Download A Friendship Analysis: Instant Connection and Bonding with Ryan Clarke and more Thesis Business Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! COM 100 Analysis of Relational Communication: Ryan Clarke Department of Communications, Grand Canyon University COM 100: Fundamentals of Communication Have you ever met someone that you have just clicked instantly with? Well, I did this summer, and he has quickly become a friend I can count on. His name is Ryan Clarke; we are both from small towns and have similar life experiences—leading to a temporary bonding pe- riod. Although I do not know him that well, we have progressed through Mark Knapp's Stage Development Model to the maintaining section (Knapp's Relationship Model); applying the Re- lational Dialectics Theory, we have very few contradictions. In the initiation portion, he was playing music, and I noticed he liked an obscure country band. I complimented the music selection, and he could not believe I knew the band. We intro- duced ourselves, and I found out he was from a small town; this moved us into the experimenta- tion phase. He told me a story of him putting homemade bombs in mailboxes in 8th grade. Growing up, I was also in trouble with similar pranks. We spent most of the night playing coun- try songs, drinking, and talking with our friends about our many mostly fabricated sexual con- quests—to put it simply, it was just a bunch of guys being dudes. When the camping trip concluded, the boys invited me to a poker night every Friday that has become a weekly tradition for most of us. I would consider the first few poker nights the in- tensifying stage in Ryan's and my friendship. Spending most of those nights the same as the camping trip. We would play poker until two in the morning, invite different friends over, and eventually turn into parties. I found out many things about Ryan during this time. I say we are in the bonding portion of Knapp's Stage Development Model. During a fish- ing trip, Ryan shared some personal information about his life with me that I did not anticipate. He told me that he struggles with an addiction to marijuana and has a bad relationship with his family. He expressed an interest in getting clean. With my family struggles with drugs and alco- holism, I knew I could point him in the right direction. For the past two months, he has started going to church and using a relationship with Jesus as a way to better live with his addiction. According to the Relational Dialect Theory, we bonded so efficiently that our lack of con- tradictions (Relational Dialectics Theory). Our belief in Jesus, political conservatism, and small- town values are similar. This could prove to be tiresome, but with men (in my opinion), we are less likely to raise issues with our friends if they are menial. Since we have shared values, I doubt this will become an issue. It is usually fraught with difficulties in any new relationship, but I have yet to see that with Ryan. We get along well enough to be hunting and fishing buddies for years to come. I can- not wait to see what else we will do. After analyzing our friendship with the Knapp Model and Relational Dialect Theory, it gives me more hope for the future. Works Cited Knapp's Relationship Model. (2014, July 10). Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.- communicationtheory.org/knapps-relationship-model/ Relational Dialectics Theory. (2014, July 07). Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.- communicationtheory.org/relational-dialectics-theory/
