Theories Of Romantic Relationships: Rosbult's Investment Model. Flashcards
What is Rosbults investment model?
It is a development of the social exchange theory, suggesting that commitment depends on satisfaction level, comparison with alternatives and investment size. A satisfying relationship is one where the partners are getting more out of the relationship than they expect, given social norms and their previous experiences.
What is commitment based on?
- Investment: resources associated with a romantic relationship with the partners would lose if the relationship were to end.
- Satisfaction level: extent to which romantic partners feel the rewards of the relationship exceeds the costs.
- Comparison with alternatives: a judgement that partners make concerning whether a relationship with a different partner would bring more rewards and fewer costs.
What are the types of investment?
- Intrinsic investment
- Extrinsic investment
If investments are increasing and satisfaction is high, then the relationship is likely to continue.
What is intrinsic investment?
Any resources that we put directly into the relationship, including tangible items (e.g. Money) or intangibles (e.g. Energy and self-disclosures).
What is extrinsic investment?
Resources that previously did not feature in the relationship but are now closely associated with it. These include tangible items (e.g. A jointly purchased house) and intangibles (e.g. Shared memories).
What does the model explain?
Commitment matters more than satisfaction. It explains that a dissatisfied partner stays in a relationship by pointing to the level of investment they have made. They will be willing to work hard to repair problems in the relationship so their investment is not wasted.
What maintenance behaviours are used to keep the relationship going?
Committed partners use maintenance behaviours to keep the relationship going, for example:
- Promoting the relationship (accommodation).
- Putting their partners interest first (willingness to sacrifice).
- Forgiving them for any serious transgressions (forgiveness).
- A partner may be unrealistically positive about their partner (positive illusions).
- A partner may be negative about tempting alternatives/other people’s relationships (derogation of alternatives).
Evaluation support: there is research support for the investment model.
Le and Agnew’s review found that satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment size all predicted relationship commitment. Relationships in which commitment was the greatest were the most stable and lasted longer. The support is particularly strong given that the results were true for men and women in either heterosexual or homosexual relationships. This suggests that the claim that these factors are universally important in relationships is valid.
Evaluation strength: can explain why people stay in abusive relationships.
This model is particularly valid and useful in explaining relationships involving Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Rosbult and Martz applied the investment model to abusive relationships. They asked women living in refuges why they had stayed with their abusive partners instead of leaving them as soon as the abuse began. As predicted by the model, women had felt the greatest commitment to their relationship when their economic alternatives were poor and their investment was great. The concept of satisfaction as important to relationship duration cannot explain this tendency but the level of commitment can. This is a strength because it explains the apparently inexplicable behaviour of staying in an abusive relationship.
Evaluation limitation: it oversimplifies investment.
Goodfriend and Agnew argue that there is more to investment than just the resources you have already put into a relationship. Early in a relationship, few investments have been made but they do invest in future plans that motivate partners to commit so that the plans can become reality. This means that the original model is a limited explanation as it fails to consider the true complexity of investment.
Strength: supporting evidence is based on self-report techniques.
Self-report techniques are an appropriate research method since the model is based on subjective judgments about size of investment and alternatives. This is a good approach because what matters is the partners’ subjective perceptions of their investments. This is a strength because it is a more valid test of the model than, for example, experimental research.
Limitation: much of the research uses correlations.
Strong correlations have been established between the factors within the model. But no matter how strong the correlation it does not follow that one variable causes the other. As such we cannot conclude from this which factors, if any, might cause commitment.
