ABSTRACT
Scholars studying personal relationships have maintained that relationships develop through a series of phases or stages that reflect an individual's different levels of intimacy with another, ranging from impersonal interactions to intimate relations. Kelley et al. (1983) indicated that “when a relationship changes markedly in a property, it is reasonable to say that it has moved to a new stage or level” (p. 38). The stages reflect different expectations for behavior in any period in a relationship. For example, an initiation stage occurs at an initial meeting and may consist of greeting rituals, small talk about innocuous topics such as the weather, and the discovery of shared interests. The individuals may see one another again and become acquaintances, develop friendship, or become romantically involved.
