Rusbults Investment Theory

• Investment Model


  • explains why some people persist in romantic relationships but others do not
  • we may not remain in relationships just for the sake of satisfaction BUT due to what we have invested in the relationship
  • development of the social exhchange theory
  • based on 4 main factors
• Factors of Investment Model

  1 -Satisfaction

  • extent to which a partner feels the rewards > costs
  • we are satisfied if someone meets needs and positive emotions are experiences
• Factors of Investment Model

  2-Quality of alternatives

  • the extent to which an individual's need could be better met outside the current relationship
  • this includes not being in a relationship at all
• Factors of Investment Model

  3- Investment size

  • a measure of the resources that are attached to the relationship and would be lost if the relationship ended
  • TWO MAIN TYPES
  • intrinsic- things that are invested directly into the relationship such as money and self disclosure
  • extrinsic- things that are now assosicated with the relationship and can be intangible such as shared memories
• Factors of Investment Model

  4 - Commitment Level- the likelihood that a person will persist with their current relationship after weighing up the previous factors
• Research Support - Le and Agnew

  • meta- analysis of 52 studies
  • 1000Ps from different countries- USA, UK, Holland, Israel, Taiwan
  • satisfaction level and commitment had the highest correlation of 0.68
• Further Research Support

  Le and Agnew's further research showed that a lack of commitment was the biggest predictor of a relationship breaking
• Real World Application

  Investment Model - explains abusive relationships

  • shows why people remain together even after a low satisfaction level
  • a victim of abuse does not have to be satisfied with a relationship to stay in it
• Weakness - Goodfriend and Agnew

  • views investment model too simplistically
  • suggests that people may be motivated to commit to each other to see their cherished future plans work out
  • it does not only consider the investment that is given to a relationship