RS-Rusbult's Investment Model

Question 1

What is Rusbult’s Investment Model?

Answer 1

Rusbult et al (2011) suggested that commitment is an important factor in relationships, referring to the intention or desire to continue the relationship (believing it to have a future).

Question 2

What factors affect commitment?

Answer 2

• Satisfaction
• Comparison with alternatives
• Investment size

Question 3

What are satisfaction levels?

Answer 3

• Satisfaction is the positive or negative emotional experiences that a person in the relationship feels.
• It is influenced by the extent to which their partner fulfills and gratifies their individual needs in the relationship.

Question 4

What is comparison/quality of alternatives?

Answer 4

• This is when a person might think about whether their important needs might be fulfilled better outside the relationship.
• If there is an attractive alternative to the current relationship, the individual might leave their current relationship and not invest in it.

Question 5

What is investment size?

Answer 5

• Investment refers to the extent and importance of the resources associated with the relationship.
• If the relationship ends, this investment is lost.

Question 6

What are the two types of investment?

Answer 6

1) Intrinsic investments

2) Extrinsic investments

Question 7

What are intrinsic investments?

Answer 7

• Intrinsic investments are resources such as money and possessions which are put into a relationship by the individual partners.
• They also include things like energy, emotion, and self-disclosures.

Question 8

What are extrinsic investments?

Answer 8

• Extrinsic investments are factors brought by the relationship, such as a house, a car, mutual friends, and children.
• They also include shared memories.

Question 9

What creates high commitment levels?

Answer 9

If the size of the investment increases, along with the sense of satisfaction being seen as acceptable, each partner’s commitment to the relationship will be stronger.

Question 10

Evaluate Rusbult’s investment model (ADVANTAGES)

Answer 10

1) Le and Agnew (2003) found that in 52 studies with 11,000 participants, satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment size all predicted relationship commitment.
- Where commitment was greatest, relationships were longer-lasting.
- This was true across different cultures and in homosexual as well as heterosexual relationships, strongly supporting the theory.

2) The theory can be used to explain why partners stay in abusive relationships, where the abused partner clearly cannot be satisfied.
- There is evidence that female victims of domestic abuse who stayed with their partner were more likely to report having invested a great deal in the relationship, supporting the prediction of the theory.

Question 11

Evaluate Rusbult’s model. (DISADVANTAGES)

Answer 11

1) Investment may have been oversimplified in the theory. This is because in the early stages of a relationship, little investment is made by either partner, but this does not mean the relationship does not last. Therefore, investment may need to be extended to include factors such as future planning. This means the original explanation may be incomplete.

2) Rusbult’s model has been criticised because it does not take into account gender differences that might exist when looking at relationships.
- Lin found that females tend to report higher satisfaction, poorer quality of alternatives, greater investment and stronger commitment in relationships compared to males.
- Therefore gender differences do exist.