Knapps Relationship Model

         Knapp's relationship model is a 'ten step' model that shows the development and eventual termination of a relationship. Simply put, it breaks down interpersonal relationships into ten 'phases' of sorts. i.e. Initiating to bonding (Relationship Development) and then differentiation to terminating (Relationship Dissolution). All in all, it's an interesting chart documenting how relationships tend to thrive and fail.  This model was designed by a professor/researcher Mark Knapp, who is known for his findings in the communication, relationships and lying/deception. (more about Knapp can be found on his wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_L._Knapp)

My (not so quick) synopsis of the ten points are listed below. 

Relationship Building:

• Initiating
• This is the earliest of stages, when the parties of the relationship meet each other for the first time. Maybe they bumped into each other at a bar or coffee shop, or maybe they met on social media. Regardless of how they met, they are now at the stage of initiating.  
• Experimenting
• As you get to know each other, you begin to share information about yourself, small little pieces of information that are fairly insignificant. Maybe that you like pina coladas or maybe you like getting caught in the rain. As you progress through this stage, the information you're sharing might become slightly more personal, but overall, you're sharing surface level information that doesn't hold too much weight. 
• Intensifying
• This stage works with experimenting, as you begin to delve into deeper more personal information, resulting in a deeper, more meaningful bond, between the parties. Along with this, you begin to actually comprehend the relationship that is forming. Maybe this is where you realize that you should consider yourself 'taken'. 
• Integrating
• At this stage, you begin to integrate the other party into your personal and social life. They attend your gatherings and meet your friends, you attend events together, and your social circle becomes more comfortable with the other party. This is typically where the two become a 'couple'.  
• Bonding
• Bonding is where the couple becomes more serious, as at this stage they begin to show 'public rituals' of sort. Anything from PDA, marriage, engagement, etc, can be considered the public ritual. This marks the top of the relationship building phase and begins to teeter into the dissolution phase.

Relationship Dissolution

• Differentiation
• This stage is mostly harmless, it involves the couple recognizing interests that they don't share. For example, one wants to go paragliding every Thursday, while the other only wants to go to book club. Nothing is inherently wrong with sharing separate interests, but this phase typically demonstrates the pair growing apart due to the different interests.
• Circumscribing
• The pair begin to have lackluster interactions with each other. This is typically marked with the withholding of certain information due to a myriad of different reasons. Regardless of why, the interactions become less fulfilling.
• Stagnation
• Here, the relationship loses a lot of depth, everything becomes routine and loses the excitement that it once had. Both parties begin to feel trapped and are beginning to enjoy time away from the relationship much more than the time they spend in the relationship. 
• Avoiding
• The two parties begin to actively seek reasons to avoid the relationship, they begin to take up anything that can get them away from their partner. This ties in with differentiation, as they may begin to turn to their differences to create a larger gap in their relationship. This is the final straw for either party.
• Terminating
• The two come to a formal agreement to end the relationship, or they come to the unspoken agreement to essentially stop any attempt at saving the relationship until it's all but dissolved. Overall, this is the end of the relationship.

        When I consider some of my failed past relationships, or my current ones, this figure becomes really interesting. It is fascinating to look at exactly what stage a relationship fails and following the path of the relationship as it grows and falls. Overall, it is kind of scary how accurate this model is for interpersonal relationships. Almost all of them will have the building period, but they will only have the dissolution period if they fail. Overall, I think it's a very accurate model, especially considering most models have a "stabilization zone", where the relationship cycles through two or three of the phases in a healthy manor. To me, that would be two partners in a relationship exploring their own interests separately, but not allowing that time to become an unhealthy barrier in their relationship. You can even see unhealthy stabilization zones in more toxic relationships. For example, relationships where they're constantly breaking up and getting back together might have a stabilization zone that is the entire ten steps, just repeated over and over again. Or even in a toxic relationship, you might see an unhealthy repetition of the first four dissolution steps. In all honesty, I will likely be using this model to evaluate my personal relationships for a long time to come.