Knapp's Model Of Relationship Analysis

Relationship Analysis Paper

Kaylee K. Clark

Oklahoma State University

Relationship Analysis

It was August 2008, and my normal walk home from school did not feel so normal. Today was the day that after four long years of being in foster care, I would find out if I would finally be adopted. those four years were full of court trials and visits with people I did not know and I had no desire to. The adoption process takes so long because the authorities knew nothing about me, but they got to decide if the parents I chose were “fit” to be my parents. For my Relationship Analysis Paper I will discuss how the theoretical and conceptual approaches; self esteem, Knapp's model of relationship states, and social penetration theory go

This theory describes how relationships develop from the superficial to the intimate level and from few to many areas of interpersonal interaction. Just like Knapp's model there are stages to forming a relationship. In this theory though we learn about the breadth, the number of topics you and your partner talk about and the depth, the degree to which you penetrate the inner personality of the other individual. The textbook provides us with a figure that helps visualize the breadth and depth of our relationships. This is called Models of Social Penetration, in this model we see three circles labeled circle one, two, and three. Circle one is the superficial level where the relationship had low breadth and a small depth. This relates to when my father and I first moved in together, things were a bit awkward we talked some but about normal daily things such as tv shows and things I did at school that day things that are not so personal. The second circle becomes more intense, the topics get more serious. This stage was when my dad became more relaxed around me and started asking me questions about my family and about my feelings. Lastly is circle three. This one is the most in depth and has the most breadth, the book states that this is a relationship you might have with a lover or a parent. This stage finally hit my father and I when we became one hundred percent comfortable around eachother and get a special bond. this

Self-esteem which is a measure of how valuable a person you are and is one of the terms connecting to the self in human communications concept. Foster care could has a huge effect on one's measure of value. Constantly wondering if and when you would get adopted, if you are good enough for a family to take you in. The older I got my self-esteem would become lower because couples or families don't want to adopt a teenager they usually want to adopt young children or babies. I began to believe that I would never get adopted, that I would just age out of the system and begin a life on my own. However, wishes come true and I was lucky enough to have been placed into a family of my own. I was fifteen years old when my dad adopted me. By this time I had already developed self-esteem however, as our relationship grew my dad played a big role in changing my self-esteem by both supporting and attacking it. My father supports my self-esteem by always believing in me and in the choices I make although sometimes he attacks it by constantly telling me I should be more grown up, more responsible, and more independent. Just like he affects my self-esteem, I affect his. I constantly tell him how great of a father he is and how grateful I am to have him. Sometimes I know that I make him feel that he is not doing enough when in reality he does more than most fathers do for their