Types of Interpersonal Relationships

Martin asks Pete, “Do you know my friend Jake?” Pete responds, “I’ve met him once or twice.” In two short sentences, we gain information about the relationships at play: to Martin, Jake is a friend; to Pete, he’s just an acquaintance. We’re all involved in multiple relationships, and we distinguish among them in countless ways: acquaintances, colleagues, coworkers, teammates, friends, family members, romantic partners, virtual strangers we see all the time (like a barista or grocery clerk), and so on. Every person has a complex relational network or web of relationships that connects individuals to one another. In this section, we focus on family relationships, friendships and social relationships, and romantic partnerships, as well as online relationships.