The Development of Online and Offline Romantic Relationships: A Turning Point Study by Sophia W. McDowell
Parks and Floyd (1996), and Parks and Roberts (1998) significantly extended our knowledge regarding some of the characteristics of online relationships. However, no
This study seeks to begin inquiry into this question by developing a typology of important turning points experienced over the progress of online romantic relationships.
Bolton (1961) argued nearly four decades ago that the turning point is an important heuristic unit of analysis in understanding relational change. Conceptually, a turning point refers to an event in which a relationship is transformed in some way, either positively or negatively (Baxter & Bullis, 1986; Baxter & Erbert, 1999). In the present study, a turning point was defined as an important event in which a person’s level of commitment to a relationship is changed. A significant body of research has used turning point analyses. For instance, studies have used turning points to explore the function of different events in creating change in relationships (Baxter & Bullis 1986), the rate of change in romantic relationships (Huston, Surra, Fitzgerald, & Cate, 1981), general reasons for turning points (e.g. Surra, Arizzi, & Asmussen, 1988), mentor relationships (Bullis & Bach, 1989), academic chair-faculty relationships (Barge & Musambira, 1992), and relational dialectical tensions (Baxter & Erbert, 1999).
At least two studies have sought to develop typologies of turning points in offline romantic relationships. Baxter and Bullis (1986) found 26 types of turning points, which could be reduced to 14 supra-types, in a population of college-age student. In a similar study using an older adult sample (Bullis, Clark, & Sline, 1993), an additional four supra-types ("Negative Evaluation," "Positive Evaluation," "Commitment Tension," and "Relational Talk") were found. This study seeks to develop a new typology for online romantic relationships because it has been found that several qualities of computer mediated communication (CMC) distinguish it from face-to-face (FtF) communication.
Many researchers have commented about the lack of nonverbal, aural, and visual cues in CMC (e.g., Kiesler, Siegel & McGuire, 1984; Walther, 1994). Sproull and Kiesler (1986) also suggest that CMC reduces "social context cues"—aspects of the physical environment and nonverbal hierarchical cues—that we normally use to infer social status, groupings and relationships in interpersonal communication. Because of the differences between CMC and FtF communication, it is proposed that the categories of turning points found in online romantic relationships differ from those found in similar offline relationships. Therefore, the following research questions are posed:
RQ1: What phenomena are perceived as relationship turning points by online romantic relationship partners?
RQ2: How, if at all, do the turning points perceived in online romantic relationships differ from those in similar offline relationships?