Relationships: Rusbult's investment model Flashcards
what’s Rusbult’s investment model?
he believed commitment depends on 3 factors - satisfaction, comparison levels for alternatives and investment size.
what’s satisfaction?
a satisfying relationship is judged by comparing rewards and costs. it’s seen to be profitable if there are many rewards and few costs.
what’s comparison levels with alternative?
it’s when the person is questioning whether there is someone better out there that will satisfy their needs. people stay in their current relationship if it’s more rewarding than the alternative.
what’s investment size?
Rusbult realised there must be a third factor because otherwise more relationships would end sooner as the costs outweigh the rewards. investment is the extent and importance of resources associated with the relationship. it’s anything we would lose if the relationship ended.
what are the types of investment?
intrinsic = any resources put directly into the relationship. they can be tangible things (money and posessions) or intangibles (energy, emotions). extrinsic = resources that didn’t previously feature but are now closely associated (car, children).
what’s satisfaction vs commitment?
Rusbult said commitment is the main reason people stay. unsatisfied couples stay because they made a commitment. they don’t want to see their investments go to waste.
what’s the research support for Rusbult’s investment model? (A03)
Le + Agnew did a meta-analysis - 52 studies on 11,000 participants from 5 countries. they found satisfaction, CLalt and investment size all predicted commitment. relationships with greater commitment were the most stable and lasted longest. these outcomes were true for men, women, all cultures, hetero and homosexual. this increases validity.
how does Rusbult’s model explain abusive relationships? (A03)
it’s valid and useful in explaining why an abused person would stay in an abusive relationship. Rusbult + Martz studied ‘battered’ women at a shelter and found those most likely to return to their abusive partner were reported to have greatest investments. the model recognises these victims aren’t satisfied.
how does Rusbult’s model oversimplify investment?
Goodfriend + Agnew said there was more to investments than just resources already put in as at the early stages of the relationship, there are few investments actual made. They added future plans to the model. partners are motivated to commit to each other cus they want to see their plans worm out. the original model is limited as it fails to recognise the complexity of investments.
