(Tinybuda.com)
Interpersonal communication is key to forming all kinds of relationships. It is communicating between multiple unique individuals with the goal of learning new information that cannot be perceived from appearance alone. This communication requires self-disclosure. Telling someone what kind of music you like or what sports you play are examples of this and they allow us to bond and to build relationships. There are different levels of disclosure ranging from safe to more personal. As relationships deepen and trust is established, the level of disclosure increases in depth. The three primary types of relationships in which we do this are friendships, romantic, and family.
When beginning to form a relationship, individuals often disclose facts about themselves first such as what their major or job is, and then move on to sharing their opinions such as their political or religious views. Communication works best when those communicating share the same level of disclosure. This is called the rule of reciprocity and when there is an unequal balance of disclosure in the relationship it might lead the person who shared more to feel vulnerable. Wikibooks Chapter 9 on Intrapersonal Communications explains that “When you tell someone something personal, you probably expect them to do the same. When one person reveals more than another, there can be an imbalance in the relationship because the one who self discloses more may feel vulnerable as a result of sharing more personal information.” This is very important in building and maintaining all relationships.
People are often drawn to people that share similarities with them. For example, heterosexual people are drawn to other heterosexuals and lesbians are drawn to other lesbians. It can be more than that however, the people that we are attracted to often either go to school, work, and we see often. This applies to both friendships and romantic relationships. Self-identity, similarity, and proximity are all powerful influences when it comes to whom we form a relationship with. We form these relationships to fulfill our needs of intimacy, social connection, and sexual relations. On the other hand, family relationships are not by choice but by blood and by law. These relationships are usually long term and generally have a period where the same space is shared.
(Professor Ross)
The Communication Accommodation Theory by Dr. Howie Giles is where individuals adjust their speech and other forms of communication to match the situation they are in. Wikipedia explains that the “basis of the theory lies in the idea that people adjust (or accommodate) their style of speech to one another. Doing this helps the message sender gain approval from the receiver, increases efficiency in communication between both parties, and helps the sender maintain a positive social identity.” An example is when talking to friends you aren't using big complicated words, instead, you accommodate to the situation and talk in shorter words and often slang or incomplete sentences.
( A First Look at Communication Theory)
Just like relationships build and grow, they can also deteriorate and dissolve. One particular example of this is a romantic break up. There are five main stages in a break
-up. The first stage is the dyadic breakdown where romantic partners start neglecting the small things that bonded them together. The second stage is the intrapsychic phase where partners realize they aren’t connecting in ways they used to. The third stage is the dyadic phase where the couple talks about their problems. The fourth stage is social support where the partners make the news public of the relationship ending and lean on their friends and family for support. The last stage is called grave dressing where couples get closure in their relationship and they move on with their life.