George Friedrich Knapp came up with the theory of relational development. His stages represent the most complete possible progression of a relationship (Knapp). In this model, there are 10 different stages that are identified, but they are broken up into 3 main phases that we are all very familiar with due to experience; coming together, relational maintenance, and coming apart.
If someone is interested in developing a better understanding of what makes relationships work or what makes a relationship end, these 3 phases are the most important in doing so. The steps are not only important to look at by themselves, for deeper understanding and research, but they all also play off of each other and come together to provide a full understanding of relational development.
The first part of his findings, the coming together phase, is broken up into 5 parts that build the frame-work of a relationship. These parts are called initiation, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding. These steps are where two parties meet, get to know each other better, and take actions in their relationship to build a real bond and friendship.
The next part, the relational maintenance phase, is also broken up into different parts; sociological/incidental cues, pre-interaction cues, interaction cues, and cognitive cues. This phase is where we really get to know the person, deciding what parts of our life we would like to include them in and taking steps to maintain and better your relationship.
The last phase in Knapp's theory, the coming apart (or relationship termination) phase, is broken up into a few different parts as well. These parts are labeled as differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and terminating. These steps are all ones that we are also familiar with, having had experiences and relationships in our life that just didn't work out. Sometimes someone who you're close with will do something that makes you no longer want to be their friend or maybe you just realize you are different people going down different paths, but either way, these phases all apply to different relationships between different people.
