Lesson 7 - Rusbult's Investment Theory

Question 1

What is the Investment Model (Rusbult)

Answer 1

Rusbult developed/extended social exchange theory by proposing the
investment model. Rusbult saw commitment as a key factor in sustaining a
relationship.

Question 2

What is Commitment (Rusbult)

Answer 2

Commitment depends on satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment.

Question 3

What is Satisfaction (Rusbult)

Answer 3

Satisfaction is determined by available alternatives, better alternatives equals
less satisfaction.

Question 4

What is Investment (Rusbult)

Answer 4

Investment acts as a deterrent to leaving a relationship. Intrinsic investment refers to the resources put into the relationship directly (e.g. emotion, effort etc.) and extrinsic investment refers to resources arising out of the relationship (e.g. children, mutual friends, possessions bought together etc.).

Question 5

Strengths of Rusbult’s Investment Theory

Answer 5

Research conducted by Van Lange (1997) 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.

The investment model is very useful because it 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 really leave the relationship. However, they might stay in the abusive relationship because there are a low quality of alternatives and the investment in the present relationship is too high, e.g. they have children together.

Investment model 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.

Question 6

Weaknesses of Rusbult’s Investment Theory

Answer 6

Investment model has been 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.

Lin (1995) 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.