Investment Model

• the investment model 


  tries to explain why some relationships break down and why some last forever
• commitment

  a maintenance factor in romantic relationships
• factors affecting commitment

  satisfaction level

  comparison with alternatives

  investment size
• satisfaction level 


  Comparing perceived positives and perceived negatives
• comparison with alternatives 


  looking at whether greater satisfaction could be achieved in another relationship or in no relationship at all
• investment size


  the number of resources that people will lose if they leave the relationship
• intrinsic investment 


  things partners put directly into the relationship
• extrinsic investment 


  things that are brought to people‘s lived through the relationship
• link between investment and relationships

  we stay in relationships we have already invested in and don’t want to lose the investment
• impett et al (2002)

  aimed to investigate investment theory in 3600 married couples aged 17-79

  longitudinal study for 18 months

  found that stability of relationships positively correlated with commitment
• Rhahogan & Axsom (2006)

  explain why people stay in bad relationships - found that women were more likely to stay in a bad relationship if their investment was high and economic alternatives were poor
• Le & Agnew (2003)

  found that relationships with most commitment lasted longer, suggesting that we may put more commitment into stable relationships
• negative evaluations of the investment model

  methodology - based on interviews and questionnaires which are subjective and unreliable

  
  

  use of correlations - limits predictive validity as they cannot determine cause and effect
• Positive evaluations of the investment model

  Explains poor relationships - we are less likely to leave relationships if our investment is high

  
  

  universality - cultural bias isn’t an issue and research has been conducted on many different scenarios