Interpersonal relationships are something that we go through every day in our personal lives. We have the need to have contact with others on a daily basis. Major benefits to these relationships allows us to see ourselves in many different perspectives and it takes away feelings of loneliness. When we examine our relationships throughout our lives we learn what is important to us and if these relationships are healthy or unhealthy and whether or not we should continue the relationship. There are relationship stages and interpersonal conflicts within relationships that we go through, so we identify the stages of conflict and then learn strategies to combat these conflicts. This paper will identify several relationship stages and illustrate …show more content…
the relationship theory to each example. Alex and Gigi basically met while Gigi was trying to attempt meeting Connor.
Gigi constantly misreads men when she goes on a date thinking that they will call her for another date. Alex offers his opinion while Gigi again misreads his eagerness and thinks he is interested in her. Although Alex appears to have no interests in her he continues to give his advice and finds himself being seduced by Gigi, and again he gives her his opinion by telling her she is misreading his intentions as she does with every man. While their friendship goes on, Alex suddenly find himself interested and wants to a relationship with Gigi, reluctantly Gigi thinks about everything she has learned from Alex but gives in to his approach. The three stages this couple has moved through are contact, involvement and intimacy. Although these two people were just friends, because Gigi constantly went to Alex for advices there was contact all the time. The conversation deepened and Gigi tested what she thought to be an upcoming relationship with Alex. Alex on the hand, did not have intentions on pursuing Gigi, but after so much contact he found himself attracted to her. According to DeVito, J. (2013), attraction theory hold that people form relationships on the basis of attraction and there are five major factors. This couple shows these two being attracted to each other through proximity. Gigi found Alex attractive because he is who she became friends with and the opportunity of seeing and talking …show more content…
to Alex all the time. Proximity, or physical closeness, is the most important in the early stages of interaction, (p. 239). Ben and Janine are a married couple who has a relationship built on ultimatum. Ben disclosed that the only reason he married Janine is because she said either they get married or break up. Ben didn’t want to break up so he married her. Janine is obsessed with thinking Ben is smoking so she constantly accuses him of it and annoys Ben with the obsession of renovating their home and the smoking. Janine reveals that they hardly ever have sex and Ben reveals that he is not sure if he should have gotten married. Ben meets a woman (Anna) in the grocery store in is instantly attracted to her. He reveals to her that she is not just pretty but hot. Ben and Janine are in the deterioration stage of their relationship. They are experiencing dissatisfaction with each other as the go through daily life. Ben evens has an affair with Anna and discloses it to Janine. Although Janine is upset she wants to work out their differences. Trying to decide what to do and trying to reach some kind of agreement with each other. Since Janine is still so obsessed with Ben and the cigarette smoking when she finds a pack of cigarettes in his pocket she explodes and decides to end the marriage. The dissolution stage is when the bond between the individuals are broken thus, the couple moved into their own separate places, the dissolution is interpersonal separation. The theory which describes this couple is relationship dialectics theory. The tension between this couple is novelty and predictability. Although Ben was ok with his marriage he was attracted to Anna because of the different experiences he had with her. Ben and Anna’s relationship took off after their first meeting in a store. Not only was Ben attracted to Anna, Anna was also attracted to Ben. Anna pursued Ben by giving him a phone number, then making a follow up call to see if they could get together even though Ben said he was married. Ben did not give in the first time but later called Anna to meet. Anna met with Ben, as they used her singing career as an excuse to see each other, they begin to have sex only to be interrupted by Ben’s wife, Janine. As Anna hides in the closet, Janine tries to seduce Ben which he blows off by stating he needs to finish his work. After Janine leaves Anna comes out of the closet upset and leaves. Ben and Anna relationship stages are contact, involvement, intimacy deterioration and dissolution. The relationship theories are attraction theory, both had physical attractions towards each other. Physical attractiveness and personality (reciprocity of liking), the tendency to like those who like us to find attractive people who find us attractive, DeVito, J. (p. 344, 2013). Anna and Connor are friends but Connor is more interested in Anna than she cares for him. Anna only wants a casual relationship but Connor misinterprets her hugs and name calling (flirting) as interest. Connor persistently calls Anna but