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The Knapp's Model of Relational Development views relationship development as a ten step process, broken into two phases. According to the Knapp's model, all of the steps must be done one-at-a-time and in order to make sure they are effective. Compared to DeVito's 5 stage model of relational development, Knapp's model is far more prescriptive and detailed, but also presupposes that the relationship will ultimately dissolve as evident in the five "coming apart" stages that make up the second half of the model.

Coming together phase

Initiation is the very first stage when the individuals make their first impressions on each other. Physical appearance often plays a big role in this stage when it comes to forming first impressions.

Experimentation is the second stage; this is when individuals begin to engage in self-disclosure to learn information about each other. The individuals use this stage to explore and get a feel for the relationship as well as one another.^[1]

During the intensifying"" stage of Knapp's model, the two individuals will continue experimentations to determine whether the is mutual emotional affection and attachment. Whereas in the previous experimentation phase, conversation focused more on superficial topics such as discovering shared areas of interest and commonalities, in the intensifying stage the level of self-disclosure deepens. The breadth of topics discussed broadens and the depth in which each individual feels comfortable discussing those topics with the other enters the intimate and personal realms (see diagram of the Social Penetration Model). In this stage, certain behaviors such as increasing one on one contact through more frequent communication (through face to face encounters, text, or phone calls), doing favors for a partner or offering gifts as tokens of affection, requesting commitment from a partner through direct definitional bid, personalized verbal expressions of affection such as "I love you" or assigning pet names such as "babe," and suggestive actions such as flirtation, gazing, or touching may all emerge as methods of intensifying the connection between the two people. Essential to the intensifying stage are "secret tests" performed by each individual to ascertain whether his or her overtures are actually helpful in their intensification efforts. These tests most often manifest themselves through:

* Endurance, in which a partner is placed in an unpleasant, inconvenient, or uncomfortable situation or respond to certain requests to determine his or her commitment to the relationship.
* Public presentation during which a partner is introduced under a particular label such as "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" to see if they are comfortable with being identified in this manner.
* Separation, which tests whether communication and feelings of affection will continue despite a an inability to physically be together.
* Third-party questioning, where one partner may attempt to find out the hidden feelings of the interested party indirectly by asking a friend to probe the person of interest for indication as to their depth of feeling and affection. 
* Triangle tests," in which one partner sees if they can elicit jealousy from the other partner when another person "expresses interest in the person concocting the test." 
* While all five of these methods are common methods of testing intensification efforts, it's important to note that endurance, separation, and triangle-tests are generally the least constructive, and can even be destructive when it comes to building the relationship. ^[2]

Once each individual feels confident, through their various intensification efforts, that mutual affection has been confirmed, the couple may begin to transition into the ""integration"" stage of their relationship. In addition to bonding, the integration stage makes up maintenance stage of a relationship. During this stage, the couple is fused and elements of their individual social identity, such as friends, belongings, and living spaces are now shared. Additionally, the exclusive commitment each partner has for the other is generally solidified in this stage through even deeper self-disclosure and revealing of secrets, sex, and discusion of future plans. ^[3]

The final stage of the coming together half of the Relational Model is bonding. This stage puts the relationship on public display and suggests that the relationship is exclusive. This stage often involves marriage or another type of public contract, though marriage is not necessary to successfully bond. There is usually a turning point that happens in this stage that signals a change in the relationship, making the relationship intimate. Reaching this stage does not guarantee that the relationship will remain bonded, though many intimate relationships will remain in this stage until divorce, death, or another type of separation. ^[4]

Stages of Coming Apart

Along with the coming together stages, most relationships will go through the coming apart stages of the Relational DM. Like the “coming together” stages, there are five stages of “coming apart.” The first stage is differentiating. During this stage, differences between the relationship partners are emphasized and what was thought to be similarities begins to disintegrate. Instead of working together, partners quickly begin to become more individualistic in their attitudes. Differentiating is expected to happen in romantic relationships. A common solution to differentiating is for each partner to give the other “some space” though extreme differentiating can lead to a damaged relationship. ^[5]

Circumscribing is one of the early stages of the relationship coming apart; the beginning of the end. Both parties are prescribed their own space. One person might walk the dogs while the other might spend alone time in the office. It is inappropriate for these jobs or spaces to be invaded.

