A cyclical model of developing relationships: A study of relational control interaction

Abstract

This study sought to discover whether a progressive pattern of relational control interaction was present during different phases of the ongoing interaction of newly acquainted pairs. Transcripts of interaction collected from fourteen dyads during a ten‐day concentrated isolation study were analyzed with RELCOM, a five‐category system of relational control modes. The interaction data were then analyzed with Markov statistics. Nine dyads exhibited a two‐stage cyclical model of relational development. The chief characteristic of the model is the recurring ebb and flow of competitive symmetrical interaction (↑+↑ + and ↑ — ↑ —) over five time periods while complementary (↑ — ↓ — and ↓ — ↑ —) and equivalent symmetrical (→→) patterns remained consistent throughout all time phases. This two‐stage cycle is suggested as a potential model to describe the successful development of relationships which achieve some stability. Cycling in and out of periods of competitive interaction may allow the social system to maintain itself and ward off the disintegrative impact of cultural schismogenesis. Implications and limitations of the results of this study are also discussed.