she does not return his calls and Connor does not understand why she won’t have sex with again. He is told that he going about the relationship wrong and so he decides to tell Anna that he loves her and he wants a serious relationship. Anna in turn is mad about what happened with her and Ben and decides to start a relationship with Connor. Although Anna sleeps with Connor, she does not want a relationship with him and breaks it off with him. This couple moves through, intimacy and straight to dissolution. Because the couple moved from one stage to the next this considered vertical arrows, but it can also be related to exit arrows. Connor and Anna began a relationship but did not stay in the relationship. It appears Connor though of them being a couple and Anna did not. Beth and Neil, a couple who basically had it all together except Beth thought she needed to married to Neil and if he didn’t marry her, he really did not love her. Neil expressed that he only wanted to be with Beth but he did not believe in the tradition of marriage. Neil believed that he did not have to be married to express his love for Beth and that most people he knew that were married did not even have a good relationship with their partner. After separating Beth watched people at her sister’s pre-wedding dinner act and then began to see that her relationship with Neil was great. She then acknowledges that Neil acted more like her husband than the others who were married. There were various turning points throughout the relationship and this took the couple gradually through different stages of their relationship. One turning point is Beth confronts Neil about their relationship. When he disagrees she breaks up with. While Beth gets a reality check about relationships she is now more grateful for the one she has with Neil. Relationship rules theory describes Beth and Neil. They are open and genuine with each other, spend a lot time together, faithful, and experienced “magic” when they are together. Although the separated briefly, they were able to discuss their differences and get back together. They decided that they wanted to repair the relationship by talking about the problem and then and what changes will occur. Beth decided a new approach, and Ben succumbed to proposing marriage as Beth finds her engagement ring in some old pants pocket. Neil again expresses how he wants to make her happy. Connor and Mary’s relationship occurred mysteriously.
Mary worked a lot and had trouble meeting men. Because of how she works she usually meets men over the internet or by phone but, never meets them in person. Mary does advertising for Connor but has not met him. Mary is not crazy about how she needs to go through so many different devices in order to contact a person. Although Mary and Anna are friends, Mary finally recognizes Connor from an advertising photo. She does call him and the begin a relationship. The stages for this couple are contact and involvement. Connor and Mary meet and do get along. As we see Mary deleting all of accounts, and then looking up to see Connor. Attraction theory relates to this couple. According to DeVito, J. (2013), similarity principle it’s likely that our mate would look, act, and think very much like you. Generally, people like those who are similar to them in nationality, race, abilities, physical characteristics, intelligence and attitudes. Understanding the different relationship theories along with the six stage model of relationships, we learn the concept of how to communicate in relationships. When and why we go through relationship stages we learn how to deal with the relationships more effectively and understand ourselves and our attitudes toward
relationships.
Much of the relationship of When Harry Met Sally stems from the Attractive Theory. In this theory, it explains “the three primary forces that draw people together to form a relationship” which are based on proximity, attractiveness, and similarity (Alberts, Nakayama, and Martin 219). Although, Sally and Harry personality and lifestyles reflected different attitudes and values still they shared similarities in common friends, social group, and University. In addition to these similarities, the two simultaneously experienced a break up with their long-term partners, Joe and Helen. While each
Jim’s feeling of loneliness has a big impact on his view of Alena. If Jim met another girl that day on the beach, and who was not as attractive he would have acted very different. Jim was very vulnerable at that moment and needed som...
Beginning a relationship is usually different from person to person, but with mostly every relationship, there is a cycle that is known as “Relational Development” which illustrates the rise and fall of relationships into ten stages (pg. 283). In the film, The Breakup, Vaughn, who takes on the
In short, this is a story of a random meeting of two strangers, and an attraction or feeling that is overlooked and ignored. A man describes a lady such that you could only envision in your dreams, of stunning beauty and overwhelming confidence of which encounters of the opposite sex occur not so very often. The mans attraction is met by a possible interest by the lady, but only a couple flirtatious gestures are exchanged as the two cross paths for the first time and very possible the last.
