Rusbult's investment theory

Question 1

What 3 factors does Rusbult’s theory say affect commitment ?

Answer 1

• Satisfaction
• Alternatives
• Investments

Question 2

What does commitment level affect ?

Answer 2

The future of a relationship - Whether someone stays or leaves

Question 3

What is Rusbult’s theory ?

Answer 3

• Builds on features of the social exchange theory
• It looks at how individuals stay in relationships due to three main factors which show their commitment
• Factor 1 = Satisfaction, this suggests that individuals who are happier are more likely to stay. This can be influenced by self-esteem, media
• Factor 2 = Alternatives, this states that individuals are more likely to stay if the relationship is more profitable than alternatives
• Factor 3 = Investments, said this was the biggest contributing factor of commitment. This is through intrinsic investments (money and time) and through extrinsic investments (houses, children, memories) - These would all be lost if the relationship ended

Question 4

Strengths of Rusbult’s investment theory ?

Answer 4

Supporting research:
- meta analysis
- studies from 5 different countries
- all 3 factors from the theory predicted commitment
- When commitment was the biggest - the relationship was stable and long lasting
- This included heterosexual and homosexual couples
- Universally related as it looked at multiple countries
COUNTERPOINT:
- Only shows correlation
- Commitment may show investment rather than the other way around and there is no show of causation

Application to abusive relationships:
- Model explains relationships which involve domestic violence
- Study found that those who made the greatest investments where more likely to return to an abusive relationship
- They were dissatisfied but still stayed
- Shows that dissatisfaction can’t explain why people stay in bad relationships but investment can

Strength: Hollistic
- More comprehensive
- Looks at 3 factors
- considers different aspects of a relationship not just one area like SET

Question 5

Limitation of the investment theory ?

Answer 5

Opposing research: Investments are more complex
- Doesn’t consider the idea of future investments in early relationships (e.g. the investment of the idea of having children together)
- This means the investment theory over-simplifies investments