Rusbults investment model

• > The investment model emphasises the central importance of commitment in relationships

  > Rusbult states commitment depends on 3 factors

  1. Satisfaction - Each partner is satisfied if they are getting more rewards than they expect based on either previous relationships or social norms
  2. Comparison with alternatives - We compare our rewards and costs in our current relationships compared to potential ones with other people but also the possibility of having no relationship at all.
  3. Investment size - An investment is anything we would lose if the relationship was to end
• Types of investment

  > Intrinsic investment - resources put directly into the relationship

  1. This can include tangible things such as money and possessions
  2. It includes intangible things such as time/ effort/ energy

  > Extrinsic investment - Investments which did not previously feature in the relationship which are now closely associated with it

  • Shared friends, children, house, shared memories

  > HIGH SATISFACTION + NO BETTER ALTERNATIVE + HIGH INVESTMENT = increased level of commitment to the relationship
• Rusbults investment model AO3

  :) RTS Le and Agnew

  > They carried out a meta analysis on 52 studies which included 11,000 ppts from five countries

  > They found that satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment size all predicted relationship commitment. Relationships in which commitment was greatest were the most stable and lasted the longest

  > Increasing the validity of Rusbults investment model as a theory of romantic relationship as the features within the model are universally important for romantic relationships.
• Rusbults investment model AO3

  :) RTS Rusbult and Martz

  > They studied women living in a shelter who had experienced domestic violence and found that those most likely to return to their abusive partner, reported having high investment and no attractive alternates

  > These women were dissatisfied in their relationships but still committed to them

  > This supports Rusbult’s investment model as it shows that satisfaction on its own cannot explain why people stay in relationships, commitment and investment must also factors as Rusbult suggests
• Rusbults investment model AO3

  :( Based on correlational research

  > Therefore, a cause and effect cannot be established between factors such as investment size and satisfaction and increased commitment in relationships

  > It could be due to the more committed you feel towards your partner the more investment you are willing to make in the relationship, rather than the other way round.

  > Therefore, limiting the internal validity of the research that supports Rusbult’s investment model as a theory of romantic relationships