William B. Gudykunst and his colleagues (1995) have argued that a stage model of relationship development is built on the assumption that relationships are characterized by patterns and regularities that are relatively consistent across relationships. This type of model helps to explain the general patterns that are involved in developing intimacy with others.

The model presented by Mark Knapp and Anita Vangelisti (2000) has gained wide acceptance in the field of communication. This model of relationship development consists of five stages of "coming together" (initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding) and five stages of "coming apart" (differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and terminating) and can be applied to both friendships and romantic relationships. It is important to remember that this model is descriptive, not prescriptive. In other words, this model does not describe what should happen in a relationship; it merely describes what researchers have observed in...