Rusbult's investment model

• What is Rusbult's investment model?

  • Emphasises the central importance of commitment in relationships by suggesting individuals are less focused on cost vs. rewards and more on satisfaction, comparison with alternatives, and investment
  • Commitment is a romantic partner's intention or desire to continue a relationship, reflecting a belief that it has long-term value
• What is the 1st factor of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Satisfaction (whether we feel rewards exceed costs) is based on the comparison level
  • A satisfying relationship is judged by whether or not it is profitable and if each partner is getting more out of the relationship than they expect based on previous experience and social norms
• What is the 2nd factor of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Comparison with alternatives: a judgement that partners make concerning whether a relationship with a different partner or being in no relationship at all would bring more rewards and fewer costs
  • People in satisfying relationships most likely don't even notice potentially attractive alternatives as they have enough rewards from their own status
• What is the 3rd factor of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Investment: the crucial 3rd factor introduced to make up for the gaps of social exchange theory, best understood as the resources associated with a romantic relationship that partners would lose if it ended
  • Intrinsic investment: anything we put directly into the relationship like money, possessions (tangible) or time and energy (intangible)
  • Extrinsic investment: resources that previously didn't feature in the relationship but are now closely associated with it such as children, shared memories, a house, etc.
• What is the difference between satisfaction and commitment?

  • Rusbult et al. (2011) argued commitment is the main psychological factor causing people to stay in relationships and satisfaction is a contributory factor
  • Helps to explain why dissatisfied partners choose to stay in relationships as their commitments are too great and investments would go to waste, hence why they work hard to maintain/repair a damaged relationship
• How does commitment maintain a relationship?

  • Commitment expresses itself in everyday maintenance mechanisms and cognitive styles for alternatives
  • Accommodation: they aim to promote the relationship
  • Willingness to sacrifice: willing to put their partner's interests first
  • Forgiveness: forgiving for any serious offences
  • Positive illusions: unrealistically positive about their partner to their face and to others
  • Ridiculing alternatives: negative about tempting positives and other people's relationships
• What is one strength of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Research support: Le and Agnew (2003) conducted a meta-analysis of 52 studies including 11k participants from 5 countries, and found that satisfaction, comparison with alternatives, and investment size all predicted relationship commitment
  • Also found that relationships where commitment was the greatest were also the most stable and long-lasting, true for men, women, homo and heterosexual couples across all reviewed cultures
  • Suggests there is validity to Rusbult's claim that these are universally important features of relationships
• What is another strength of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Explains abusive relationships: model can accurately explain relationships that involve intimate partner violence (IPV)
  • Rusbult and Martz (1995) studies domestically abused women at a shelter and found that those who were most likely to return to abusive partners reported having made the greatest investment and fewer attractive alternatives
  • Although these women were dissatisfied they were still committed to their relationships, showing that satisfaction on its' own cannot explain relationship maintenance, strengthening Rusbult's theories as a whole
• What is one limitation of Rusbult's investment model?

  • Too simplistic: model views investment in a simplistic and one-dimensional way
  • Goodfriend and Agnew (2008) pointed out that there is more to investment than just the resources already put in as during the early stages of a relationship, partners will have made few real investments
  • Extend Rusbult's original model by including future investments, as this encourages motivation to commit to each other because they want to see their cherished plans for the future work out
  • Limits original model as it fails to recognise the true complexity of investment and how planning for the future influences it
• What is another limitation of Rusbult's invesment model?

  • Perception vs. reality: model is supported by self-report methods like questionnaires that can be influenced by biases and subjective beliefs of respondents
  • But these may be appropriate methods to measure investment and comparison w/ alts because what determined commitment isn't the objective reality
  • It may matter more what a person believes or perceives about their investments and this will influence their levels of satisfaction