Relationships play an important role in one's life. They are formed on the basis of love and understanding. Relationship helps various people in every aspect of life and assists them in being a better person. Such a relationship was found in the novel
Karbo Karen. "Friendship: The Laws of Attraction." Psychology Today 39.6 (2006): 90-95. EBSCOhost. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Interpersonal relationships can take many forms and develop from multiple different factors. For example, Pat Solitano and Tiffany Maxwell, two characters from the movie Silver Linings Playbook, seem to have developed consummate love – a combination of all three factors in Sternberg’s triangle of love theory, which are passion, intimacy, and commitment (Aronson, p. 390-91). Their relationship developed over the course of the movie, starting from a little passion or physical attractiveness, growing into a somewhat dysfunctional form of an exchange relationship with hints of jealousy as well as self-disclosure, into the consummate love that is seen at the end of the movie. The two characters start to develop intimacy, passion, and commitment
"Interpersonal attraction refers to positive feelings about another person. It can take many forms, including liking, love, friendship, lust, and admiration" (spark notes). Sometimes these kinds of relationships can happen between individuals that people meet throughout their daily lives. For any relationship to exist or last,last there has to be effective communication. Communication is a major factor used to either build up or tear down interpersonal relationships. Also, having effective listening skills helps the relationship become stronger. In the movie, 50 First Dates, there are many instances where interpersonal relationships are illustrated. This paper will discuss the different types of interpersonal relationships that are found in the movie, as well as how important communication is in a relationship to keep that bond strong and last.
Effective communication is one of the most important things to maintain a happy relationship. Communication will help to create a better atmosphere and to know what are the interests, thoughts and feelings of your loved one. All romantic relationships need a lot of communications from both sides. The main factor is interpersonal communication, which couples are able to overlap environments and create a relationship. We reviewed the movie “The Breakup” and have found the concepts of Integrating, differentiating, and terminating. This movie shows how ineffective communication can dissolve a relationship. The lack of communication is the main factor why Brooke and Gary break up. This couple tends to rely on other people instead of trying to solve their problems talking to each other. They avoid talking because every time a new conflict will begin. In many of the scenes the couple creates big arguments from small issues. In this paper, we will explain the scenes of the movie that can be compared to the interpersonal communication concepts.
Attraction theory essentially posits that people are more likely to be attracted to those who have similarities to themselves, on the other hand, there are some who attract the opposite personality to theirs. Key concepts of this theory are that it is typified by various characteristics that a person has, as well as components of their personality and overall being. They may have similarities such as” hones/ethical” or their appearance is attractive to the person. (DeVito 2016) Another, is personality traits as self-esteem, shyness and optimism are likely to be shared and exhibited between people who have some form of relationship between them. The central strength of this theory is that it is people often prefer sharing
This classic love story describes how people can change once they interact with other people. Moreover, this is an example of how human beings in general need interaction to be normal functioning citizens of society. Having relationships, can make a person feel better about him and can possibly revolutionize or emerge a personality that was quiescent due to lack of interaction. This video demonstrates many facets of interpersonal communication.
The chapter talks about the different types of relationships you can have and how to keep them healthy. The relationships that the chapter covers are friendship relationships, love relationships, family relationships, workplace relationships, and the dark side of interpersonal relationships. Friendship relationships are relationships with another person that is “interpersonal” (DeVito), “mutually productive and characterized by mutual positive regard” (DeVito). Love relationships are a next level of friendship relationships. Love is known as the most important types of relationship, because it is a natural human desire to be loved. There are six types of love relationships; eros, ludus, storge, pragma, mania, and agape. Family relationships are the relationships between you and the people you are related to by blood and marriage. Family relationships are known as primary relationships, primary relationships are the relationships that are most prominent in your life. Workplace relationships are the relationships that you have in your workplace, with your co-workers and bosses through networking and mentoring. The dark side to interpersonal relationships is that there are negative aspects to having relationships. These aspects are jealousy, bullying and violence among other things. All of these relationships are affected by culture, gender, and
In analyzing the aspect of attraction, we take a look at attraction from the perspective of Elaine Hatfield and Ellen Berscheid. Hatfield and Berscheid are American social psychologists whose work has helped to provide insight into what we now know about relationship science. According to Hatfield and Berscheid’s theory on interpersonal attraction, people are attracted to one another for four main reasons. Each reason presented helps to develop the reasons for attraction and relational differences between Landon and Jamie.
All of the above points apply to all relationships be it social, romantic or even family relationships.