Comm 212 WIKI

2. Initiating
• The goal of this stage is to show you are interested
in making contact and that you are a kind person
worth talking to
• This stage is generally brief
• This stage is hard for shy people, especially when it
comes to initiating romantic relationships
• People who are shy can use the internet to get
through the initiating stage of a relationship

3. Experimenting
 In this stage we can decide if we want to pursue the
relationship further
 Small talk stage
 I.E. Where are you from? What do you do?

4. Intensifying
 A true interpersonal relationship begins to form
 Expression of feelings becomes more common
 Start to spend more time together
 Ask for support and do favors for each other
 Hang out with mutual friends and take trips
 Give tokens of affection

5. Integrating
 Individuals give up some characteristics and develop
shared identities
 In romantic relationships this is when the social
circles merge
 Mail becomes addressed to the couple
 Common property “our apartment” “our car”
 For friendships they may start to use the same
phrases and sentence patterns

6. Bonding
 Relationships involving significant measures of
public commitment
 Peak of the “coming together” phase
 “Officializing” a couples integration i.e. marriage,
verbal or written pledge
 Initiation ceremony into a
fraternity
 Contract to formalize a
business

7. Differentiating
 Changing the conversations from
“we” to “I” stage
 Example: from our weekend plans to my weekend
plans
 Change plays an important part in this stage
 This stage is normally initiated by stress in the
relationship
 The key for success during this stage is maintaining a
commitment to the relationship while creating the
space for being an individual too

8. Circumscribing
 Communication between members decreases in
quality and quantity
 Opposite of integrating people aren’t as interested
or committed
 Mental or physical
withdrawal

9. Stagnating
 When the Circumscribing stage continues for a while
it will lead to this
 Behave toward each other in an old familiar way
without much feelings
 This happens when couples have the same
conversations, see the same people, and follow the
same routines with no joy

10. Avoiding
 When stagnation becomes too unpleasant parties
start to avoid each other
 The future of the relationship is in jeopardy
 This is not an inevitable stage
 To get out of this stage with out ending the
relationship time and effort are needed by both
sides along with good communication

11. Terminating
 Final stage where the relationship ends
 This stage can be short or drawn out over a long
time
 The actual relationship may be redefined from
intimate to personal and not fully terminated in this
stage
 Positive communication during a breakup may help
lead to a future friendship

12. Works Cited
In the order in which the imagines appear:
 http://www.docstoc.com/docs/60111874/Relationship-Development-Dissolu
 http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hand+shake&num=10&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=895&tbm=isch&tbnid=0G5DOUtBePGh5M:&i
mgrefurl=http://www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com/%3Fattachment_id%3D175&docid=jb0PFD0e3A5iuM&imgurl=http://www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com/
wp-content/uploads/2010/08/handshake-
2.jpg&w=450&h=299&ei=hCtVUKXlKcjp0QHzmoCwBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=328&vpy=200&dur=3937&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=223&ty=134&sig=
107484202837117350755&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=209&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:115
 http://www.moviefanatic.com/gallery/getting-to-know-each-other/
 http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tokens+of+affection&start=41&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=895&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&t
bnid=ePMQehOpHLlmmM:&imgrefurl=http://styleandfocuspr.blogspot.com/2010/02/12-yummy-valentines-
treats.html&docid=7EXJzCKXYM9m0M&imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bvVvxWTEuSI/S2xFyH7K-XI/AAAAAAAAJ-Q/56Ax-
ZKxSRE/s400/token%252Bof%252Baffection%252Bgift%252Bset.jpg&w=340&h=340&ei=qy9VUOfFK_Ov0AHyroCQDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=485&sig=1
07484202837117350755&page=3&tbnh=175&tbnw=177&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:47,s:41,i:154&tx=94&ty=118
 http://www.google.com/imgres?q=moving+in+together&num=10&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=895&tbm=isch&tbnid=ieMkpXN1Dj3R
DM:&imgrefurl=http://www.quickenloans.com/blog/mix-money-moving&docid=qJ9QM6w68k2n2M&imgurl=http://www.quickenloans.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2010/01/couple-moving-
in.jpg&w=425&h=282&ei=WzVVUNvkN6Tw0gH0iIGADA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=724&vpy=308&dur=2721&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=82&ty=51&sig=1
07484202837117350755&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=200&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:94
 http://www.google.com/imgres?q=wedding+rings&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=895&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=TsFrn4Lv
NN2SbM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wedding_rings.jpg&docid=6UkiG7x1m3rtXM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c
ommons/3/3d/Wedding_rings.jpg&w=1200&h=900&ei=fT9WUKSlE6f00gHX_IHoDQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=259&sig=107484202837117350755&page=
1&tbnh=148&tbnw=225&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:141&tx=160&ty=59
 http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/t/teen_relationships.asp
 http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/your-e-cards?before=1319773084
 http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/u/uneventful.asp
 http://blogramblings101.blogspot.com/2011/11/real-or-not-its-fun-with-words.html
 http://socialtimes.com/when-is-the-best-time-to-break-up-with-someone-facebook-stats-say-spring-break_b27155
 Adler, Ronald B., and Russell F. Proctor. "Chapter 6, Nonverbal Communication: Messages Beyond Words." Looking Out, Looking In. 13th ed. Mason,
Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2010. 276-282.