Committing and being happy in a relationship Flashcards
What is Interdependence Theory?
An adaptation of Social Exchange Theory but applied to intimate relationships (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959)
Rewards + costs = satisfaction + commitment (stay or leave)
Rewards = desirable relationship experiences
Costs = undesirable relationship experiences
What are tangible/ material rewards and costs?
Making dinner
financial assistance
What is intangible social rewards/ costs?
Feeling loved + knowing your partner is dependable
Jealousy
What are the impacts of rewards and costs?
Costs = particularly influential
Baumesiter et al. (2001) = pay more attention to costs (£), remember £ than rewards. Roughly 5x greater influence.
Gottman & Levinson (1992) = Also called ‘Magic’ 5:1 ratio. They observed couples interacting w/ each other whilst revisiting a recent conflict. Found exchange of 5 pos. to every 1 neg. expression in that convo.
This predicts relationship satisfaction in the long run.
What is the formula for relationship outcome using rewards and cost?
Outcome = rewards - costs
How do researcher’s assess commitment?
Statements such as…
- I want our relationship to last for a very long time.
- I feel very attached to our relationship – very strongly linked to my partner.
- I would not feel very upset if our relationship were to end in the near future.
- It is likely that I will date someone other than my partner within the next year.
What does commitment mean in the context of relationships?
People’s motivation to stay in a relationship - do they stay or leave
What three models make up the Investment Model predicting commitment?
Rusbult et al. (1998)
- Satisfaction = how happy are you in the relationship?
- Alternative = how happy would you be in another relationship/ alone
- What have you put into this relationship that you would lose if the relationship were to end?
Is the Investment Model in predicting commitment true?
Le & Agnew (2003) = 52 studies, 11,582 Ps following romantic couples over time and checked if they were still together late on.
The average = 2 years together.
Satisfaction = matters a lot (r =.68), Investment + alternatives are equally important.
Investment = r = .46
Alternatives = r = -.48
Commitment = r = .47 (had some predictive power in predicting whether people were still together at the end of the study)
What are the benefits of investments in relationships?
Rusbult & Martz (1995)
High investments = enables couples to endure the inevitable challenges, make them stay together.
What are the limitations of investments in relationships?
Rusbult & Martz (1995)
They can trap people in unhealthy relationships e.g women w/ high investments + poor alternatives = more likely to return to abusive partners
Why is commitment important?
Commitment helps to protect + maintain relationships
How does Lyon & Karremans (2015) support the importance of commitment?
People in relationships lessen alternatives (e.g committed indvdls rate attractive people as less sexy compared to single indvdls)
Uses this to protect relationship.
How does Rusbult et al. (1991) support the importance of commitment?
People in relationships = more accommodating
They respond more constructively when dissatisfied (e.g bite their tongue during a fight, try to work things out)
How does Righetti & Impett (2017) support the importance of commitment?
People in relationships make sacrifices when conflicts of interests arise (e.g watch their partner’s movie instead of theirs bc they want to spend time with them)
