’s engagement celebration, they enter the experimenting stage. They exchange their stories of how they ended up at the company and they both add brief and humorous descriptions of their high school reputations. Tom says he was referred to as perfectly adequate and handsome and Summer reveals she was known as the “anal girl,” for being very neat and organized. At the karaoke bar that night, Summer shares that she does not want a relationship, which allows Tom’s uncertainty of her intentions to …show more content…
Tom has a need to be connected to Summer and constantly pushes her to define their relationship whereas Summer is very autonomous and sees no need for a title, hoping to keep things casual (Connection vs. Autonomy). It is obvious towards the end of the movie that Summer is becoming bored and desires change because she is not pleased with monotony of the relationship. On the contrary, Tom relishes having a routine and does not seem flexible to venture outwards (Predictability vs. Novelty). The most obvious tension seen between Tom and Summer is their conflicting personalities; Tom is very open with Summer and shares very intimate thoughts and details about his life, even at the very beginning stages of their relationship. Summer is much less open about her opinions and feelings and wishes to distance her intimate secrets from Tom’s knowledge (Openness vs.