investment model Flashcards
what is the investment model?
(Rusbult et al) development of social exchange theory
other factors which may cause couples to stay together other than costs
describe satisfaction and comparison with alternatives
People will have a high level of satisfaction with relationships if they have more rewards and fewer costs.
tend to be committed to relationships if, when asking themselves if there is a better alternative to satisfy their needs. Alternatives can include staying on their own and not engaging in romantic relationships at all, as well as finding a new partner.
describe investment under the investment model?
Investment refers to the number of resources, both tangible, like money or possessions and intangible, like happy memories, that people will lose if they leave relationships
what is intrinsic investment?
Intrinsic investments comprises the two things we put directly into the relationship, such as effort, money, possessions, self disclosure.
what is extrinsic
Extrinsic investment refers to the things that are brought to people’s life through the relationships, such as children, friends and shared memories.
what did Rusbult say about satisfaction vs commitment
Rusublt argued that the main psychological factor that causes people to stay in a romantic relationship is not satisfaction but commitment. This an important distinction, because it can help to explain why dissatisfied partners may choose to stay in a relationship: because they are committed to their partner.
describe relationship maintenance mechanisms
include:
accomodation which is acting in a way that promotes relationships not keeping a tally of rewards and costs
putting partners intrests first (willingness to sacrifice)
forgiveness
(positive illusions) acting unrealistically positive about partners qualities
ridiculing alternatives
evaluation: strength
le and agnew research support
Le and Agnew found satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment greatly contributed to commitment.
this supports the models claims about factors contributing to commitment and about commitment being the promising feature in successful long term relationships. Increasing reliability
evaluation: weakness
correlational research
most of the research is correlational, psychologists are unable to conclude that investment causes commitment.
this limits the predictive validity of the model (fails to predict which type of investment and how much leads to long term commitment)
evaluation: strength
explanation for why people stay in abusive relationships
if a partner feels their investments will be lost they are more likely to stay even when the costs are high
Rusbult and Martz found that women are more likely to return to an abusive partner if they had invested and didn’t have appealing alternatives
can be applicable to more relationships experiences
evaluation : weakness
evidence from interveiws and questionnaires
this is known to be subjective and unreliable. Some argue that because satisfaction, investment and commitment are subjective value then it it appropriate to use self report techniques
increases validity of the investment model as data provides a more realistic picture
