Rebecca B. Rubin And S-Elaborates On Knapp's Relationship Model

The Development of Relationship Stage Measures, an academic article written by Rebecca B. Rubin and S-A Welch elaborates on Knapp’s Model of Relationship Model. Their goal was to create an index for relationship stages and develop a coding system for the data. In the article, it was said that “Relationship definitions are individually constructed and interpreted, and sometimes two people in the same relationship existing on different stages of development.” Which translates to, terms are not world-wide and instead personal to the person who creates it. An example would be, one person may believe there are in a serious relationship in the bonding stage while their partner believes they are on the experimenting stage and just getting to know each other. Miscommunication can occur without discussions to discuss issues like this and similar. Welch and Rubin continued on discussing Knapp’s Relationship Model. The coming together section of the model was discussed first. The first stage, initiating, is contact, the second is experimenting, explained as talking more and expanding on the topic of conversations. Followed by intensifying, which is deeper into previous conversation topics from stage two. The fourth stage is integrating, said to be evolving unto an official couple. Lastly, the highest stage is bonding, a full disclosure and complete trust and love relationship. Welch and Rubin then discussed …show more content…
Avtgis, from West Virginia University and Daniel V. West from Kent State University wrote Relationship Stages: An Inductive Analysis Identifying Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Dimensions of Knapp’s Relational Stages Model. Avtgis wrote that relationship models had two phases, coming together and coming apart. Five stages for each phase. The coming together stages were initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding. The coming apart stages included differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and