Meaning of Interpersonal Relationship
Interpersonal Relationship has been explained to be the social association, connection or affiliation between two or more people. An interpersonal relationship is a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring.
Characteristics of Interpersonal Relationship
1. Interpersonal communication involves independent individuals. This may seem obvious, but really what this means is that each person has their own motivations, expectations, and interpretations of communication.
2. The other fundamental characteristic of interpersonal communication is that it is inherently rational. In short, it’s meant to be understood. Whatever we communicate, however we communicate it, we do so because we are intelligent beings capable of expressing and communicating our thoughts and feelings. And when we communicate, we do so because we expect something to be communicated.
3. Beyond the fact that humans communicate rationally, researchers also characterize communication as being inescapable. What this means is that you are always communicating, always presenting information about yourself and interpreting information from other people. By saying something, you are communicating. But by refusing to say something, you also communicate something.
4. Communication is constant. But it also involves personal choice. That’s the fourth main characteristic of interpersonal communication. You can choose how you communicate information because you are a rational individual. See that? The characteristics are all connected.
Stages of Inter-personal Relationship
i. Acquaintance Stage: This starts from the point when two people meet each other newly. People can meet in school, church, club e.t.c
ii. The Building-up Stage: This is the stage where relationship extends beyond just knowing each other. At this stage, people develop strong, deep and genuine confidence, hope, trust e.t.c in each other.
iii. Continuation Stage: This is the stage where relationship deepens. Here, there exists deep down level of closeness, joy, passion, intimacy and feelings for each other.
iv. Deterioration: This is the stage where all the flakes of the relationship begin to wane.
v. Termination Stage: At this stage, relationship ends either by the event of death of one partner, separation or divorce.
Types of Inter-personal Relationship
i. Platonic Relationships: This is the type of relationship that exists between people of the same or different genders without any intention of marriage or intimate affairs. This kind of relationship exists between same sexes or opposite sexes e.g. a boy and a girl, man and woman, woman and girl, woman and boy, woman and woman, man and man. This kind of relationship can be friendship between two people who share similar interests such as social interest, economic interest, religious interest, cultural interest e.t.c
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