In the stagnation stage, what were once patterns in the relationship become ruts. One partner’s use of third person speaking becomes irritating and something the other party has come to expect.

Avoidance is the second to last step to Knapp’s Model of Relational Development. During this stage, the two people in the relationship will become separate from one another physically, emotionally, and mentally. In addition to not spending time with one another, they both begin to avoid the other person’s needs and solely start to focus on themselves. This stage ultimately leads to the final step in Knapp’s Relational Development model - Termination.

During the termination stage of Knapp’s Model of Relational Development, both people that were in the relationship decide to end their connection with one another. No longer are they both receiving a mutually satisfying outcome from being with one another. Neither one of them is happy, and the relationship must come to an end. In this model, this step is unavoidable.

References

Rothwell, J. Dan. In the Company of Others. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2013. 225-229.

"Knapp's Relationship Model." Communication Theory RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://communicationtheory.org/knapps-relationship-model/>.

^ "Knapp's Relationship Model". http://communicationtheory.org. Communication Theory. Retrieved 23 October 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
^ Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 227–228. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 228. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others. Oxford University Press. pp. 228–229. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 228–229. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[1] "Knapp's Relationship Model". http://communicationtheory.org. Communication Theory. Retrieved 23 October 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

[2] Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 227–228. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[3] Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 228. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[4] Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others. Oxford University Press. pp. 228–229. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[5] Rothwell, J. Dan (2013). In The Company of Others (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 228–229. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

