THEORIES OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS - RUSBULTS THEORY Flashcards
Rusbults investment model emphasises…
importance of commitment in relationships, addressing limitations of SET
according to Rusbult, commitment depends on 3 factors…
- satisfaction - extent to which romantic partners feel the rewards of the relationship exceed costs
- comparison with alternatives - judgement partners concerning if alternative have better rewards and fewer costs
- investment size - extent and importance of resources in relationship
satisfaction and comp with alt
- relationship is profitable if many rewards and few costs
- satisfied if more out of relationship based on prev experiences and social norms (social media)
- are alternatives more rewarding/would i be better alone
there are 2 types of investment…
- intrinsic - refers to investment that we directly put into relationship e.g. money, time, energy, disclosure
- extrinsic - refers to investment that wouldn’t be there without relationship e.g. child, dog, house, car
satisfaction vs commitment
commitment = main psych factor that causes ppl to stay in relationship
explains why those dissatisfied stay in their relationship as there are committed, don’t want investment to go to waste
what are relationship maintenance mechanisms?
- x tit for tat, but accommodate/promote relationships, and forgive serious transgressions
- cog element to relationships, be unrealistically positive abt partners and negative abt alt/other relationships
what are 3 evaluation points for Rusbult’s investment theory?
+ explains abusive relationships
+ supporting evidence
- oversimplifies investment
explains abusive relationships
P - valid and useful way of explaining IPV
E - key factor of relationships isn’t satisfaction
E- Rusbult and Martz studied ‘battered women’ in shelter, those +likely to return to abusive relationship = made bigger investment w/ few alt
L - inc PA / EV as we can apply it to real relationships
supporting evidence
P - there is supporting evid for Rusbult’s theory
E - Agnew et al, metanalysis of over 10k ppts across 5 countries, found satisfaction + investment + commitment = stable relationships
E - all outcomes were true for men and women across all cultures, and homosexual couples
L - inc generalisability, cultural validity and population validity
C - 5 countries, could be westernized relationships e.g. not relationships in tribes or collectivist countries
oversimplifies investment
P - Rusbult’s theory oversimplifies investment
E - Goodfriend + Agnew, few investment are present at start of relationship
E - this means people stay in relationships because of investment for their future plans e.g. baby names, holidays, extended Rusbult’s og model
L - original model is limited explanation for romantic relationships, decrease IV