Lesson 7: Rusbult’s Investment Model

Question 1

What is the investment model?

Answer 1

-Rusbult developed social exchange theory by proposing the investment model. Rusbult saw commitment as a key factor in sustaining a relationship. Commitment depends on satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment.

Question 2

Satisfaction, alternatives, investment

Answer 2

Satisfaction is determined. by available alternatives, better alternatives equals less satisfaction. Investment acts as a detterent to leaving a relationship. Intrinsic investment refers to the resources put into the relationship directly (emotion, effort) and extrinsic investment refers to the resources arising out of the relationship (e.g. children, mutual friends, possessions)

Question 3

Strength of IM (Van Lange, 1997)

Answer 3

• research supports Rusbult’s investment model. He studied students from Taiwan and from the Netherlands and found evidence that high commitment levels in a relationship were related to high satisfaction, low quality of alternatives and high investment size.

Question 4

Strength of IM (infidelity)

Answer 4

• Can help explain infidelity. This might occur if a person’s current relationship has low satisfaction and there is a high quality of alternative. Both of these factors would lessen the commitment levels and the present relationship is likely to end. Investment model can also explain why some people might stay in abusive relationships; the satisfaction is low and the victim should leave but they might stay because there are a low quality of alternatives and the investment is too high e.g. they have children together.

Question 5

Weakness of IM (measure)

Answer 5

• criticised because it is very difficult to measure the factors of commitment, satisfaction, investment and quality of alternatives. Rusbult responded to this criticism and constructed an investment model scale which could measure each of the key variables in a reliable and valid way. The research that Rusbult conducted using these scales involved self-reports, and this then created further problems of social desirability bias.

Question 6

Weakness of IM (Lin, 1995)

Answer 6

• criticises investment model because it does not take into account gender differences that might exist when looking at relationships. Lin (1995) found that females tend to report higher satisfaction, poorer quality of alternatives, greater investment and stronger commitment in relationships compared to males.

Question 7

Strength of IT (homosexual)

Answer 7

• Has the strength of being applied to explain the factor of commitment in a variety of different relationships. Rusbult administered investment model scale questionnaires to participants in homosexual relationships and found that all factors of the investment model were found to be important when looking at commitment.