The Role of Couples' Conversations in Relational Development: A Content Analysis of Courtship Talk in Harlequin Romance Novels

The present study analyzes male/female couples' use of conversation to develop romantic relationships. It focuses upon Knapp's first four stages of relational development: initiating, experimenting, intensifying, and integrating. The study attempts to determine whether or not specific conversational features are used consistently by courtship couples to create and develop romantic relationships. A conversational analysis was performed on all of the male/female courtship couples' conversation from ten Harelquin romance novels. The examination determined that three specific features of conversation recurred throughout the four stages of relational development: metatalk, face-threatening acts, and mitigation.