Knapp's Relational Model

     We all have several relationships in our lives whether they are friendship, romance, family, etc. All relationships at any time are in the ongoing process of either developing or dying. Knapps Relational Model portrays a relationship as a series of steps broken down into two stages that happen at the same time. These two "stages", coming together and coming apart, combine to form relational maintenance. 

    One interpersonal relationship that I have that is a good representation of Knapp's Relational Model is my relationship with my mom. My mom and I have been through a lot, and so has our relationship. We have come together, grown apart and ended up coming back together as most children do with their parents. Starting with the initiating stage, that initiation happened when I was a baby, and my mom was my mom. That relationship started the day I was born. Moving on to experimenting, my mom tried several ways with me growing up to aid our relationship and aid me in general. Please experiments brought us closer as I started figuring out that relationship. Next comes intensifying, which game in my tween slash teen stages. This was where our relationship became stronger because I was actually able to start developing my side of the relationship because I was finally able to put things in perspective and relate. Next comes integrating. This is where I established my identity and established the relationship's identity by highlighting the qualities that make my relationship with my mom its own. Then came bonding, this was probably established in middle school to early high school when my mom and I started hanging out with my sisters and going out. This was formally establishing that relationship in public. Then moving on to late to mid-teens that differentiation stage kicked in. I had moments where I felt thrown to the side or moments where it felt like some things that meant a lot to me didn't mean anything to them. This is where I expressed my beliefs and acted in a way that was different in my mom's perspective. Next came circumscribing. This is where I avoided topics that would make us angry at each other and I shared information that she wanted to hear and held information that she didn't want to hear to myself. Next stagnation kicked in where I avoided communicating or talking about the problems or disagreements and soon after avoiding was taking place because I had distanced myself from her by going out more and spending as little time at home as possible, engaging minimally. My relationship with my mom never hit the terminating stage. Instead that relationship was rebuilt starting back at initiation.

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