Question

Close relationships are an important part of a fulfilling life. Learning to find, maintain, and cultivate relationships is a skill that most work on their entire lives. No one is lucky enough to be born having perfect relationships. We all must work at them and strive to build fulfillment for ourselves and our people. This can be a hassle, but most humans agree that it's worth it!

To explore the topic of relationships, describe how different types of relationships differ. For this post, make sure to describe phenomena at multiple levels of analysis. That is, describe neural, mental, and behavioral characteristics of different types of relationships in your (very thorough) response.

At each level of analysis, describe how different types of relationships differ. For example, how do friendships differ from romantic relationships, and/or subtypes of these types of relationships. What about familial relationships? Make sure to use concepts from the course as points of comparison when discussing the relationships you choose to compare/contrast.

Answer 1

Relationships are a big part of life.

Whether it’s family or friends, acquaintances or lovers, folks online or IRL, or anything and everything in between, it can be challenging to find the right words to discuss different relationship roles and dynamics.

In the context of relationships, accepting refers to the act of learning to embrace your partner(s) for who they are — including their traits, behaviors, and needs — at the present moment and as they shift over time.

The process of genuinely accepting your partner involves reflecting on your potential tendency to change, judge, or become easily irritated by aspects of who they are or how they behave.

Active/passive

Active and passive describes a power dynamic frequently observed between partners in relationships and families.

An active/passive dynamic can appear in many areas of the relationship. For example:

• household chores
• initiating foreplay or sex
• having difficult conversations
• taking on financial responsibilities
• prioritizing health and well-being

Typically, the person who takes the initiative or makes a decision in the situation is considered the active person.

The person who remains unresponsive, disengaged, apathetic, or overpowered (physically or emotionally) is the passive person.

Allosexual

This word and category describe those who experience sexual attraction.

Use of this term helps normalize the experience of being asexual and provides a more specific label to describe those who aren’t part of the asexual community.

Asexual

Asexual identity or orientation includes individuals who experience little or no sexual attraction to others of any gender.

Asexual can also refer to the spectrum of asexuality that includes a number of other sexual and romantic identities that describe those who experience little sexual attraction or none at all.

Balanced

A balanced relationship is one where there are equal and healthy amounts of giving and taking.

Considering the amount of affection, energy, love, and support you give and receive in a relationship is a good way to assess which areas feel balanced, and which areas could use more attention or intention.

What balance looks like in each relationship may be different, and is dependent upon each person involved feeling valued, respected, and getting their needs met.

Basically or close friends

These terms describe a platonic bond that most often exists between two friends that have a great deal of love, care, and nonromantic affection for one another.

These types of relationships can often resemble sexual or romantic relationships in terms of time spent, care, and commitment, but often don’t include the sexual or romantic elements.

Platonic relationships between close friends frequently involve flirtation, admiration, and commitment, but don’t indicate anything about any party’s sexual or romantic attraction or preferences.

Casual

This describes a type of relationship that is not yet defined or labeled and often requires less commitment than relationships that are formal, or not casual.

Given the somewhat vague nature of the word, it’s hard to know exactly what someone means when they describe a relationship this way.

The meaning and expectations attached to casual relationships can vary greatly from person to person.

For example, some casual relationships are sexual, while others aren’t.

It’s important to speak with friends and partners about how you define a casual relationship to ensure you’re on the same page and can respect one another’s needs and boundaries.

Changing or working hard

These terms refer to the act of putting energy into shifting aspects of the relationship or individual involved in the relationship.

This “work” is often rooted in the desire for improvement or increased happiness in the relationship.

While changing or working hard in a relationship can be a sign of commitment, it can also be a sign of incompatibility or that one person is not getting their emotional or physical needs met.

Civil union

Also known as a civil partnership, civil union refers to the legally binding union between two parties.

This type of legally recognized partnership only provides state-level legal protections and privileges.

The terms associated with civil unions vary from state to state and don’t afford people the same federal protections and benefits as marriage does.

Codependent

This is a relationship dynamic that lacks the emotional and physical boundaries that are necessary to have a healthy and respectful relationship long-term relationship.

Though the term codependent is sometimes used to describe people or personal traits, it more accurately captures behaviors, actions, or tendencies.

