Using Rusbult's (1980) investment model and Schwartz's (2000) conceptualization of decision maximization, we sought to understand how an individual's propensity to maximize his or her decisions factored into investment, satisfaction, and awareness of alternatives in romantic relationships. In study one, 275 participants currently involved in romantic relationships completed measures of maximization, satisfaction, investment size, quality of alternatives, and commitment. In study two, 343 participants were surveyed as part of the creation of a scale of relational maximization. Results from both studies revealed that the tendency to maximize (in general and in relationships specifically) was negatively correlated with satisfaction, investment, and commitment, and positively correlated with quality of alternatives. Furthermore, we found that satisfaction and investments mediated the relationship between maximization and relationship commitment.

Whereas the benefits of receiving affection have been well established, the health effects of expressing affection have only recently been interrogated. Guided by affection exchange theory (AET) and relevant psychophysiological research, the present experiments investigate the ability of an affectionate-writing exercise to reduce total serum cholesterol over a 5-week period. This review begins with a brief description of AET and a summary of research demonstrating inverse associations between affectionate communication and stress. The relationship between stress and cholesterol is delineated next, and then the affectionate-writing intervention to be tested is described.

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