Rusbults investment model:

• According to Rusbult et al commitment depends on three factors

  • Because the investment model is a development of social exchange theory (SET)
• Factor 1: Satisfaction

  Satisfaction is based on the concept of the comparison level (CL)

  • A satisfying relationship is judged by comparing rewards and costs, and is seen to be profitable if it has many rewards (e.g. sex) and few costs (e.g. conflicts)
  • Each partner is generally satisfied if they are getting more out of the relationship than they expect based on previous experience and social norms
• Factor 2: Comparison with alternatives

  a comparison with alternatives (CLalt) results in romantic partners asking themselves, 'Could my needs be better met outside my current relationship? Are the alternatives more rewarding and less costly?'. Alternatives include not just relationships with other people, but the possibility of having no romantic relationship at all.
• Factor 3: Investment

  Rusbult et al. realised that the CL and CLalt derived from SET are not enough to explain commitment. If they were, then many more relationships would end as soon as either the costs outweighed the reward or more attractive alternatives presented themselves

  Therefore a crucial third factor was introduced that influences commitment - investment.

  An investment can be understood as anything we would lose if the relationship were to end. Rusbult argues that there are two major types of investment
• Investment:

  • Intrinsic investments are any resources we put directly into the relationship. They can be tangible things such as money and possessions. They can also be resources less easy to quantify (intangibles) such as energy, emotion and self-disclosures
  • Extrinsic investments are resources that previously did not feature in the relationship, but are now closely associated with it. Tangibles include possessions bought together (for example, a car), mutual friends and children. A good example of an intangible is shared memories.