Codependency can take different forms, but some signs are:

• taking on your partners’ issues
• taking care of them, sometimes at the cost of not caring for yourself
• losing touch with who you are as an independent person
• lacking your own relationships
• putting your partner’s needs before your own

Cohabitation

This refers to the act of living in the same household as someone you’re in a relationship with.

Partners can make the decision to cohabitate in any stage of a relationship, and for a variety of reasons that might be connected to:

• the stage of the relationship
• personal values
• financial benefits
• convenience
• practicality

Different people attach different values and assumptions to taking the step to cohabitate, so it’s important to speak openly about what this step means in the context of your relationship(s).

Committed

This describes a relationship that includes intention and accountability, with regard to:

• time spent
• level of prioritization
• desire to work through conflict
• openness to a future or long-term engagement
• dedication to meeting one another’s needs

Courtship

This term describes the period of time before two people formally engage in a relationship that involves a long-term commitment to a future together.

The values and intentions ascribed to a given courtship can change from person to person, culture to culture, and relationship to relationship.

Love isn't one-size-fits-all. It not only means something different to everyone, but it also looks and feels different to everyone. That's why there are so many different types of relationships — so each person can find the best fit for their individual lifestyle, personality, and concept of love.

Just like you need to date different people to learn what you want in a potential partner, you may want to try out different types of relationships to figure out what you want out of your romantic life.

Ultimately, you hope to find someone — or someones — whose preferred relationship type is similar to yours. But first, it helps to know there are all different ways to be in a relationship.

These are the seven most common relationship types you'll want to know as you navigate the dating world:

1. Monogamous Relationships :- Monogamous relationships tend to be the first one people learn about as they are the most traditional, and usually the easiest for children to understand, who often see it exhibited by their parents. Those in monogamous relationships only have one sexual/romantic partner at a time. Most people who enter into "traditional" relationships and marriages do so because they want to be monogamous, though they don't always stay that way.

2. Polyamorous Relationships :-

When someone is polyamorous, that means they have more than one romantic relationship at a time. Often, polyamorous couples have a primary partner, a secondary partner, etc. with the understanding that these "rankings" can change as their individual needs do. Others treat every simultaneous relationship they are engaging in as perfectly equal. The key to any successful relationship, but especially polyamorous ones, is honest and effective communication between all parties involved.

3. Open Relationships :- Open relationships are a hybrid of monogamous and polyamorous relationships. While an open relationship allows both partners to share physical intimacy with anyone they want, they reserve their emotional intimacy for each other. So each person can have as many sexual partners as they want, but only one romantic partner.

4. Long-Distance Relationships :-

A long-distance relationship is pretty self-explanatory, as they only occur when partners have a long amount of distance separating them. Due to the lack of physical intimacy caused by the couple's physical separation, some choose to open their relationship while they live far apart. While the "long-distance" part of this relationship type is often temporary, some couples choose to live happily ever apart indefinitely.

5. Casual Sex Relationships :-

In a casual sex relationship, both partners agree to have sex with each other on a regular basis — and that's it. Those in casual sex relationships can be physically and/or emotionally intimate with others as well, so long as both people are OK with it. Casual sex relationships can also be "exclusive" — meaning neither person sleeps with anyone else — which is similar to monogamous relationships, without the emotional connection.

6. 'Friends With Benefits' Relationships :-

A "friends with benefits" relationship is similar to a casual sex relationship, but with one important difference — an established, platonic friendship. Often, "friends with benefits" relationships begins when two friends agree to act on a mutual sexual attraction. Outside of the sexual relationship, the partners behave purely platonically. Usually, a 'friends with benefits' relationship ends when one or both partners start to date someone else.

7. Asexual Relationships :- Some people are asexual, meaning they don't experience sexual desire or attraction to others, but they still want to participate in a romantic relationship. While asexual people often choose to date each other to create a purely asexual relationship, this is not always the case. When an asexual person and a sexual person enter into a relationship, it can take a few different forms, according to the Asexuality Visibility & Education Network. The couple can choose to be completely sexless, or the asexual partner can "compromise" by engaging in sex occasionally under certain circumstances, or partners can experiment with "pseudosexual behavior," such as cuddling, to find an arrangement that works for both.

For Me "Friends are my family. They are born not made" A caring friend is far better than a lover who may leave you in bad situation, where a friend would be stand with you in all situations good or bad, they will be in our side without expecting any thing from us. The only need our love and care"