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-The Knapp's Model of Relational Development views relationship development as a process. Therefore, all of the steps must be done one-at-a-time and in order to make sure they are effective.
+The Knapp's Model of Relational Development views relationship development as a ten step process, broken into two phases. According to the Knapp's model, all of the steps must be done one-at-a-time and in order to make sure they are effective. Compared to DeVito's 5 stage model of relational development, Knapp's model is far more prescriptive and detailed, but also presupposes that the relationship will ultimately dissolve as evident in the five "coming apart" stages that make up the second half of the model.
 ==Coming together phase==
+'''Initiation''' is the very first stage when the individuals make their first impressions on each other. Physical appearance often plays a big role in this stage when it comes to forming first impressions.
+'''Experimentation''' is the second stage; this is when individuals begin to engage in self-disclosure to learn information about each other. The individuals use this stage to explore and get a feel for the relationship as well as one another.<ref>{{cite web|title=Knapp's Relationship Model|url=http://communicationtheory.org/knapps-relationship-model/|website=http://communicationtheory.org|publisher=Communication Theory|accessdate=23 October 2014}}</ref>
-The first stage of the Coming Together phase of the Relationship Development Model is the '''''initiating stage''''' where first impressions of the two people involved in the relationship are made once the initial contact has been made. Often physical factors play a role in this stage, such as clothing, perfumes or colognes, hair styles, and overall appearance. People often want to portray themselves as easy to talk to, friendly, and open to discussion. This stage does not include deep revealing conversations, but rather light conversation meant to survey the possibility of a closer personal relationship with someone.  Sometimes appearance plays a role in making the first impression as well.
+During the '''intensifying"" stage of Knapp's model, the two individuals will continue experimentations to determine whether the is mutual emotional affection and attachment. Whereas in the previous experimentation phase, conversation focused more on superficial topics such as discovering shared areas of interest and commonalities, in the intensifying stage the level of self-disclosure deepens. The breadth of topics discussed broadens and the depth in which each individual feels comfortable discussing those topics with the other enters the intimate and personal realms (see diagram of the Social Penetration Model). In this stage, certain behaviors such as increasing one on one contact through more frequent communication (through face to face encounters, text, or phone calls), doing favors for a partner or offering gifts as tokens of affection, requesting commitment from a partner through direct definitional bid, personalized verbal expressions of affection such as "I love you" or assigning pet names such as "babe," and suggestive actions such as flirtation, gazing, or touching may all emerge as methods of intensifying the connection between the two people.
-Moving from the initiation stage of the Model, the next stage is '''experimentation'''. In this stage of the relationship, the two people attempt to find some common ground between each other’s lives such as common interests and hobbies. This stage is also referred to as the probing stage, because each person probes the other for information that would allow them to further the social connection between them. Many relationships end here, never developing to anything more than a mere acquaintance.
+Essential to the intensifying stage are "secret tests" performed by each individual to ascertain whether his or her overtures are actually helpful in their intensification efforts. These tests most often manifest themselves through:
+ * ''Endurance'', in which a partner is placed in an unpleasant, inconvenient, or uncomfortable situation or respond to certain requests to determine his or her commitment to the relationship.
+ * Public presentation during which a partner is introduced under a particular label such as "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" to see if they are comfortable with being identified in this manner.
+ * ''Separation'', which tests whether communication and feelings of affection will continue despite a an inability to physically be together.
+ * ''Third-party questioning'', where one partner may attempt to find out the hidden feelings of the interested party indirectly by asking a friend to probe the person of interest for indication as to their depth of feeling and affection.
+ * ''Triangle tests," in which one partner sees if they can elicit jealousy from the other partner when another person "expresses interest in the person concocting the test."
+ * While all five of these methods are common methods of testing intensification efforts, it's important to note that endurance, separation, and triangle-tests are generally the least constructive, and can even be destructive when it comes to building the relationship. <ref>{{cite book|last1=Rothwell|first1=J. Dan|title=In The Company of Others|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=227-228|edition=4th|accessdate=23 October 2014}}</ref>
+Once each individual feels confident, through their various intensification efforts, that mutual affection has been confirmed, the couple may begin to transition into the ""integration"" stage of their relationship. In addition to bonding, the integration stage makes up maintenance stage of a relationship. During this stage, the couple is fused and elements of their individual social identity, such as friends, belongings, and living spaces are now shared. Additionally, the exclusive commitment each partner has for the other is generally solidified in this stage through even deeper self-disclosure and revealing of secrets, sex, and discusion of future plans. <ref>{{cite book|last1=Rothwell|first1=J. Dan|title=In The Company of Others|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=228|edition=4th|accessdate=23 October 2014}}</ref>
+The final stage of the coming together half of the Relational Model is '''bonding'''. This stage puts the relationship on public display and suggests that the relationship is exclusive. This stage often involves marriage or another type of public contract, though marriage is not necessary to successfully bond. There is usually a turning point that happens in this stage that signals a change in the relationship, making the relationship intimate. Reaching this stage does not guarantee that the relationship will remain bonded, though many intimate relationships will remain in this stage until divorce, death, or another type of separation. <ref>{{cite book|last1=Rothwell|first1=J. Dan|title=In The Company of Others|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=228-229|accessdate=23 October 2014}}</ref>
