ABSTRACT
The investment model is not so much a theory of how people get together in a relationship but of how people stay together. Rusbult suggests that highly committed people are likely to act in ways that help to maintain the relationship, rather than add to the pressure to destroy it. This is shown clearly in situations when the partner behaves in ways that are potentially destructive, such as making nasty remarks or failing to keep their promises. Rusbult and others have used an investment model scale to assess the factors that affect commitment in a relationship, which is a form of self-report that asks people questions about their level of satisfaction/investment/quality of alternatives. According to the investment model, commitment is at the heart of a good relationship and that commitment is a much greater predictor of a long-lasting relationship than satisfaction. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the relationship will be happy or even any good.
