Pick a relationship important to you and determine what stage of relational interaction you are currently in with that person.
Complete the activity below with the other person in the relationship.
(This is a rather scary assignment: especially if you are sensing tension in your relationships. Still, remember that healthy relationships are never stuck in one place; there is movement between some of these steps and identifying that movement can transfer the ebbs and flows from a fearful thing to something to be celebrated.)
Or you may describe the how you feel about self-disclosure in an important relationship in your life. 500-700 words.
Before submitting your assignment check your work against the scoring rubric.
1. With a specific relationship in mind (spouse, significant other, close friend, etc.) read through the Knapp model (pages 378-384) and determine which stage you think best describes the communication in the relationship at this time. Discuss the present stage and the related behaviors that characterize communication in this stage.
2. Discuss the progression of the communication in terms of the stages of the Knapp model.
3. Talk about your personal level of satisfaction with the communication you have in your answer to question 2 above as described on pages 378-384. If you are content with the level of communication you have within the relationship, what can you do to assure the likelihood that your level of contentment will be maintained? If you are not content, describe what you can do to move the relationship toward a more satisfying stage.
4. Both people in a relationship define the relationship. Have the other person in the relationship read through the Knapp material. Talk with the other person about his/her thoughts and feelings about the stage of the relationship. Did that person describe it as you did? If not, how does that person describe the communication in the relationship? (Give some specific examples.) How would you like your partner to behave in order to move the relationship to a different stage or to maintain the relationship where it is? How can you influence your partner to behave in a way that you want?
5. On a different topic, think about a relationship you have been in that has terminated. How well does the Knapp model describe the development and the decline of the relationship? If the model does not represent what happened, what in the Knapp model needs to change?
6. Discuss what you learned about relational communication from completing this activity.