-However, those relationships that do move to the next stage experience the '''intensifying''' stage.  Here also is where people test the potential of the relationship with varying degrees of self-disclosure to see if that will be reciprocated and to test the impressions one is making. In the intensifying stage of the Relationship Development Model, relationships grow and self-disclosure becomes more apparent and deep. People find many different ways to foster their relationships in order to stimulate relational development. Methods include giving gifts, asking for a romantic relationship commitment or expressing affection both verbally and nonverbally. Of course, there are no set guidelines for every relationship in the intensifying stage. Every relationship possesses unique characteristics that make it difficult for the Relationship Development Model to accurately predict if efforts to further the relationship will succeed or fail. Partners in some relationships may “test the waters” to see if particular advances are welcomed or frowned upon. These "secret" tests are intended to test the intensity of a relationship. They can include presenting the other person as a girlfriend or boyfriend (presentation) or seeing if the relationship lasts when a temporary physical separation between the two people occurs.  Others will openly engage interpersonally in a declaration to the other of their intent to be exclusive in some fashion.
-The fourth stage of relationship growth is the '''integration''' stage, where the lives of the two people begin to merge and their status as a couple is confirmed. In this stage friends that one would have individually meet and social groups combine. Also occurring at this stage are the beginnings of a sexual relationship and the deepest levels of self-disclosure are approached, signifying the intimacy of the relationship.
-After the integration stage, the final stage of the coming together half of the Relationship DM is reached, the '''bonding''' stage. In this stage, the commitment of the relationship is communicated to the rest of the world. From a legal perspective, it could be called [[marriage]], but marriage is not necessary in the bonding stage. For instance, if gay and lesbian couples, where forbidden by law to marry, announce or declare their relationships, this can move the couple into this stage of the relationship. The bonding stage is where many intimate and romantic relationships remain indefinitely, until divorce, death, or otherwise. Key points to maintaining a relationship at this stage include sharing power equally, emphasizing positive and constructive communication patterns, and making frequent connections with one another.
 ==Stages of Coming Apart==
-More often than not, relationships move from the coming together stages of the RDM to the coming apart stages. Just as with the "coming together" stages, there are five stages of the coming apart. The first stage of dissolving the relationship is the '''differentiating''' stage. During this stage of the Relationship Development Model, differences are exploited instead of the commonalities of the experimenting and intensifying stage. The momentum of the “work together” attitude quickly shifts directions and becomes more individualistic. Some may describe feelings of being held down and resentful of their commitment to their partner. Temporary separation is a common solution to this stage of the relationship.
+Along with the coming together stages, most relationships will go through the coming apart stages of the Relational DM. Like the “coming together” stages, there are five stages of “coming apart.” The first stage is '''differentiating'''. During this stage, differences between the relationship partners are emphasized and what was thought to be similarities begins to disintegrate. Instead of working together, partners quickly begin to become more individualistic in their attitudes. Differentiating is expected to happen in romantic relationships. A common solution to differentiating is for each partner to give the other “some space” though extreme differentiating can lead to a damaged relationship. <ref>{{cite book|last1=Rothwell|first1=J. Dan|title=In The Company of Others|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=228-229|edition=4th|accessdate=23 October 2014}}</ref>
-Following the differentiating stage is the '''circumscribing''' stage. In the circumscribing stage, the primary focus of the relationship shifts from differences to setting limits and boundaries on communication between the two people. The communication becomes much shallower and the range of topics significantly decline. Partners may fear discussing deep topics because of the threat of a conflict, leading to less communication altogether.
+'''Circumscribing''' is one of the early stages of the relationship coming apart; the beginning of the end. Both parties are prescribed their own space. One person might walk the dogs while the other might spend alone time in the office. It is inappropriate for these jobs or spaces to be invaded.
-If the decline of the relationship continues, it is likely to enter the third stage, '''stagnation'''. This stage builds off many of the problems of the circumscribing stage; communication becomes more limited and less frequent. Stagnating relationships do not grow or progress but rather invoke a feeling of “nothing changes”.
+In the '''stagnation''' stage, what were once patterns in the relationship become ruts. One partner’s use of third person speaking becomes irritating and something the other party has come to expect.
+'''Avoidance''' is the second to last step to Knapp’s Model of Relational Development. During this stage, the two people in the relationship will become separate from one another physically, emotionally, and mentally. In addition to not spending time with one another, they both begin to avoid the other person’s needs and solely start to focus on themselves. This stage ultimately leads to the final step in Knapp’s Relational Development model - Termination.
-The second to last stage of the dissolution of the relationship is the '''avoidance''' stage. This stage takes the limited communication to a physical level. Partners may avoid each other altogether, desiring separation from one another.
+During the '''termination''' stage of Knapp’s Model of Relational Development, both people that were in the relationship decide to end their connection with one another. No longer are they both receiving a mutually satisfying outcome from being with one another. Neither one of them is happy, and the relationship must come to an end. In this model, this step is unavoidable.
-The final stage of the RDM is the '''termination''' stage. The relationship stops completely. Although it is possible to save a relationship from this stage of development, it is very difficult to “relight the fire” that once held the relationship together. However, the coming apart stages of the Relationship Development Model are not necessarily negative. Sometimes, it is healthy for two people to terminate their relationship in the interest of personal aspirations and well-being. The Model cannot accurately describe all relationships, each relationship moves at different speeds and is affected by the personalities and communication abilities of the people involved.
 ==References==
-*Rothwell, J. Dan. ''In the Company of Others''. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004. 278-285.
+*Rothwell, J. Dan. ''In the Company of Others''. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2013. 225-229.
+"Knapp's Relationship Model." Communication Theory RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://communicationtheory.org/knapps-relationship-model/>.
-  Knapp, M.L. (1984). Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
 [[Category:Personal life]]